washingtonscene
For the VA, the administration propos- es a base budget of $132 billion, including $62 billion to cover medical care, research, cemetery, general administration, technol- ogy, and construction costs and $70 billion for disability, survivors, and educational claims. That represents a 10.6 percent in- crease over the FY 2010 budget.
Bills of Interest Important legislation gets
MOAA’s endorsement. T
he following newly introduced bills have MOAA’s endorsement. • S. Res. 17 (Sen. Daniel Inouye,
D-Hawaii) would designate November 2011 as “National Military Family Month.” • S. 146 (Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.) would provide a $2,400 tax credit to em- ployers who hire a veteran who has served more than 180 days of active service in the past five years. • S. 260 (Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.) would repeal the deduction of VA survivor ben- efits from Survivor Benefit Plan annuities. • S. 344 (Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.) would authorize full concurrent receipt of retired pay and veterans’ disability compensation for all disabled military retirees. • H.R. 237 (Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.) would let DoD expand the period of eli- gibility for the Homeowners Assistance Program for members of the armed forces reassigned during the mortgage crisis. • H.R. 493 (Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C.) would authorize full concurrent receipt of retired pay and veterans’ disability com- pensation for all disabled military retirees. • H.R. 687 (Rep. John Carter, R-Texas) would offer employers a tax credit for hiring spouses of members of the armed forces on extended active duty for more than 90 days.
Hill Champions
Push FSAs Bipartisan legislation is introduced.
S
en. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D- Calif.) held a press conference
Feb. 17 to announce their introduction of companion bills in the Senate and House that would direct the Pentagon to imple- ment flexible spending accounts (FSAs) for servicemembers and their families. FSAs let participants put aside pretax dollars to cover out-of-pocket expenses for dependent care and medical needs. They can greatly lower the cost of such care by saving their users hundreds of dol- lars a year or more. Boxer and Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.)
have jointly introduced S. 387 in the Sen- ate. Sanchez and Reps. Virginia Foxx
MOAA President Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., left, spoke at a press conference in February held by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), right, and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) to announce legislation to implement flexible spending accounts for servicemem- bers and their families.
(R-N.C.) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R- Wash.) have joined to introduce an identi- cal bill, H.R. 791, in the House. The federal government has authority to implement FSAs and has done so for all federal civilian employees. But
*fact: Flexible spending accounts can reduce eligible out-of-pocket expenses by 20 percent to 40 percent. PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT
APRIL 2011 MILITARY OFFICER 33
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104