Posted on: Monday, July 3, 2006
Talks begin on benefits agreement
By Tom Philpott
Billions of dollars in pay and benefits are at stake for active duty members, reservists, disabled retirees and surviving spouses as a House-Senate conference committee begins to negotiate differences in separate versions of the 2007 defense authorization bill.
When the process ends, perhaps by late September, military personnel will know the size of their next pay raise; drilling reservists will know if all of them have access to a low-premium health plan; mobilized reservists will know if their GI Bill benefits can be used after they leave service; and users of retail pharmacies will know if military co-payments have increased.
The Senate passed its 2007 defense authorization bill June 22, after approving a surprising number of floor amendments to help reserve component personnel and some disabled retirees.
The House approved its version weeks earlier, but without all of the false drama of some of the Senate votes. False in the sense that many Senate amendments to help military constituents are, in fact, unfunded and therefore unlikely to survive negotiations with the House.
Conferees shaping a final authorization bill will know what money is available for some of these personnel only after the Senate passes its defense appropriations bill and reconciles that funding with House appropriations.
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the armed services committee, chairs the authorization conference that began work Friday. Key personnel issues to be resolved include:
2007 pay raise. The House endorsed a 2.7 percent basic pay increase for next January, which would be the seventh consecutive annual raise set a half percentage point above private sector wage growth. The Senate accepted the Bush administration's call for a 2.2 percent increase.
Reserve retirement. The Senate voted to lower the age-60 start of retirement benefits for Reserve and Guard members activated since September 2001. The Senate plan, from Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., would start retire pay and benefits sooner by three months for every 90 days of activation. Thus, a Guardsman called up for a year could retire at 59. The House would leave reserve retirement unchanged.
Portable GI Bill. On an amendment from Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., the Senate voted to allow reservists who earn GI Bill benefits to use them for up to 10 years after leaving service. Under current law, eligibility ends on separation from service. The House is silent on the issue.
Concurrent receipt. The Senate would accelerate full restoration of retired pay to retirees rated "unemployable" by the VA. Under current law, an end to the ban on concurrent receipt of retired pay and VA disability compensation for these 20,000 disabled retirees won't occur until 2009. On a floor amendment from Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate voted to shift the effective back to Jan. 1, 2005. The House is silent on the issue.
Drug co-pays. The House would raise co-payments for prescriptions filled in the Tricare retail network to $16, from $9, for brand drugs on the military formulary and to $6, from $3, for generic. The Senate would block any such increase through 2007.
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