Air Force Sergeants Association Thunderbird Chapter 985, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma http://afsa985.org/ AFSA 985 Facebook Legislative Report for April 2013 Thunderbird Chapter 985 members, many important issues have come from you, the member. So, we want to know what issues are of interest to you. For tracking purposes, we want to know all efforts members are taking to help our AFSA issues, so please let us know anytime you make contact with an elected official. Whether you call or write a letter/e-mail, help us with what topic you contacted them with and what the response was. Responses can be e-mailed or called in to me, any copies of your information can also be dropped off at our General Membership meeting on the 2nd Thursday of every month; next meeting is 11 April, 2013 Together we can make a difference! Terry Turner, AFSA Chapter 985 President. Current Legislation House Passes Extension of Continuing Resolution On Wednesday, while the rest of the Government took a snow-day and stayed home, the House of Representatives completed some vital work. The House passed and sent to the Senate H.R. 933, a new Continuing Resolution called the Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act. HR 933 does not eliminate sequestration but it does allow mandated cuts within the Pentagon to be moved around. Included in the bill are full-year Defense and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bills. These appropriations are based on bills negotiated last year but uncompleted until now. The House bill maintains the $86 billion of across-the-board cuts as mandated by the March 1 implementation of sequestration. However, instead of cutting across-the-board in Defense, HR 933 gives the Pentagon discretion on how it can spend its money. The Department of Veterans Affairs is exempt from sequestration. The remainder of the entire government remains subject to direct, across-the-board reductions as prescribed under sequestration. HR 933 also contains an explicit prohibition against DoD charging any enrollment fee for Medicare- eligible retirees in the TRICARE for Life program. House passage of this bill is the first step to avoid a government shutdown and to prioritize Pentagon and Veterans programs. As readers know, current funding authority expires March 27, so completion of this bill is critical.
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Air Force Sergeants Association
Thunderbird Chapter 985, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
http://afsa985.org/
AFSA 985 Facebook
Legislative Report for April 2013
Thunderbird Chapter 985 members, many important issues have come from you, the member. So,
we want to know what issues are of interest to you. For tracking purposes, we want to know all
efforts members are taking to help our AFSA issues, so please let us know anytime you make
contact with an elected official. Whether you call or write a letter/e-mail, help us with what topic
you contacted them with and what the response was. Responses can be e-mailed or called in to me,
any copies of your information can also be dropped off at our General Membership meeting on the
2nd Thursday of every month; next meeting is 11 April, 2013 Together we can make a difference!
Terry Turner, AFSA Chapter 985 President.
Current Legislation
House Passes Extension of Continuing Resolution
On Wednesday, while the rest of the Government took a snow-day and stayed home, the House of Representatives completed some vital work. The House passed and sent to the Senate H.R. 933, a new Continuing Resolution called the Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act.
HR 933 does not eliminate sequestration but it does allow mandated cuts within the Pentagon to be moved around. Included in the bill are full-year Defense and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bills. These appropriations are based on bills negotiated last year but uncompleted until now.
The House bill maintains the $86 billion of across-the-board cuts as mandated by the March 1 implementation of sequestration. However, instead of cutting across-the-board in Defense, HR 933 gives the Pentagon discretion on how it can spend its money. The Department of Veterans Affairs is exempt from sequestration. The remainder of the entire government remains subject to direct, across-the-board reductions as prescribed under sequestration.
HR 933 also contains an explicit prohibition against DoD charging any enrollment fee for Medicare-eligible retirees in the TRICARE for Life program. House passage of this bill is the first step to avoid a government shutdown and to prioritize Pentagon and Veterans programs. As readers know, current funding authority expires March 27, so completion of this bill is critical.
The 267-151 House vote sends the measure to the Senate, where a bipartisan coalition hopes to expand on the bill to give other Cabinet departments the same flexibility as promised to the Pentagon.
Sequestration
Pentagon, For Now, Won't Extend Furloughs into FY '14 Last week we reported DoD uncertainty about future furloughs for civilians. Decsions remained up in the air regarding the extent and timeline for a civilian workforce furlough problem and whether it might extend into the next fiscal year, depending on the fiscal year 2014 budget to settle required sequester cuts.
