Potential Commission Report Topics
Although there’s no way to know what specific recom- mendations the deficit commission’s Dec. 1 report might include, the following list highlights selected proposals previously offered by two current commission members and by other task forces that reviewed similar issues. n Sen. Alan Simpson (1994-95): Recalculate CPI to curtail COLAs; restrict COLAs to the bottom 20 per- cent to 30 percent of retired pay/VA compensation amounts; and limit military retirement formula to 2 percent of high 36-month average basic pay times the years of service. n Sen. Judd Gregg (1995): Bar COLAs before age 62; limit COLAs to first $14,000 of retired pay; and cap an- nual COLAs 0.5 percent below inflation. n “Blue Dog” Democrats (1997): Cap annual COLAs 0.8 percent below inflation. n DoD budget proposal (2006-08): Double or triple
nation’s fiscal issues, the problems have been well-known for many years. The difficulty has been in get- ting politicians to address them. And politicians have had good reason for their reluctance — the wrath of constituents who have no wish to see their favorite ox gored. Legislators have proposed to
curtail Medicare or Social Security spending at their peril, and politicians learned the hard way that voters want tax cuts, not tax increases. Because fear of the voters para-
lyzes politicians of both parties, the favorite route has been to punt the tough issues to special commissions to make recommendations for ac- tion. And the impending deficit cri- sis is no exception.
The commission Earlier this year, President Obama appointed a bipartisan, 18-member National Commission on Fiscal Re- sponsibility and Reform to take on this thankless task. Cochaired by Clinton White House
Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and for- mer Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.), the
retiree TRICARE enrollment fees, deductibles, and phar- macy copayments for retirees under age 65, depending on grade or retired-pay level. n 10th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (2008): Significantly increase TRICARE enrollment fees, deductibles, and retail pharmacy copayments for retir- ees under age 65, depending on family income; change pay-raise formula to depress annual basic-pay raises; delay retired pay until age 57 or later for new entrants and allow DoD to change retirement contribution annu- ally depending on specialty or other criteria; and charge an annual enrollment fee for TRICARE Standard. n CBO Budget Option List (2008): Charge a user fee for all beneficiaries seen in military hospitals and clinics; double TRICARE fees for retirees under 65; and require TRICARE For Life beneficiaries to absorb about $2,700 a year in out-of-pocket health care costs.
commission is supposed to provide its recommendations for action to ad- dress the deficit problem by Dec. 1. The commission’s challenge has
been made more difficult because (a) any recommendations must be supported by at least 14 of the 18 commissioners, and (b) it has been packed by leaders of
both parties with individual commis- sioners whose initially stated views seem at first blush to be irreconcilable.
The outlook For commissioners, the Obama ad- ministration, and legislators of both parties, this problem is a politi- cal nightmare. There are practical reasons why politicians and past commissions haven’t had much suc- cess in substantively addressing the nation’s fiscal mess — because lots of people stand to get hurt by what- ever action is taken. On one hand, this will be painted as a battle between generations, pit- ting protection of Medicare, Social Security, and other benefits against placing an unbearable tax burden on future generations.
MOAA rejects this perspective.
MOAA members have grandpar- ents, parents, children, and grand- children and don’t want to see disproportional penalties placed on any population segment. Successfully addressing the com- ing challenge will require level heads, honest assessments, and shared sacrifice by all segments of the American people. Whether the commission’s mem-
bers can agree on recommendations or not, we can expect its work to gen- erate multiple individual legislative initiatives, starting as early as 2011. MOAA will work hard to ensure national leaders appropriately rec- ognize the unique and extraordinary sacrifices already rendered by the career military and veteran popula- tion. But it’s very unlikely our groups will escape entirely unscathed in ad- dressing this very real national crisis. Looking at today’s situation objec-
tively, a long string of legislative suc- cesses, such as TRICARE For Life, improved pay, VA funding, and com- pensation for hundreds of thousands of disabled
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