washingtonscene The Army needs to ensure spending on
House Passes VA Appeals Bill On Sept. 14, H.R. 5620 passed the House by a 310–116 vote. With this plan to manage the backlog of appeals to disability claims, a veteran could: • submit his or her own additional information to have the VA reconsider the claim; • request a review of the claim by a more senior VA rater using the same evidence the initial decision was made on, with an option for an infor- mal hearing; or • submit the appeal directly to the Board of Veterans’ Ap- peals, without the extra interim steps now required. MOAA hopes the Senate also will ap- prove the bill so vet- erans can get timely appeals decisions.
MWR programs — which supports base libraries, pools, child development centers, and other recreational services for soldiers and their families — is in sync with DoD goals for those funds, Fanning said. The decision to pause the cuts was made after a DoD official urged Army officials to brief him on the necessity of the move and the impact it would have on the military community, Military Times reported. Reconsidering the cuts was the right
move, says MOAA Vice President of Gov- ernment Relations Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF (Ret); services that benefit military families too often end up on the chopping block when budgets tighten. “These services were thought essential
in past years to make sure families were being properly supported in recognition of their sacrifices,” Strobridge says. “We’re glad the Defense Department recognizes the morale and messaging risks of cutting them without careful consideration and glad the Army will be taking a deeper dive into this decision going forward.” In As part of the review, Army leaders will look for ways to give commanders more au- thority to decide where they can scale back services. This is important, said Sgt. Maj. of the Army Dan Dailey, as each geographic lo- cation has different needs. Those stationed in austere locations have different needs from those in bustling urban areas. “We are in a situation where we’re
having reduced resources,” Dailey said. “It’s a fact. We have to be responsible with the resources that we have. I think we have to ask our families [to allow commanders] at each one of those spe- cific locations … to tune the programs they need for the geographic location they’re in.” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said the service needs to get this right so soldiers and their families are taken care of.
42 MILITARY OFFICER DECEMBER 2016 About 60 percent of the force is married
with two children, Milley said, and making sure families have the resources they de- serve is ultimately a readiness issue. It’s impossible for troops to “en- gage the enemies of our country” while deployed overseas, he said, if they’re worried about the quality of their kids’ schools, their families’ access to medical care, or housing problems. “If their family’s not being taken care of,
there’s a direct correlation to their ability for them to focus on their job, whether it’s training for combat or in the actual conduct of combat,” Milley said. “Everything we do looks … through the lens of readiness and how that contributes to the readiness of their force.”
Shutdown
Averted Congress leaves the federal government on idle.
O
n fourth down and 2 (days before shutdown), Congress punted the appropriations foot-
ball until Dec. 9. The continuing resolu- tion (CR) Hill and administration leaders finally approved kept the government operating past Sept. 30 and let legislators race home to campaign for re-election. Getting to the 70-day extension deal
wasn’t easy; Senate leaders wrangled the previous two weeks over inclusion of fund- ing for disaster aid and combating Zika. For most federal departments — in- cluding DoD — the CR capped spending at current levels for two months. That was frustrating, because it prevented any new program starts. It also means Congress must return for a lame-duck session after the election to
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