This week the Pentagon announced it is putting the brakes on future furloughs of its civilian workforce and will explore other options to curb spending inside the Defense Department. across-the-board budget cuts under the White House's sequestration plan.
DOD Comptroller Robert Hale on Monday said the department would not extend the furloughs, but rather seek "long-term options" to pay off the Pentagon's sequestration bill.
"We will look for other options. They may not be pleasant, and they may force us into some difficult choices. But we definitely don't want to repeat what we're doing now," Hale said.
Comptroller Hale said those future options may include force reductions within the armed services and "involuntary separations" of service members from the military ranks. "But we want to start doing this with more of a scalpel and less of a meat axe. We'll have to get smaller and we'll have to look at some areas where we can take some more risk," he added.
Active Duty News
Commissaries to Close Mondays This week the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) announced that commissaries will close on Mondays instead of Wednesdays as a means to save money due to sequestration. Many commissaries around the world already close on Mondays. If so, they will close the additional day on Tuesdays. Closures are scheduled to begin in mid-April. State Licensing for Spouses
DoD is continuing efforts to encourage States to allow spouses' professional licenses to transfer easily from state to state as military families move from one duty station to another.
Three mechanisms are in place to expedite licenses: (1) the spouse can present her previous license to the new state for acceptance if the requirements for the occupation are "substantially equivalent"; (2) the new state can issue a temporary license so the spouse has an opportunity to fulfill the requirements of the state through education and training; and (3) expediting the state's process for military spouses to obtain a new license.
Eligibility requirements and how to file are available online on state websites, and the Military OneSource website also has information on unemployment compensation
Veterans Legislation & News
GAO Study Finds Doctors Accepting Fewer TRICARE Patients
Researchers compared annual beneficiary survey data from 2008 to 2011 to the 2005 to 2007 period. Physicians outside TRICARE's managed-care network, known as TRICARE Prime, accepted 76 percent fewer patients compared to the earlier period. Overall, about 31 percent of non-enrolled beneficiaries, defined as individuals not enrolled in TRICARE Prime, reported problems finding a physician.
Researchers found that reduced access to mental care was one of the biggest problems. Only 39 percent of civilian mental healthcare providers took in new TRICARE patients compared to 67 percent of civilian primary-care providers and about 77 percent of civilian specialty-care providers.
Providers ranked reimbursement rates as the top reason why providers did not accept new TRICARE patients. TRICARE's reimbursement rates are largely based on Medicare reimbursement rates with out-of-network providers allowed to charge as much as 15 percent more.
In one California area that accepts TRICARE Prime, the leading reason providers cited was lack of awareness about the program. The report found that accessibility varied by location. Central and Southern California, Texas and Louisiana were the areas that reported the heaviest concentration of problems with access.
"America's veterans," Boehner wrote, "are counting on you."[Source: Associated Press | Lisa Cornwell | 22 Feb 2013 ++]
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Veterans Crisis Line: Confidential Help for Vets. The Department of Veterans Affairs
provides the following: “The Veterans Crisis Line offers free, confidential support to
Veterans in crisis, as well as their family and friends. Save this number to your phone: 1-800-
273-8255 (press 1 for Veterans). You can also chat online or text professional responders at
838255.”
Military. The suicide rate was higher in the military than the general population
for the first time in 2012, with 30 incidents per 100,000, compared to 24 per
100,000 for a demographically comparable civilian population.
Guard/Reserve Legislation & News
S.629 : Guard-Reserve Retirees Vet Status. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to recognize the service in the reserve components of the Armed Forces of certain persons by honoring them with status as veterans under law, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Pryor, Mark L. [AR] (introduced 3/20/2013) Related bills: H.R.679 Committees: Senate Veterans' Affairs
Latest Major Action: 3/20/2013 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Of Interest
Where can I find information about the current Congress?
1. List of Senators
2. List of Representatives
3. Congressional Profile from the Clerk of the House
Retirees
TRICARE Prime Service Area Cuts
2/13 - Beginning Oct 1, 2013, TRICARE Prime operations more than 40 miles from Military Treatment
Facilities or bases recently closed under BRAC will cease, meaning the 170,000+ beneficiaries now
enrolled in Prime in these areas will have to use TRICARE Standard instead. At www.tricare.mil/psazip,
you can check and see if your area is affected by entering your Zip code. You can also register for email
alerts from TRICARE Management Activity regarding the changes.
