Budget Blueprint May Take A Back Seat To Debt Limit In House
House Budget Chairman Jodey C. Arrington said Wednesday that Congress needs to lift the debt ceiling and impose fiscal controls “immediately” without waiting on a fiscal 2024 budget resolution.
Days Ahead Of Massive Allowance Cuts For Some Military Families, Pentagon Allegedly Working On A Fix
Deep cuts to the cost-of-living allowances for service members and their families stationed in Hawaii and Guam that are set to take effect next month may be delayed once again, according to a Pentagon official, as the Defense Department continues to grapple with the impact of inflation.
VA Reviewing Contract For Troubled Medical Records System, Secretary Says
The Department of Veterans Affairs is reviewing the $16 billion contract for its electronic health records system, oversight that could halt the troubled rollout of the system to VA facilities, Secretary Denis McDonough said Wednesday.
IMPORTANT TO REITERATE: VA Secretary Swats Down Idea To Cut VA Disability Pay For Wealthier Vets
By: Patricia Kime | Military.Com
Veterans' social media feeds erupted this week over a months-old report from the Congressional Budget Office that listed options for reducing the federal deficit, including the idea that the government could save $253 billion over the next 10 years by eliminating disability compensation for veterans who make more than $170,000.
Each year, the CBO publishes proposals for reducing the federal deficit, which has reached nearly $723 billion since the beginning of fiscal 2023. The latest list, published in December but only garnering attention among veterans this week, called for means-testing for veterans with higher income levels. But Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough shot down the idea on Thursday, saying the VA does not "think that's a good idea."
"We think it's a bad idea, and we're not going to do it. You have my commitment that we won't do it," McDonough said during a press conference with reporters in Washington, D.C.
He added that he had not been approached by anyone on Capitol Hill about the idea. The CBO assessment proposes a list of options for reducing the deficit, but they are not considered to be recommendations. They are, according to the report, "options derived from many sources" that "reflect a range of possibilities."
This year's list, first published Dec. 7, addressed VA disability compensation, which CBO analysts said has increased substantially faster than inflation, in total spending and per veteran. According to the CBO, the VA paid four times the amount in disability compensation in 2021, $110 billion, than it paid in 2000, adjusting for inflation, even as the number of vets in the U.S. had dropped by more than 30%.
Under the option, the VA would assess the household income of all veterans now receiving disability compensation, as well as those who file disability claims in the future. Only veterans whose gross household income the year before was less than an established threshold would receive their full disability payments.
Benefits would be phased out for those above the threshold, and reduced by one dollar for every additional two dollars of gross household income. Beginning in January 2024, veterans whose income was $170,000 or higher in 2023 would no longer receive disability compensation, and those whose household incomes were between $125,000 and $170,000 would receive adjusted payments.
There would be no adjustment for household size, according to the option. CBO analysts observed that Americans who work and also receive Social Security disability benefits see a decrease in their government compensation when they demonstrate that they are able to work for extended periods of time.
They added that roughly 1.5 million of 5 million veterans receiving VA disability had household income that exceeded the $125,000 threshold it set for 2023, or the 70th percentile of total household income for the entire country in 2019.
The CBO estimates that reducing or eliminating VA disability benefits for households whose gross household income exceeded the threshold would lower mandatory spending by "$253 billion between 2023 and 2032 relative to CBO's baseline," they wrote.
It's unclear what sparked the circulation on social media this week. Veterans expressed immediate outrage, taking to Twitter to voice their dismay. It appears, however, that the recommendation has no momentum; lawmakers and veterans service organizations did not respond to requests Wednesday for comment on the proposal.
On Thursday, Veteran Warriors Inc., an advocacy group that supports wounded and ill veterans and caregivers, thanked reporters for asking McDonough about the option.
The provision does not appear anywhere in the Biden administration's proposed fiscal 2024 budget. In the report Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2023 to 2032, the CBO stressed that the idea was not a recommendation.
"Inclusion or exclusion of any particular option does not imply an endorsement or rejection by CBO," analysts wrote.
Several historic events occurred on Jan 3rd 2023, the first day the 118th Congress met. Despite being a long list, these legislation addresses a larger variety of public policy objectives that fall under the purview of the seven main emphasis groups of our legislative platform. The bills are currently being introduced, and AFSA is striving to provide more details on the following:
H.R.303 - To amend title 10, United States Code, to 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.
Sponsor: Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis [R-FL-12]
Committees - House Armed Services, House Veterans' Affairs
H.R.1282 - Major Richard Star Act, To amend title 10, United States Code, to expand eligibility to certain military retirees for concurrent receipt of veterans’ disability compensation and retired pay or combat-related special compensation, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis [R-FL-12]
Committees - House Armed Services, House Veterans' Affairs
S.344 -The Major Richard Star Act, to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for concurrent receipt of veterans’ disability compensation and retired pay for disabled retirees with fewer than 20 years of service and a combat-related disability, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Jon Tester [Sen-D-MT]
Committees - Senate Armed Services
H.R.254 – To amend title 10 United States Code, to improve the administration of the TRICARE program in Puerto Rico, and for other purposes.
