This Week In Congress: Final NDAA Compromise Expected To Be Unveiled
House leaders are expected to bring a compromise version of the annual defense authorization bill to the floor this week, but details of what the massive military policy legislation will include still haven’t been released.
Keep COVID-19 Military Vaccine Mandate, Defense Secretary Says
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he wants to keep the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place to protect the health of the troops, as Republican governors and lawmakers press to rescind it.
The veterans unemployment rate rose slightly in November but still remained under 3.0% for the ninth consecutive month, continuing the best employment streak for the group in at least 20 years.
Veterans Groups Press For Long-Shot Expansion Of GI Bill Eligibility For Guards And Reserves
By: Office Of Public Affairs | VA.gov
Leading veterans organizations are pushing Senators to take up legislation to expand GI Bill eligibility for National Guardsmen and Reservists before the end of this congressional session, after which their efforts would have to go back to square one.
At issue is the fact that many National Guard deployments don't allow troops to accrue GI Bill benefits, nor does the time Guardsmen and Reservists spend on active duty for training -- something advocates for part-time service members say is unjust as those troops are increasingly relied upon for domestic missions, ranging from guarding the southern border to helping with pandemic response.
The House passed a Bill in January to fix the disparity. But the Senate has yet to take it up, and any Bill that hasn't cleared Congress by the time a new session starts at the beginning of the year has to be reintroduced and repassed.
"Given the shared focus on supporting our National Guard and Reserve service members, we implore you to come to a bipartisan agreement that passes GI Bill parity before the end of the 117th Congress," 15 veterans service organizations, led by the American Legion, wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Committee Ranking member Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. "Our service members have earned it."
To be eligible for at least some GI Bill benefits, a service member has to serve for at least 90 days, not including basic training. To get a full scholarship, the time commitment increases to 36 months. Someone discharged for a service-connected injury is eligible for the full benefit if they served at least 30 days.
For the National Guard, so-called Title 32 orders do not count towards GI Bill benefits accrual unless they are in support of a presidentially declared national emergency. Title 32 orders are considered federal active-duty orders and are paid for by the federal government, but state governors remain in actual command of their National Guard forces.
The time that Army National Guardsmen spent on Title 32 orders or other domestic missions increased more than 1,000% from 2016 to 2021, from 818,496 man-days to 9.5 million man-days, according to data shared by the American Legion.
Some high-profile Title 32 deployments in recent years were for national emergencies, such as the COVID-19 response, and so counted toward GI Bill eligibility. But others, such as the mobilizations during the racial justice protests of summer 2020, were not declared national emergencies and so didn't earn educational benefits.
In their letter, the veterans groups argued that reforming GI Bill eligibility could help with retention issues facing reserve components.
"Ensuring these service-members have the same educational benefits as their active-duty counterparts is a logical first step towards parity in recruitment and retention," they wrote.
The House-passed bill, called the Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act, would allow any day a Guardsman or Reservist is paid and in uniform on federal orders, including training, to count toward GI Bill eligibility.
Updates the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by requiring the VA to continue providing assistance to a family caregiver for at least six months after the death of a veteran participating in the program.
Requires the VA to establish a process by which veterans who are determined to have the most significant need for caregiver assistance are permanently eligible for such assistance.
Requires the VA to standardize the criteria used across all facilities in its required evaluations of the needs of the veterans and the skills of the family caregiver.
Standardizes criteria used in accepting and evaluating applications for participation in the program across all facilities.
Support the CHAMPVA Children's Care Protection Act!
This bill provides that a child shall be eligible for medical care under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) until the child's 26th birthday, regardless of marital status.
Support the AUTO for Veterans Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92795/respond
Legislation Summary
The Advancing Uniform Transportation Opportunities for Veterans "AUTO" Act would reduce the financial burden incurred by virtue of military service by ensuring severely disabled veterans receive a grant from the VA's Automobile Assistance Grant program to purchase a specially equipped vehicle once every ten years - as opposed to only once.
Support the Aid and Attendance Support Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92792/respond
Legislation Summary
The Aid and Attendance Support Act temporarily increases eligible disabled veterans' and surviving spouses' Aid and Attendance (A&A) allowance by 25%.
Support the Ensuring Survivor Benefits during COVID-19 Act!
