washingtonscene COLA Crawl
n Inflation inched up 0.2 percent in April. It’s going to have to climb faster than that over the next five months for retirees to see much, if any, of a COLA for 2011.
health care providers. It also will give the VA secretary greater discretion in de- termining compensation for health care workers and executives so the VA can compete with private employers. MOAA looks forward to timely imple- mentation to help caregivers and return- ing veterans get the care they deserve.
Debt Commission
Meets Everything is on the table.
T
he National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Re- form met for the first time April
27 at the White House. President Obama opened the meeting by saying, “Every- thing has to be on the table” when consid- ering options to reduce the nation’s debt. “This is going to require people of both parties to come together and take a hard look at the growing gap between what the government spends and what the govern- ment raises in revenue,” Obama said. Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke’s
projection of an unsustainable deficit path was reinforced by OMB Director Peter Orszag, who said continuing large deficits into the future will cause potentially di- sastrous spikes in interest rates and infla- tion. The commission also heard from Rudy Penner and Robert Reischauer, former di- rectors of the CBO. All four emphasized spending cuts and
new revenue measures must be pursued — that neither, by itself, would suffice to ad- dress the need. The commission will break into three
working groups and give final recommen- dations in December. MOAA will monitor the commission’s deliberations and report any updates.
3 4 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R J U LY 2 0 1 0 Panel Considers
Veterans’ Bills GI Bill training coverage is proposed.
O
n May 19, VA witnesses and vet- erans’ groups testified before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Commit-
tee concerning a wide range of veterans’ benefits legislation. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) introduced
the Veteran Employment Assistance Act (S. 3234), which would authorize job-train- ing and apprenticeship-program benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. S. 3234 also would help veterans start
their own businesses, assess best prac- tices in Guard and Reserve transition programs, create veterans’ grants for state-based conservation projects, and create pilot veteran-employment pro- grams in health and technology fields. The Hon. Ray Jefferson, a disabled
veteran and current assistant secretary of labor for Veterans’ Employment and Train- ing, endorsed the legislation on behalf of the administration. Other bills of interest included:
n S. 3107, introduced by committee Chair Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), would au- thorize an annual COLA to veterans’ and survivors’ compensation. n S. 1780, introduced by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), would authorize vet- eran status for guardmembers and re- servists who completed careers but never were called up. n S. 1939, introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), would extend Navy vet- erans who served off the Vietnam coast the same service-connected presumption that “in-country” Navy veterans receive for dis- eases linked to Agent Orange exposure. n S. 3355, introduced by Sen. Amy Klobu- char (D-Minn.), would establish a one-stop
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