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LEGISLATIVE NEWS THAT AFFECTS YOU Defense Bill Deal

A compromise between the House and Senate isn’t perfect, but it significantly lessens the negative impact of administration- proposed cuts to military compensation and people programs.

O

n Dec. 19, 2014, President Barack Obama signed into law the FY 2015 Defense Authoriza-

tion Act. The Senate passed the bill by an 89-11 vote Dec. 12, and the House approved the bill a week earlier on a 300-119 vote.

The legislation authorizes $577.1 bil- lion in spending for national defense, including $63.7 billion for overseas contingency operations. The most divisive issues of the defense bill centered on whether to increase ser- vicemembers’ out-of-pocket housing ex- penses and increase TRICARE pharmacy copayments. The Senate pushed to include many of the administration’s proposals while the House resisted. In the end, the House and Senate agreed to implement a portion of these cuts. Here’s how the final bill addressed

key issues: Military pay raise: The compromise omitted a critical provision that would have guaranteed servicemembers a 1.8-percent pay raise in accordance with private-sector wage growth. Without that protection, the president’s executive au- thority, transmitted to Congress in August, set the 2015 military pay raise at 1 percent. This is the second consecutive year of capped active duty pay. Basic allowance for housing (BAH):

Instead of a proposed 5-percent decrease in servicemembers’ housing allowance over three years, the final bill includes a

1-percent decrease in FY 2015 with no fur- ther decrease in future years. TRICARE: The bill rejects administra-

tion proposals to consolidate TRICARE Prime and Standard and implement a means-tested TRICARE For Life (TFL) enrollment fee. It expands the mandatory mail-order requirement for maintenance medications to all TRICARE beneficiaries beginning Oct. 1, 2015. TFL beneficiaries al- ready must use TRICARE Pharmacy Home Delivery or a military treatment facility to refill maintenance medications. TRICARE prescription fees: Pharmacy

copayments will see a one-time, $3 increase for many retail and mail-order prescrip- tions instead of the Pentagon’s proposal that would have doubled or tripled current rates over 10 years. Negotiators were able to keep

Retail (one- month supply)

Generic Brand

Non-formulary

Retail (three- month supply)

Generic Brand

Non-formulary

Pharmacy Rates Current $5

$5 $17 $44 Current $0

$13 $43

$26 N/A

Administration’s FY 2015 proposal

$0

$26 $51

Mail Your Letters Sign, stamp, and mail the tear-out letters between pages 38-39 urging congressional leaders not to devalue the premiums of service and sacrifice already paid by career service- members and those grievously injured.

Administration’s FY 2015 proposal

FY 2015 defense bill

$8

$20 $47

FY 2015 defense bill

$0 $16 $46

FEBRUARY 2015 MILITARY OFFICER 31