TRICARE Prime Service Area Update By now 171,000 TRICARE Prime beneficiaries should have received letters telling them that they live outside of the 40-mile radius from a military medical facility and are being dropped to TRICARE Standard from TRICARE Prime. This was due to the 2007 TRICARE contracts finally being settled and an agreement for all three regions to change on the same date, October 1. The House Armed Services Committee has received many thousands of letters in protest of this decision. We understand that there is concern in the committee and that consideration is being given to “Grandfathering” those affected by this move and to have any new enrollees being restricted to the 40-mile limit. We EMPHASIZE this possible move is only in the discussion phase and nothing has been decided. We encourage you to contact your elected officials and let them know how you feel about beneficiaries losing health care coverage many have counted on for their retirement. We also encourage you to send a letter to the House Armed Services Committee and let Chairman Rep. “Buck” McKeon and Ranking Member Adam Smith know how you feel. Here is the address: House Armed Services Committee 2120 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Attn: Chairman McKeon
S.572 : Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the conditions under which certain persons may be treated as adjudicated mentally incompetent for certain purposes. Sponsor: Sen Burr, Richard [NC] (introduced 3/14/2013) Related bills: H.R.577 Committees: Senate Veterans' Affairs Latest Major Action: 3/14/2013 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
H.R.1360 : Retired Pay Overpayment Forgiveness of Deceased Vets. .A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for forgiveness of certain overpayments of retired pay paid to deceased retired members of the Armed Forces following their death. Sponsor: Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [NC-3] (introduced 3/21/2013) Committees: House Armed Services Latest Major Action: 3/21/2013 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Oklahoma Votes
March 25, 2013
In this MegaVote for Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District:
House: FY 2013 Continuing Appropriations – Final Passage
Editor's Note: Both the Senate and House are in recess. The Senate is scheduled to return on Monday, April 8. The House is expected to return on Tuesday, April 9.
With a week left to avert a government shutdown, Senators passed a stopgap measure to keep federal funds flowing for the remainder of fiscal 2013. The Senate slightly expanded the spending package included in the original bill the House of Representatives passed on March 6, which only included full appropriations for Defense, Military Construction, and Veterans’ Affairs. Through a last-minute amendment put forth by Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., senators added additional spending provisions from three other related bills. The Senate approved Mikulski’s amendment 70-29 (roll call 42), less than an hour before the bill’s final passage roll call vote. All told, the bill appropriated $517.7 billion for the Defense Department, $71.9 billion for veterans programs and military construction projects, $39.6 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, $20.5 billion for the Department of Agriculture and $50.2 billion for commerce, law enforcement and science programs. Spending on all other government programs will remain flat from fiscal 2012 rates. The bill made slight spending cuts from the earlier stopgap spending bill set to expire on March 27 to get federal outlays under the discretionary spending caps of the 2011 debt limit law (PL 112-25). The senate rejected several floor amendments that cut funds from Homeland Security and defense biofuel programs. Senator Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., relented on consideration for the single-largest spending cut amendment, which would have redirected nearly $381 million in spending for the Army’s Medium Extended Air Defense System. Ayotte’s opposition to the program had held up final consideration of the bill for a week. The bill returned to the House the next day and received a motion to concur to its amended status,
Sen. James Inhofe voted NO......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Tom Coburn voted NO......send e-mail or see bio
Fiscal 2014 Senate Budget Resolution – Adoption - Vote Agreed to (50-49, 1 Not Voting)
Just before 5:00 in the morning on Saturday, the Senate passed its first budget resolution in four years by a single vote. Four Democrats – Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas – voted with Senate Republicans against the measure. Final passage arrived after senators spent 13 hours considering dozens of floor amendments on a huge swath of policy areas. Without any force of law, the nonbinding resolution laid out Senate Democrats’ alternative to the House budget, which passed two days before on a largely party-line vote (roll call 88). The Senate blueprint laid out $975 in new revenue and $975 in spending cuts over 10 years that promised to reduce the budget deficit $1.8 trillion in all. It also included additional economic stimulus and infrastructure investment funds supported by the White House. During floor debate, the Senate rejected a substitute budget put forth by Rand Paul of Kentucky that slashed spending by $9.6 trillion and cut taxes by $2.3 trillion over 10 years (roll call 69). Another Senate conservative firebrand, Texan Ted Cruz, offered unsuccessful amendments to repeal the Affordable Care Act (roll call 51), cut foreign aid to Egypt and build missile defense batteries on the East Coast (roll call 85), and withhold American funds to the United Nations until China rescinded its one-child population control policy (roll call 86). Republicans received Democratic support to pass amendments endorsing the Keystone XL pipeline (roll call 61), eliminating subsidies to the largest banks (roll call 70), and initiating a biennial budget process (roll call 65.) Senate Democrats played amendment tug-of-war, too. New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen successfully introduced an amendment backing women’s family planning and birth control access provided under the Affordable Care Act (roll call 54). Rhode Islander Sheldon Whitehouse’s amendment to create a carbon tax to combat global warming, however, failed (roll call 58).
