washingtonscene
Sen. Patty Murray
(D-Wash.)
Rep. Jeb Hensarling
(R-Texas)
The letters expressed concern that many seem to view military personnel and benefit programs as mere sources for budget sav- ings, without regard to their importance as the primary pillars that sustain the career military force. MOAA urged the Armed Ser- vices committees, as Congress’ “institution- al memory” on those issues, to emphasize to the super committee that: • significant force cuts or military pay- raise caps send the wrong message to the 1 percent of Americans who’ve borne 100 percent of our national wartime sacrifice for the past decade; • the military retirement/health care package was built to induce top-quality people to serve a career in uniform, de- spite extraordinary demands and sacri- fices that few civilians will accept for one term of service, much less 20 or 30 years of service. Absent those strong incentives, the career force likely would have broken under recent wartime stresses; • retirement reform proposals overlook the terrible results of the 1986 REDUX re- tirement cuts, which had to be repealed in the 1990s when they undermined career retention. Recent proposals envision far more severe cuts; • the military health care package must be among the best available, not merely a median-type benefit provided American workers. “Civilianizing” military benefits undercuts incentives to complete an ardu- ous military career; • converting the military retirement sys- tem to a civilian-style 401(k) plan, with retired pay delayed until age 57 or 60, ig- nores that the military services don’t want to keep most servicemembers that long. Extended, arduous service and deferred retired-pay eligibility would destroy any incentive for career service, especially among the enlisted force; and • the government places no limits on the sacrifices that may be demanded from
those who serve a career in uniform. That imposes a reciprocal obligation on the government to provide a substantial and predictable compensation and retirement package consistent with the extraordinary nature of the service. MOAA has provided its own input to the super committee along the same lines.
Super Committee
Convenes Little new information comes from initial hearings.
T
he Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction held its first organizational meeting Sept. 8. See
“What’s the Plan,” page 32, for a summary of the super committee’s extraordinary tasking to find $1.2 trillion in budget sav- ings before Thanksgiving and what hap- pens if it fails to do that. The committee’s two cochairs, Sen. Patty
Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), said most panel meetings will be closed to the public. The committee began formal hearings
Sept. 13, with testimony by CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf. Elmendorf testified that “putting the
federal budget on a sustainable path will require significant changes in spending policies, tax policies, or both. The task of addressing those formidable challenges is complicated by the weakness of the economy … changes that might be made to federal spending or tax policies could have a substantial impact on the pace of eco- nomic recovery during the next few years as well as the nation’s output and people’s income over the longer term.” On Sept. 22, the committee held a hear- ing on options to reform the income tax code. Economist Dr. Thomas Barthold, chief
*online: To stay informed on the super committee’s proceedings, go to
http://deficitreduction.senate.gov/public. 34 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2011
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