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term absences from the civilian workplace can only limit these servicemembers’ upward mobility and employability, as well as personal financial security. MOAA supports enactment of a comprehensive reserve retirement scheme based on an age-and-service (including operational service) formula.

Compensation comparability Over the past 12 years, Congress has made great progress toward restoring full mili- tary pay comparability with that of the private sector. For most of the 1980s and ’90s, the executive and legislative branch- es capped military pay raises below those of the private sector. As a result, the pay gap grew as large as 13.5 percent, causing a retention and readiness crisis. Subse- quently, executive and legislative branch leaders worked to improve military pay. In 2014, the administration proposed capping military pay at 1 percent, 0.8 per- centage points below private-sector pay growth — the second year of pay caps and proposed pay raises below private-sector pay growth for six consecutive years. History shows pay caps continue until they negatively affect readiness. MOAA strongly objects to further planned pay caps. The unwise pay-cap process gener- ated retention crises in the 1970s and ’90s. Sustaining pay comparability is essential to long-term retention and readiness.

Family support Preserve funding for family support; mo- rale, welfare, and recreation; exchange; commissary; and other critical support services and quality-of-life programs. Im- prove and enhance access to affordable quality child care. MOAA recognizes the significance of continued crucial support of military family members on the home front bearing the brunt of over a decade at war. MOAA will work with Congress, DoD, and

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others in ensuring necessary family sup- port and quality-of-life services across all components, installations, and communi- ties. Military families with a special-needs member face additional stressors. More must be done to enhance support services and health care for these families.

Operational Guard and Reserve Multiple deployments of the Guard and Reserve bring significant strains on their employers and families. MOAA sup- ports restoration of tax incentives to help employers sustain business operations during call-ups. MOAA believes new DoD-employer partnership initiatives — such as authority for employer payment of employees’ TRICARE Reserve Select premiums in lieu of other employer- provided coverage — will be essential sustaining employers’ willingness to hire and retain drilling members of the Guard and Reserve. Ensure robust financial, legal, and reemployment protections for activated servicemembers.

PCS reimbursements Continue pursuing PCS reimbursement increases to offset expenses servicemem- bers incur in complying with government- ordered relocations. PCS mileage rates are dramatically lower than temporary duty rates, and servicemembers are denied funded house-hunting trips authorized for federal employees. Families require au- thority to ship a second vehicle overseas. More must be done to recognize it’s the government’s responsibility, not the ser- vicemember’s, to pay the cost of military- directed moves.

Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits Sustain the Post-9/11 GI Bill program to support the readjustment of hundreds of thousands of new veterans as the armed