Sen. James Inhofe voted NO......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Tom Coburn voted NO......send e-mail or see bio
On Thursday of last week, the House agreed to adopt the concurrent resolution introduced a week earlier by sponsor Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., that would provide $2.769 trillion in new budget authority for FY2014, not including off-budget accounts. It assumed that the spending levels set by the sequester would stay in place and the discretionary savings from the sequester will come from nondefense programs. It also included the repeal of the 2010 health care overhaul and changed Medicare to a “premium support” system starting in 2024. In addition, the resolution called for changes to the tax code, including the consolation of the individual income tax brackets from six to two and the reduction or elimination of some tax credits and deductions. In addition to mapping out government spending levels for FY 2014, the resolution included “appropriate budgetary levels for FY2015-FY2023” that would assume $5.7 trillion in reductions over the next ten years in discretionary and mandatory spending. Prior to adopting H. Con. Res. 25, on Wednesday the House rejected five amendments that would have provided alternative budget plans: the Senate’s Concurrent Resolution from Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C. (Roll Call 83); the Congressional Black Caucus’ preparation from Robert C. Scott, D-Va. (Roll Call 84); the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ substitute from Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz. (Roll Call 85); the Republican Study Committee’s idea from Rob Woodall, R-Ga. (Roll Call 86); and the Democratic alternative from Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. (Roll Call 87). 171 Democrats attempted to force Republicans to pass or reject the conservative Woodall plan by voting present. That vote was the closest of any of the five to being approved.
Rep. James Lankford voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
FY 2013 Continuing Appropriations – Final Passage - Vote Passed (318-109, 4 Not Voting)
At the end of the legislative week, the House agreed to the Senate’s amendments to the bill that would approve the continuing appropriations through FY 2013 including $1.043 trillion in discretionary funds before the sequester. It funds departments and agencies at their FY2012 enacted levels, with adjustments for certain programs. The legislation provides $517.7 billion in base discretionary funding for the Defense Department, $71.9 billion for veterans programs and military construction, $20.5 billion for agriculture programs, $39.6 billion for the Department of Homeland Security and $50.2 billion for commerce, law enforcement and science programs. The legislation is now cleared for the president to sign into law, thus ending the lengthy process of funding government operations for FY2013.
Rep. James Lankford voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
March 18, 2013
In this MegaVote for Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District:
At the end of last week, the Senate was mired in disagreement over how to proceed with amendment votes on a measure to keep the government running past March 27. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and lead appropriators Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., had hoped to complete debate and pass the bill by Friday. By late Thursday, however, it became clear that there were too many amendments to work through and little agreement on how to proceed, leading Reid to file cloture on the bill. The bill under consideration is largely identical to one passed by the House two weeks ago, though it adds full appropriations for the Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science and Homeland Security accounts. President Obama has stated his support for the more expansive Senate version. Before adjourning for the week, senators did vote on a handful of amendments, starting with one offered by Texas Republican Ted Cruz to cut off funding through the end of FY 13 for implementation of and rulemaking related to the 2010 health care overhaul. The Cruz amendment was defeated by a party-line vote of 45-52. The upper chamber also rejected amendments from Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, to increase funding for education and medical research (Roll Call 36) and from Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn to put in place a hiring freeze for non-essential federal employees (Roll Call 37). An amendment from John McCain, R-Ariz., to remove funding for infrastructure projects in Guam was adopted after Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois failed to table it (Roll Call 35).