H.R.236 – To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate a week as “Battle Buddy Check Week” for the purpose of outreach and education concerning peer wellness checks for veterans, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sheila Lee Jackson [D-TX-18]
Committees – House Veterans Affairs
H.R.234 – To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide a burial allowance for certain veterans who die at home while in receipt of hospice care furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sponsor: Jack Bergman [R-MI-1]
Committees – House Veterans Affairs
H.R.228 – To amend title 10, United States Code, to include a single comprehensive disability examination as part of the required Department of Defense physical examination for separating members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Robert J. Wittman [R-VA-1]
Committees – House Armed Services, House Veterans Affairs
H.R.226 – To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program to promote and encourage collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs and nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher learning that provide administrative assistance to veterans.
Sponsor: Robert J. Wittman [R-VA-1]
Committees – House Veterans Affairs
H.R.221 – To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand eligibility for participation in the Federal Pell Grant program to certain trade schools.
Sponsor: Robert J. Wittman [R-VA-1]
Committees – Education and Labor
H.R.214 – To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide eligibility for TRICARE selected for veterans with service-connected disabilities, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Gregory W. Steube [R-FL-17]
Committees – House Armed Services, House Veterans Affairs
H.R.196 – To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to modify the information technology systems of the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide for the automatic processing of claims for certain temporary disability ratings, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Matthew M. Rosendale Sr. [R-MT-2]
Committees – House Veterans Affairs
H.R.129 – To require the Secretary of Defense to ensure drop boxes are maintained on military installations for the deposit of unused prescription drugs, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Vern Buchanan [R-FL-16]
Committees – House Armed Services
H.R.105 – To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to veterans with traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Sponsor: Andy Biggs [R-AZ-5]
Committees – House Veterans Affairs
H.R.104 – To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to formally recognize caregivers of veterans, notify veterans and caregivers of clinical determinations relating to eligibility for caregiver programs, temporarily extend benefits for veterans who are determined ineligible for the family caregiver program, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Andy Biggs [R-AZ-5]
Committees – House Veterans Affairs
H.R.41 – To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure the timely scheduling of appointments for health care at medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: James R. Baird [R-IN-4]
Committees – House Veterans Affairs
If you have any additional questions on this specific issue, please e-mail our Military and Government Relations team at milgov3@hqafsa.org.
AFSA International Convention and PEDS is LIVE! Register to attend now and save $25 with the AFSAEarly promo code. Book your Hilton Anatole Resort rooms, play in the USF Golf Scramble, and reserve your Info/EXPO Booth now! Visit: https://www.hqafsa.org/summit23.html
Have You Read The Latest AFSA Magazine?
This edition features Port Mortuary and America’s Missing Heroes, Living with Bipolar Disorder in the Military, Fly-By Wire Defense and AFSA’s American Award Recipient – Don Ward. Read, download, print and share: https://www.hqafsa.org/fallmagazine.html
Greetings AFSA Division and Chapter Leadership,
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In sum, a debt ceiling agreement, according to House Budget Chairman Jodey C. Arrington, was too vital to delay the laborious budget process, a day after President Joseph Biden urged Republicans to create a budget before they leave town for the April recess.
After holding a hearing on the subject with a panel of distinguished economists, the Texas Republican declared: "We need action on the debt limit quickly because of the state of the fiscal union." In response to the impact that inflation has had on household budgets, he remarked, "We have to obtain agreement on... what the budgetary limits are and move forward."
Arrington's remarks supported Speaker Kevin McCarthy's, a Republican from California, request that Biden resume talks on raising the debt ceiling and reducing spending in a letter sent on Tuesday. Republicans, according to McCarthy, could save the country $4 trillion over the course of ten years. Democrats rejected this claim and insisted that the GOP first produce a budget before engaging in serious discussions about spending priorities, which they believe should be conducted separately from raising the debt ceiling.
In addition, cuts ranging from 50% to 66% were expected to hit residents of the Pacific Islands as early as April 1. For military families, this might mean hundreds of dollars less in each paycheck. A defense official with knowledge of the negotiations, however, told Military.com that authorities are already working behind the scenes to stop that from happening.
If the changes are implemented, an E-6 with 10 years of service and three dependents might experience a drop ranging from $156 to $546, depending on the Hawaiian Island they are stationed on.
After the April halt, it's unclear whether the Pentagon will restart the proposed reductions to foreign cost-of-living allowances or if officials would seek a more significant change to how the allowances are calculated.
According to the Hawaii.Gov website, more than 40,000 active-duty soldiers of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps reside in Hawaii with their families.
And lastly, McDonough stated that the contract review will have a significant impact on the upcoming system deployment, which is anticipated to take place this summer in Saginaw, Michigan, during a hearing on the VA budget before a House Appropriations subcommittee.
In order to create and oversee the adoption of an electronic health records system that is compatible with the Department of Defense and offers service members a single digital medical record from the time they are sworn in until they pass away, the VA and Cerner signed a $10 billion agreement in May 2018.
More than 60% of military medical facilities now use the MHS Genesis version that the DoD has made available. At five VA medical sites, the system is used by almost 10,000 staff.
And that's the way it is for Thursday, March 30, 2023.
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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