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OAA council and chapter presidents from all 50 states, accompanied by members of the national board of directors and headquarters staff, plus members of MOAA’s Currently Serving Advisory Council, Currently Serving Spouse Advisory Council, and Surviving Spouses Advisory Committee, swarmed Capitol Hill April 15 to visit nearly all 535 representatives and senators in support of key legislative priorities.  This year, Storming the Hill participants met with their legislators to focus on: eliminating harmful sequestration budget cuts established by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011; sustaining military pay and benefits; and rejecting disproportional TRICARE fee hikes and plan changes. In addition, Hill-stormers provided to their legislators informational packets regard- ing MOAA’s position on the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission’s 15 recom- mendations and the inequities affecting guardmembers and reservists, disabled retirees, and survivors.

Participants in MOAA’s 2015 Storming the Hill event include (pictured from left to right in each photo): 1. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.); Col. Richard Smith, USAF (Ret), Illinois Council of Chapters (CoC); 2. Anne Hartline; Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.); Lt. Col. Charles Marvin, USA (Ret), Alabama CoC; 3. Lt. Col. Marc Oliveri, USAR (Ret), Florida CoC; Rep. Rich Nugent (R-Fla.); Jenine Oliveri; Gen. Charles T. Robertson, USAF (Ret), MOAA board of directors (BoD) chair; 4. Spencer Brooks, MOAA staff; Rep. William Keating (D-Mass.); Maj. Paul Cancelliere, USA (Ret), Massachusetts CoC;

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2 36 MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2015

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