Sen. James Inhofe voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Tom Coburn voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
TANF Reauthorization, Welfare Rule Repeal – Final Passage - Vote Passed (246-181, 4 Not Voting)
The House moved last week to reauthorize the federal government’s main welfare program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), through the end of the year. Legislation is needed because authorizing language was not included in the continuing resolution. The bill also contains language forbidding the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from taking further action on a program to give states flexibility in carrying out their welfare programs. HHS issued a memorandum last July proposing to waive certain TANF requirements if states could demonstrate success in moving welfare recipients into paid employment. Republicans have decried the move as essentially ending the work requirement embedded in TANF. The administration, in a policy statement issued on H.R. 890, noted that the HHS waivers were initially requested by governors and are intended to grant flexibility. The Senate is not likely to take up this bill, though TANF will need to be reauthorized by March 27, when its mandate expires.
Rep. James Lankford voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Consolidation of Job Training Programs – Final Passage - Vote Passed (215-202, 15 Not Voting)
The House passed a controversial measure last week to consolidate about three dozen federal job training programs into a single “Workforce Investment Fund.” Republican bill sponsor Virginia Foxx of North Carolina argued that the bill was necessary to cut down on duplicative programs that confuse and ultimately do little to help workers. Democrats almost uniformly opposed the measure, with only Blue Dogs John Barrow and Jim Matheson voting for the bill. Though Republicans claimed they were responding to President Obama’s challenge in his 2012 State of the Union address to “cut through the maze of confusing training programs,” the administration released a statement critical of the bill, saying it went too far by eliminating certain programs without providing additional assistance for vulnerable populations.
Rep. James Lankford voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Upcoming Votes
Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 - H.R.933
The Senate will be fully preoccupied this week with attempting to pass the government-funding bill. A cloture vote is set for Monday afternoon if agreement on amendments is not reached before then.
Establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2014 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2015 through 2023 - H.CON.RES.25
The House will debate and pass its budget resolution setting spending targets for the next decade. Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s vision includes the same controversial changes to entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid as it has in previous years. This budget also institutes nearly $6 trillion in spending cuts to achieve a balanced budget by FY 2023.
Thank you again for taking the time to share your opinions on the Supreme Court's decision on the President's
health care law. As the 113th Congress addresses the many challenges facing our nation, I hope you will continue to
share your thoughts with me; however, due to increased security measures, mail delivery may be delayed for up to two
weeks before it arrives in my office. I encourage you to visit my website at www.lankford.house.gov to continue to
contact me via email in the future.
In God We Trust,
James Lankford
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
AFSA Supports
Go to CAPWIZ Link below and take ACTION:
1. Air Force Tuition Assistance to Restart in Mid April. An Air Force Times article reports, “The Air Force plans to reinstate its tuition assistance [TA] program toward mid-April, said Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody. The program will continue to cover 100 percent of education costs and there won't be any restrictions on what courses airmen can take for the rest of fiscal 2013, Cody told Air Force Times on March 28.
“The Air Force needs to divert between $75 and $90 million from elsewhere in the budget to pay for tuition assistance through the end of the fiscal year, he said. The service has not yet determined from where that money will come. The Air Force hopes to fund the program for the six months remaining in the fiscal year, but there is always the chance that funding will run out before then, Cody said.
“ ‘Between now and October, the Air Force will examine which airmen are eligible for tuition assistance and when they can use the program,’ he said.”
[Chief Lokovic AFSA International Legislative Committee Bulletin 2013-067]
2. DoD Responding to Heavy Criticism for Eliminating the TRICARE Prime Option for over 170,000 Beneficiaries. The Administration decision to strip over 170,000 military
retirees, family members, and survivors of the TRICARE Prime option has resulted in extremely
heavy criticism and attention in the media. Accordingly, as reported in a DoD news release,
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Jonathan Woodson, sought to put the
Administration’s decision in a positive light, saying the change will only affect about 3 percent