The Ensuring Survivor Benefits During COVID-19 Act requires the VA to solicit a medical opinion to determine if a service-connected disability was the principal or contributory cause of death in situations where a veteran's death certificate identifies COVID-19 as the principal or contributory cause of death, the certificate does not clearly identify any of the veteran's service-connected disabilities as the principal or contributory cause of death, and a claim for dependence and indemnity compensation is filed with respect to the veteran.
Ensures Reservists and National Guard members have no-fee healthcare through TRICARE Reserve Select that covers medical and dental coverage.
Fixes the parity gap for Reserve Component retirees receiving early retirement pay due to deployment credits making them eligible for TRICARE upon receipt of retirement pay.
Provides an incentive for small businesses to hire Reserve and National Guard members by ensuring their healthcare costs are covered.
Ensures service members can access physicals needed to be ready for no-notice deployments (which have increased over the past year).
Eliminates the statutory language that excludes Federal Employees Health Benefits Program eligible service members from TRICARE Reserve Select eligibility.
Support the Advancing Toward Impact Aid Full Funding Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92818/respond
Legislation Summary
The Advancing Toward Impact Aid Full Funding Act would:
Split Impact Aid's $1.1 billion request evenly over five years, across three main categories for funding: Basic Support, Federal Property, and Children with Disabilities.
Increase Basic Support funding by $190 million annually, meeting Impact Aid's 2019 funding requests.
Increase Federal Property funding proportionally to Basic Support (BSP) by allocating an additional $11 million annually.
Increase funding for Children with Disabilities by $9 million annually, funding $2,000 per eligible student.
Advance national K-12 school systems to become more equitable and meet educational needs.
Support military families that are especially impacted by federally tax-exempt land.
Support the Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92815/respond
Legislation Summary
Modifies the extension of dependent coverage under TRICARE by allowing a dependent at the age of 26 to be covered without an additional premium.
Authorizes such coverage of dependents without a premium regardless of whether they are eligible to enroll in an employer-sponsored plan.
Support Expanding TRICARE Cranial Remolding Helmet Coverage!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92802/respond
AFSA urges our nation's elected officials to support legislation that would expand the scope of TRICARE's coverage of the DOC Band Post-Op device if your baby:
Is three to 18 months old; and
Is diagnosed with craniosynostosis or nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly (to include torticollis)
Support the Jobs and Childcare for Military Families Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92799/respond
Legislation Summary
Allow an employer a work opportunity tax credit for hiring the spouse or domestic partner of a member of the Armed Forces.
Specifically, an employer may receive a tax credit equal to 40% of a new employee's first-year wages if the employer hires a service member's spouse or domestic partner (as recognized under state law or by the Armed Forces).
Create programs for service members to pay for childcare on a pretax basis.
Specifically, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security (with respect to the Coast Guard) must implement flexible spending arrangements that permit members of the Armed Forces to use basic pay and compensation to pay on a pretax basis for dependent childcare.
Support the Retired Pay Restoration Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92798/respond
Legislation Summary
Allowsthe receipt of both military retiredpay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability.
Extends full concurrent receipt eligibility to individuals who were retired or separated after at least 20 years of military service due to a service-connected disability.
Call To Action:Share How TRICARE's coverage of the Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty (DOC) Band Post-Op device negatively impact your family's quality of life!
For the past year, our Military and Government Relations Team has been working with AFSA military families on getting legislation introduced that would expand the scope of TRICARE's coverage of the DOC Band Post-Op device if a baby:
Is three to 18 months old; and
Is diagnosed with craniosynostosis or nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly (to include torticollis)
Despite unsuccessful efforts (via FOIA request) to obtain important data for the purpose of quantifying the need of this issue in the aggregate, our Team is looking to hear from the field to share your story and help have your voice heard by members of Congress.
Issue Background
Helmet therapy is used to gently correct the shape of babies' skulls over time.
Newborn babies' skulls are soft plates with spaces between them. As the baby grows, these plates grow, gradually harden, and knit together.
Unfortunately, there are circumstances under which the soft plates may develop a flat spot or uneven appearance. This condition is called plagiocephaly.
Today, almost one in two babies (47%) is affected by some form of plagiocephaly.
When the baby's skull joins together too early, or in an abnormal way, this is called craniosynostosis. There are several types of craniosynostosis, depending on when the baby's skull joins together.
