washingtonscene
• an increase in the annual maximum benefit from $1,200 to $1,300; • an increase in the lifetime orthodontic maximum from $1,500 to $1,750; • coverage of posterior resin (white) fillings; • additional $1,200 maximum a year for services related to accidents/injuries; • no cost shares for some periodontal services for diabetics; • coverage of an additional cleaning for women during pregnancy; and • first-year premiums below current rates. These changes will not affect retirees
enrolled in the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program administered by Delta Dental.
112th Congress H
Timeline Important dates are outlined for 2011.
ere’s an estimate of when im- portant actions will occur in the first year of the 112th Congress:
Feb. 14: The president will submit his annual budget proposals to Congress. On this date, we’ll find out what the Penta- gon will propose for military manpower levels, the 2012 pay raise, TRICARE fee levels, and more. Late March: Six weeks after the presi- dent delivers his budget to Congress, congressional committees are required to submit their “views and estimates” of spending and revenues within their respective jurisdictions to the House and Senate Budget committees. April: The House and Senate Budget committees draft and mark up the con- current resolution on the budget, which sets spending limits for the year. April 15 is the deadline for completion of action on the budget resolution (though parti- san and fiscal differences have precluded
36 MILITARY OFFICER MARCH 2011
approval of a formal budget resolution in recent years, and that might prove true again in 2011.) May: The House and Senate Armed Services committees likely begin work on the FY 2012 Defense Authorization Bill, including any changes that might be imposed by budget resolution spend- ing limits. May-July: The full House and Senate pass their respective versions of the defense bill. July-October: House and Senate nego-
tiators resolve differences between their respective versions. October-December: The final Defense
Authorization Bill is passed by the House and Senate and becomes law.
New Rules, R
Same Problems House protocol could worsen budget gridlock.
epublicans in control of the House and Democrats in con- trol of the Senate have approved
dramatically different budget rules for the 112th Congress that would appear to make it difficult for them to reach agreements on almost any major budget changes without major compromises by one or the other or both. The most important change in the
House was to replace the “pay-as-you- go” (PAYGO) spending rule with the “cut-as-you-go” (cut-go) policy. Under the PAYGO rule still used by the Senate, any increases in so-called “entitlement” spending must be offset either by cuts in other entitlement spending programs or increases in revenue. Entitlement spending (also known as mandatory spending) involves any
*online: View MOAA’s legislative alerts at
http://capwiz.com/moaa/home.
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