May 2010 Navy
by CAPT Ike Puzon, USN (Ret)
AUSN attempts to provide you updates on Congressional Bills that address issues that are important to our members and friends. This is not a complete list. We will be tracking these to support the legislative goals of AUSN. Some of these may be provided just for your interest. The Library of Congress maintains free online information that anyone can use to track a bill. We encourage our readers to check this service http://thomas.loc.gov to see where the bill is in the legislative process. You can also go to specific Congressional committees’ Web sites to view legislation and hearings; www.house.gov and www. senate.gov. Feel free to contact me if you need assistance; ike.puzon@ausn.org.
The following bill, H.R. 4887, was introduced by Congressman Ike Skelton (D-MO-4) and was passed by the House – 403-0. This bill explicitly protects TRICARE in the new National Health Care coverage. The bill is in the Senate at this time; and Senator Webb introduced a companion bill – S. 3148.
H.R. 4887 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to ensure that health coverage provided by the Department of Defense is treated as minimal essential coverage.
Sponsor: Rep. Ike Skelton [D-MO-4] (introduced 3/19/2010) Cosponsors (20)
Status: Received in the Senate and read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
S. 3148 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the treatment of Department of Defense health coverage as minimal essential coverage.
Sponsor: Sen. Jim Webb [D-VA] (introduced 3/22/2010) Cosponsors (65)
Latest Major Action: 3/22/2010 Referred to Senate committee.
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
The following bill was introduced by Congressman Martin Heinrich, (RNM- 1) to extend TRICARE coverage to certain dependents under the age of 26 as it applies in National Health Care Reform.
H.R. 4923 – To extend TRICARE coverage to certain dependents under the age of 26.
Sponsor: Rep. Martin Heinrich [D-NM-1] (introduced 3/24/2010) Cosponsors (12).
Latest Major Action: 3/24/2010 Referred to House committee.
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
H.R. 296 – To revise the process by which a member of the Armed Forces is retired for disability and becomes eligible for retirement pay.
Sponsor: Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN-4).
H.R. 593 – Expand the authorized concurrent receipt of disability severance pay from the Department of Defense and compensation for the same disability under any law administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs to cover all veterans who have a combatrelated disability.
Sponsor: Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA-9).
Our number one legislative goal at this time is the retroactive application of the new Reserve Retirement policy passed in 2008 to those Reserve Component members activated since 11 Sep 2001. Senator Saxby Chambliss has stated recently that this is one of his top priorities in the Senate. The Senate has passed this legislation in the last two sessions of Congress. The House is where we need your support.
H.R. 208, or its replacement, is the bill you need to get your Congressional delegation to support. H.R. 208 – Ensure that members of the Reserve Components of the Armed Forces who have served on active duty or performed active service since 11 Sep 2001, in support of a contingency operation or in other emergency situations, receive credit for such service in determining eligibility for early receipt of non-regular service retired pay, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Joe Wilson [R-SC-2] (introduced 1/6/2009) Cosponsors (127).
Latest Major Action: 1/30/2009 Referred to House subcommittee.
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Along with our many colleagues in other associations, we are strongly supporting a 0.5% increase in pay raise above the President’s request. We hope you will contact your Congressional delegation in support of this pay raise increase.
H.R. 4227 – Provide a pay increase of 1.9 percent for members of the uniformed services for the fiscal year 2011.
Sponsor: Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC-2) Cosponsors (15).
Other bills of interest to support:
H.R. 303 – Permit additional retired members of the Armed Forces who have a service-connected disability to receive both disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs for their disability and either retired pay by reason of their years of military service or Combat-Related Special Compensation, and to eliminate the phase-in period under current law with respect to such concurrent receipt.
Sponsor: Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-9) Cosponsors (122).
H.R. 333 – Permit retired members of the Armed Forces who have a serviceconnected disability rated less than 50 percent to receive concurrent payment of both retired pay and veterans’ disability compensation, to eliminate the phase-in period for concurrent receipt, to extend eligibility for concurrent receipt to chapter 61 disability retirees with less than 20 years of service, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Jim Marshall (D-GA- 8) Cosponsors (124).
H.R. 1695 – Reduce the minimum age for receipt of military retired pay for non-regular service from 60 to 55.
Sponsor: Rep. Frank Lobiondo (RNJ- 2) Cosponsors (48).
H.R. 4857 – To allow amounts to be transferred from a qualified tuition program to the Thrift Savings Plan for the benefit of any individual who is eligible to participate in such Plan by virtue of being a member of the uniformed services or of the Ready Reserve, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Paul Hodes [DNH- 2] (introduced 3/16/2010) Cossponsors (None).
Latest Major Action: Status: Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and, in addition, to the Committee on Ways and Means for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
H.R. 4859 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow the work opportunity credit to small business which hire individuals who are members of the Ready Reserve or National Guard.
Sponsor: Rep. Lynn Jenkins [R-KS-2] (introduced 3/16/2010) Cosponsors (22). Latest Major Action: Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
H.R. 667 – Improve the diagnosis and treatment of TBI in members and former members of the Armed Services; to review and expand telehealth and telemental health programs of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sponsor: Rep. John Salazar (D-CO-3) Cosponsors (43).
We strongly encourage you to support this bill, H.R. 4947, that corrects the inequities of doing active duty across different fiscal years by Reserve Components. This bill protects losing days when your active duty is completed in two different fiscal years.
H.H. 4797 – To amend Title 10, United States Code, to eliminate the perfiscal year calculation of days of certain active duty or active service used to reduce the minimum age at which a member of a Reserve Component of the uniformed services may retire for non-regular service.
Sponsor: Rep. Tom Latham [R-IA-4] (introduced 3/25/2010) Cosponsors (1). Latest Major Action: Status: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
As you know, the bill below, H.R. 270, was passed by the 1st Session of the 111th Congress. We have been pushing on DoD and TRICARE Management Agency to implement this program for gray area retirees. At this writing, we have no solid word from DoD on this implementation other than they expect full implementation by 1 Oct. 2010. We have teamed up with the original House sponsors to write letters to DoD to provide full disclosure of when the program will be implemented and how much it will cost. Watch for a legislative alert on this program in order to get full information on implementation.
H.R. 270 – To amend Title 10, United States Code, to provide for continuity of TRICARE Standard coverage for certain members of the Retired Reserve.
Sponsor: Rep Robert Latta [R-OH-5] (introduced 1/7/2009) Cosponsors (71). Companion bill: S. 731
Sponsor: Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).
We greatly appreciate all those that responded to the recent “protect” TRICARE campaign. Thousands of you responded and assisted in bringing about H.R. 4887. It was and is the right thing to do to ensure that TRICARE is explicitly protected. Some Congressional members have stated their support because it was a technical issue, but the vote in the House 403-0 shows the support for making sure TRICARE is explicitly protected. The Senate will consider this bill when it returns from recess. Please watch our Web site and capwiz legislative alerts for bills to express your opinion to Congress, and to send e-mails or letters to your delegation in support, www.ausn.org. If you need assistance or have a question, please send an e-mail to ike.puzon@ausn.org.