Legislative Update - Senate Armed Services Committee Completes Work on FY 09 NDAA

FY 09 SASC - National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) highlights

Senate Armed Service Committee completed its Mark-Up of FY 09 National Defense Authorization Act; a brief summary follows; A detail summary of the bill is available at http://armed-services.senate.gov/press.htm.

Markup Highlights

• Authorizes a 3.9 percent across-the-board pay raise, 0.5 percent above the budget request;
• Authorizes $26.1 billion for the Defense Health Program, which includes the $1.2 billion necessary to cover the rejection of the Administration proposal to raise TRICARE fees;
• Authorizes $125 billion for military personnel, including costs of pay, allowances, bonuses, death benefits, and permanent change of station moves;
• Requires the Secretary of Defense to develop a comprehensive policy to prevent suicides by military personnel;
• Requires the Secretary of Defense to review DOD and military service policies on deferment of deployment of female service members following birth of a child; and
• Requires the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to continue the operations of the Senior Oversight Committee to oversee implementation of Wounded Warrior initiatives.

Some Navy Specifics

• Adds $63 million for Navy aircraft depot maintenance to keep naval aviation safe and ready for worldwide deployment;
• Fully funds 8 ships requested in the President’s budget request;
• P-3 aircraft modifications – Provides $160 million to fund P-3 aircraft structural improvements to fix service life problems with these aircraft ($548 million for this effort is the number one Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Unfunded Priorities List item).
• Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) – Reduces by $123 million the FY2009 budget request to reflect resources derived from cancelled contracts in ship prices. This leaves enough money in Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy to fund the two ships in the Navy’s budget request.
• Ship Maintenance and Materiel Condition – Requests a comprehensive report on fleet materiel condition in response to failures of two major surface combatants to pass inspection and be deemed fit for service.

To promote the transformation of the armed forces to deal with the threats of the 21st Century

• Requires the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, to develop a strategic plan to enhance the role of the National Guard and Reserves, taking into account the report of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves and the recently introduced National Guard Empowerment Act and State-National Defense Integration Act of 2008;
• Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to designate up to 324 general and flag officer positions that are joint duty positions that do not count against Service authorizations for flag and general officers. Establishes objectives for flag and general officers serving in acquisition and contracting positions – addressing shortcomings identified by the Gansler Commission;

Military Pay and Compensation Highlights

• Authorizes a 3.9 percent across-the-board pay raise, 0.5 percent above the budget request.
• Authorizes $125 billion for military personnel, including costs of pay, allowances, bonuses, death benefits, and permanent change of station moves.
• Reauthorizes over 25 types of bonuses and special pays aimed at encouraging enlistment, reenlistment, and continued service by active-duty and reserve military personnel.
• Authorizes accession bonus and multi-year retention bonus for uniformed psychologists. Maximum accession bonus is $400,000 for a minimum four-year commitment, and the maximum retention bonus is $25,000 per year for up to four years.
• Authorizes increase in the stipend for baccalaureate students in nursing or other health professions to match the stipend paid under the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program.
• Authorizes pilot programs that allow secretaries of military departments to evaluate the need for more flexibility in career progression of service members by allowing a limited number of service members to leave active service for up to three years, and return at the same grade and years of service.
• Authorizes travel and transportation allowances for reserve component service members on active duty for more than 30 days to travel between their temporary duty station and their permanent duty station when training at the temporary duty station is suspended for 5 days or more.
• Requires DOD to report on eligibility of family members of service members who suffer from serious psychiatric conditions for travel and transportation allowances under section 411h of Title 37, United States Code.

Military Personnel Policy – Highlights

• Modifies joint duty authorities, including an alignment of joint duty assignment lengths with the joint qualification system implemented in the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for FY2007, and a clarification of joint duty requirements for promotion to general or flag officer.
• Authorizes a regular warrant officer of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard to retire 60 days after the date on which the officer completes a total of 30 years of active service.
• Authorizes reserve general and flag officers to serve in joint duty assignments without counting against limit on the numbers of reserve general and flag officers in an active status.
• Requires the Secretary of Defense to provide a report on the implementation of Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program for National Guard and Reserve personnel.
• Authorizes promotion of National Guard and reserve officers selected for a vacancy promotion and who are ordered to active duty in support of a contingency operation.
• Authorizes reserve officers to serve on administrative boards of inquiry considering separation of regular officers for substandard duty performance.
• Authorizes reserve component chaplains and medical officers to be retained in an active status until the date the officer turns 68.
• Increases the mandatory retirement age from age 60 to age 62 for certain reserve component officers.
• Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to carry out programs to provide training and education to spouses of active-duty service members who are pursuing portable careers.
• Requires the Secretary of Defense to develop a comprehensive policy designed to prevent suicides by members of the armed forces.
• Requires the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, to develop a strategic plan to enhance the role of the National Guard and Reserves, taking into account the report of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves and the recently-introduced National Guard Empowerment Act and State-National Defense Integration Act of 2008.
• Authorizes up to 21 days of paternity leave under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.

Health Care Highlights

• Authorizes $26.1 billion for the Defense Health Program, which includes the $1.2 billion necessary to cover the rejection of the Administration proposal to raise TRICARE fees.
• Repeals the prohibition on conversion of military medical and dental positions to civilian medical and dental positions and restores the requirement that service secretaries must certify that military to civilian conversions do not affect the cost, quality, or access to military health care.
• Requires the Secretary of Defense to calculate the amount of monthly premiums paid by members of the Selected Reserve for health care coverage under the TRICARE Reserve Select program based on actual costs of the preceding years.
• Requires the secretary of each military department to provide annual medical and dental exams and restorative care to certain reserve component individuals and units to ensure medical and dental readiness for deployment; clarifies funding for medical and dental care to meet readiness standards for members of the Ready Reserve who have been notified that they will be mobilized; and authorizes the Secretary of Defense to waive copayments for members of the Selected Reserve enrolled in the TRICARE dental insurance program during a time of national emergency in order to ensure members of deploying units meet dental readiness standards.
• Authorizes additional health care studies and demonstrations, including projects which provide incentives for health promotion, rewards to high quality health care providers, improved medical and dental readiness of the reserves, and provision of a stipend for family members of mobilized reservists to maintain their private health care insurance.
• Requires a Comptroller General study on the active and reserve medical personnel requirements, shortfalls, and actions needed to resolve medical personnel shortages.

Unfortunately, the Senate Armed Services Committee did not pass S. 2836 provision introduced by Senator Chambliss, and sponsored by 14 other Senators, that would make reserve retirement retroactive to September 11, 2001. The early retirement benefit, passed last year, provides for a 90 day reduction from age 60 for every 90 days mobilized in support of contingency operations. We will work hard to get this provision passed by amendment when the NDAA reaches the Senate floor.