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Big deal.


There’s every expectation the Republican House and the Democratic Senate will pass resolutions by that date. But the new law doesn’t require their respective resolutions to be the same and doesn’t require them to reach a compromise for legislators to get paid.


In the process of passage, the Senate voted 53-45 to reject Sen. Patrick Toomey’s (R-Pa.) amendment that would have put first priority on paying interest on the national debt, Social Security payments, and military troops’ pay in the event the government hits the federal debt ceiling.


MOAA understands everybody loses if the government can’t pay its bills or if the government shuts down.


But we’re weary of Congress’ repeated brinksmanship tactics that seem geared toward forcing action by threatening the livelihood of servicemembers and their families who already have been forced to sacrifice beyond any reasonable limits.


Federal civilians will get furloughed (more than the one-day-a-week sequester furlough) if politicians can’t figure out how to keep the country running.


But in the troops’ case, Congress won’t just refuse to pay them. They’ll keep sending them into harm’s way for nothing.


 


 


Bills of Interest
Proposed legislation addresses key inequities.
The House and Senate introduced in February several new bills of importance to the military community*. These recently introduced bills include:


H.R. 543 — Blue Water Vietnam Veterans Act. Rep. Chris Gibson’s (R-N.Y.) bill would authorize presumptive service connection for “blue water” Navy Vietnam veterans on disability claims for health conditions associated with exposure to Agent Orange for ships that sailed within a specific distance from Vietnam.


S. 210 — Stolen Valor Act. Sen. Dean Heller’s (R-Nev.) bill would make it a crime for a person to profit by misrepresenting his or her military service or eligibility for military awards or decorations.


S. 234 — The Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2013. Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) bill would authorize the full concurrent receipt of retired pay and veterans’ disability compensation for military retirees, regardless of disability rating, including servicemembers with Chapter 61 medical retirements.


S. 240 — Reserve Retirement Deployment Credit Correction Act. Sens. Jon Tester’s (D-Mont.) and Saxby Chambliss’ (R-Ga.) bill would ease the current requirement that any 90-day period of active service creditable toward early reserve retirement eligibility must be completed within the same fiscal year.


S. 294 and H.R. 671 – The Ruth Moore Act of 2013. Tester’s and Rep. Chellie Pingree’s (D-Maine) respective bills would ease unfair impediments that now inappropriately deter award of veterans’ disability benefits for many victims of military sexual trauma.


You can send your legislators a MOAA-suggested message on these bills and more from MOAA’s Key Bills page (www.moaa.org/keybills).
MO


— Contributors are Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF (Ret), direc tor; Col. Mike Hayden, USAF (Ret); Col. Bob Norton, USA (Ret); Cmdr. René Campos, USN (Ret); Capt. Kathy Beasley, USN (Ret); Col. Phil Odom, USAF (Ret); Karen Golden; Matt Murphy; and Jamie Naughton, MOAA’s Government Relations Department. To subscribe to MOAA’s Legislative Update, visit www.moaa.org/email.


 


*online: Visit www.moaa.org/keybills to find other current legislation.


38 MILITARY OFFICER APRIL 2013

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