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Holding Steady The Consumer Price In- dex remained at 1.4-per- cent below the FY 2014 baseline in the month of February. Because there was not a positive COLA in FY 2015, the FY 2014 baseline is used. Follow the trends at
www.moaa .org/cola.
issues. Topics at the hearing ranged from single-sailor housing to suicide prevention and spouse employment. Other prominent topics included ero- sion of compensation benefits, such as pay raises and housing allowances, cer- tification and licensure for transitioning servicemembers, the new retirement sys- tem, and health care. Of particular concern was the erosion
of pay and benefits over past and forth- coming years. “Fiscal conservation is our duty as leaders in public service, but it’s hard to explain program and compensa- tion cuts to a young soldier and his or her family,” said Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey. “Whether actual or per- ceived, these things affect how they view our decisions.”
The other advisors on the panel echoed the sentiment: The mere discus- sion of cuts shakes the morale of the force and their trust in leadership. This is the second year of a five-year
plan to reduce housing allowances, and the FY 2017 budget proposes capping the military pay raise below the average American’s for the fourth year in a row. Discussions over commissary and health care reforms could increase other cur- rent and future out-of-pocket expenses. Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force
James A. Cody said, “If the Budget Control Act is not repealed and current trends continue, our projections show that compensation for an average E-5 with dependents stationed in or near [sic] Washington, D.C., will fall behind private-sector pay in 2018 and behind in- creases in household expenses in 2021.” All witnesses echoed his concerns. Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Ronald
L. Green voiced worry over upcom- ing changes to the retirement plan and the ability of Marines to make the right choice when the plan becomes active
34 MILITARY OFFICER MAY 2016
Jan. 1, 2018. “Most of them will have a choice, either one system or the other. … We’re pedaling away trying to get that information out there, but it’s very im- portant … and that ship will take a long time to turn if we get it wrong,” he said. Witnesses also discussed health care
reform, acknowledging while care in military treatment facilities is good, ac- cess can be difficult for families. Previous surveys by MOAA about beneficiary ac- cess say the same thing.
As the subcommittee has jurisdiction for military and veteran appropriations, subcommittee Chair Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) and Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) em- phasized a need for better DoD and VA integration in health care delivery. Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Mike D. Stevens touched on the risks in health care reform. He said, “It’s impor- tant that as we … look at ways to save monies and reduce costs of military med- icine that we don’t overreach and start counting too much on the civilian sector, both inside the States and really outside the States … because it can impact readi- ness without really knowing about it until it’s too late.”
VA Reforms MOAA outlines veteran priorities.
C
mdr. René Campos, USN (Ret), a MOAA deputy direc- tor of Government Relations,
presented MOAA’s veterans’ health care and benefits priorities March 16 before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees. The hearing comes on the heels of a letter sent to the committees’ leadership from several veterans’ organizations, including MOAA, urging lawmakers to work together in a bicameral, bipartisan
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