Today, it is estimated that 1 in every 2,500 babies has craniosynostosis.
Positional skull deformities and/or abnormalities - whether diagnosed as a form of plagiocephaly or craniosynostosis - can have short and long term health effects on a child.
However, despite this, TRICARE only covers the Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty (DOC) Band Post-Op device, synonymously referred to as a "molding helmet," if your baby:
Is three to 18 months old; and
Has had craniosynostoris surgery;
But still has a misshaped skull.
In other words, cranial molding helmet(s) are not covered for the treatment of nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly or for the treatment of craniosynostosis before surgery; despite medical evidence that suggests the presence or absence of congenital or acquired plagiocephaly (to include torticollis) can, at the very least, increase the risk of gross motor development.
In fact, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics school-aged children with moderate to severe plagiocephaly scored lower than controls on cognitive and academic measures.
As a result, military families - who face unique challenges given the sacrifices that come along with serving our country - have been put in the tragic position to either front the hefty cost of the helmet (approximately $2,000), seek alternative forms of treatment that may not be preferred, or forego treatment altogether.
We are pleased to share the AFSA Set-It-Forever/Auto Pay procedures and marketing materials to help share the process with our members, your membership and potential new recruits.
The Set-It-Forever/Auto Pay program creates an opportunity to JOIN AFSA or RENEW a membership by making a $36 once-a-year/every-year auto payment, or a $4-each-month/every- month auto payment. The $36 once-a-year option is set at $36, and the $4-a-month option includes a bank processing fee of $1 each month.
Review the two ways to enroll, the benefits to using the auto-pay option, and the marketing materials to help share the details of this program and ensure its success.
For questions, please contact AFSAHQ Member & Field team at 800-638-0594 x 288.
Please Update Your Contact Information Today!
Dear Air Force Sergeants Association Member,
In order for the AFSA to effectively communicate with our members, it is essential to ensure we have your current and / or valid e-mail address. We are in the process of updating our records and need your help! Please take a moment to ensure that we have your most current mail and email address (no .mil's); and accurate membership listing information.
We've made it easy, as you can update your information in either one of three ways:
Call Member & Field Relations team directly at 800-638-0594 x 288 (Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (EST)
Email to: msvcs@hqafsa.org
Visit www.hqafsa.org and select the UPDATE button on the right
We thank you in advance for your support and prompt updates.
In sum, over the summer, the House passed its version of the authorization bill, a $840 billion spending plan that included a 4.6% pay boost for soldiers next year as well as a number of new program launches.
The Senate has been debating the bill for months, but it doesn't seem likely that it will adopt its own version at this time; instead, it will likely merely approve a compromise version once the House takes action. Many members of both chambers of Congress believe that the proposal, which has been approved by Congress for more than 60 years, must be passed.
But it hasn't stopped House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, from asking that the bill be tabled until his party gains control of the House the following month.
He has claimed that the new majority should decide on numerous matters in the bill rather than the departing Democrats, including requirements for troops to receive COVID-19 vaccines and overall military spending levels.
In addition, In a letter to President Joe Biden last week, more than 20 Republican governors argued that the mandate has hampered the U.S. National Guard's capacity to attract new recruits.
Governors call on those troops to respond to calamities or unrest. To garner enough support to pass this year's defense budget, which is already two months late, Congress may take up legislation this coming week to abolish the mandate. Austin ordered last year that all soldiers receive the vaccination or risk being fired from the military; thousands of active duty personnel have since been let go for refusing the vaccinations.
And lastly,The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that the unemployment rate for all veterans was 2.8% in November, up from 2.5% in October and the highest level since 2.9% in April. According to the statistics, despite their best efforts, nearly 241,000 working-age veterans were unable to obtain permanent employment in the past month.
The unemployment rate among veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars was greater. 3.0% of people looking for work were unsuccessful in securing steady employment. The rate for that category reached 3.0% or higher for the first time in five months at that point.
Even with these higher unemployment rates, the rate for veterans was still significantly lower than the rate for working-age persons in general in America. In November, the national unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, unchanged from the previous month.
And that's the way it is for Tuesday, December 6, 2022.
Stay tuned for our next M&G-B, where we will continue to keep you in the loop on all things pertinent to the coronavirus, veterans, active-duty members, guards and reservists, and military family members. Stay happy, and stay healthy!
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