#KeepYourPromise
Those of us working on keeping benefits intact for military families are wondering if our recent meme may have forced Chuck Hagel to resign. After all, it addresses some of the major issues that the
New York Times suggests were problematic- like ISIS and Ebola.
What doesn't get talked about in the NY Times article is Chuck Hagel's role in cutting benefits to military families. The Senate Armed Services committee left for Thanksgiving Break without finishing up the defense budget for 2015 because, rumor has it, they can't decide what do about certain cuts to earned benefits for the military community, cuts backed by the Secretary of Defense.
The cuts currently on the table with the fixes proposed by certain Senators:
- Cuts to the Cost of Living Raise. It should be 1.8% for this year and the President and the Department of Defense want to cut that by .8%. That would not only hurt military families for the upcoming year but for those working towards retirement, it would affect their future retirement as well since that earned benefit is determined by active duty salary.
The Fix - Sen. Marco Rubio's amendment (#3906) to sustain the 1.8 percent active duty pay raise established in law.
- Cuts to the Basic Allowance for Housing of 5%. For your average enlisted family, housing is 30% of their salary and even a small cut makes a huge dent in the family check. For more on this issue, read a piece from last year when this cut was first proposed. -
The Fix - Sen. Mark Begich's amendment (#3714) to block cuts to the Basic Allowance for Housing.
- Raise the Pharmacy co-pay to TRICARE. TRICARE is the health insurance for all military families. Although many families receive "free" health insurance (it is another earned benefit for service to the country), there are fees that can and do apply to all families. Those who do not receive their medications through a military facility pay a co-pay to get them from civilian pharmacies. This raise in co-pay is yet another way to place a higher burden on military families rather than on the Department of Defense.
The Fix - Sen. Kay Hagan's amendment (#3789) to block proposed TRICARE pharmacy copay increases.
We hope that any new incoming Secretary of Defense stands with military families and reminds the Department of Defense that there are several places to cut the budget without making military families pay more out of their pockets for the defense of our nation. Maybe Congress could actually turn to American Corporations and ask them to help pay for two wars. After all, that might work better than asking the American People to go shopping.
If you would like to contact your Senators about the proposed amendments, the Military Officer Association of America offers this easy to use editable message - http://capwiz.com/...
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