NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR UNIFORMED SERVICES (NAUS) -- Service members voice in government --...

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUNIFORMED SERVICES (NAUS)

-- Service members voice in government

-- Non-profit – non-partisan

-- All seven uniformed services

-- All ranks and grades

-- All conditions of service

ROLE OF NAUS

NAUS MISSION

Promote a strong national defense and

protect the benefits earned through service and sacrifice in the uniformed

services

Protecting Your Benefits

PART I

The Service Member’s Voice in Government

WHAT IS GOING ON IN WASHINGTON?

MAJOR ISSUE IN WASHINGTON

-- Debt and Deficit - Budget Cuts

-$487 billion-$200 billion

- Sequestration

as a Share of Federal Allocations by Year

DEFENSE BUDGET

50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%1962 1972 1982 1992 2002 2012 2022

DEFENSE SPENDING AS A PERCENTAGE OF GDP

Vietnam War Reagan Build up Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan

MILITARY PERSONNEL COSTSAREN’T EXPLODING

About one-third of the defense budget goes to military personnel and health care costs – the same share it has

been for more than 30 years. That’s no more unaffordable now than in the past.

33%

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

HealthCare

Personnel

RUNAWAY SPENDING, NOT LOW TAX REVENUE, RESPONSIBLE

FOR FUTURE DEFICITS… PERCENTAGE OF GDP

The main driver behind long-term deficits is government spending—not low revenues. While revenue will surpass its historical average of 18.0 percent of GDP by 2021, spending will shoot past its historical

average of 20.3 percent, reaching 26.4 percent in the same year.Current Recession also plays significant role in current deficit.

Assault on Military Benefits

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

“Well, the war is over. We don’t need them anymore. We don’t need to honor the promises we made when we recruited them,

so to heck with the troops.”

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

FY 2015 NDAA shifts $9B in cost on to military personnel, families

and retirees -- Caps AD pay raise at 1% -- Cuts Basic Allowance for Housing -- Reduces commissary savings -- Proposes TRICARE consolidation

ROCKS IN THE RUCKSACK

PAY RAISE -- Cap Active Duty Pay Raise at 1.0% - Caps currently serving pay raise at 1%; below ECI for second year with caps through FY 2019 (six years) - Cites “rising personnel cost” over past 12 years - Ignores reality of closing 13% pay gap seen in 1999 and fixing retention problems - Pay growth has already slowed; should not repeat bad lessons of the 90s and 70s

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

MILITARY PAY RAISES SINCE 2000

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

BAH CUT -- Cut Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)

- Increase out-of-pocket expenses of the currently serving

by some 5%- Reverses action taken in last 143 years to

eliminate out-of-pocket costs- In 1999, out-of-pocket costs averaged 19%- DoD/Congress took action to address glaring

inequities and stem retention problems

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

COMMISSARY CUT -- Cut Commissary Subsidy - Reduce Defense Commissary Agency

(DeCA) budget from $1.4B to $400M- Represents a loss of savings of approximately

66%-- Checkout savings would drop from

roughly 30% to 10%-- Biggest hit on lower grade personnel and

retirees

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

FOOD STAMP USE AMONGMILITARY RISES AGAIN

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

Military dollars spent on food stamps

$26.2M $24.8M$31.1M

$52.9M

$72.8M

$87.8M

$98.8M$103.6M

TRICARE CONSOLIDATION-- TRICARE – 3 into 1 plan

- Eliminates existing TRICARE options for those under

age 65; replaced by single plan- Re-labels Prime “enrollment” as

“participation” fee but drops guaranteed access

- Increases deductibles and co-pays & Rx co-pays*

- Requires maintenance meds to be filled by MTF or mail order

- Establishes fees for working age retirees to use MTFs

- Establishes enrollment fees (means-testing) for retirees

age 65 and older in TRICARE-for-Life program

(grandfathers those currently over 65) * *Congress rejected last year

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

CRITICS IGNORE RECENT BENEFIT/FEE CHANGES

-- 13% TRICARE Prime Fee Hike (2011)-- Annual Prime Fee Hikes (2012+)-- $8-$23 Rx Copay Hikes (2012-13)-- Annual Rx Copay Hikes (2014+)-- Mandatory Mail-order Rx Refills

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

POSITIVE WAYS TO CONTROL HEALTH COSTS

-- Consolidate fragmented DoD system-- Better manage chronic conditions-- Maximize use of military medical facilities-- Improve promotion of mail-order Rx-- Improve contracting/procurement

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

QUADRUPLE WHAMMY IMPACT

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

EDUCATION BENEFITS -- Tuition Assistance – one of the most prized and important of benefits. -- Discontinued with Sequestration -- Reinstated a significantly altered program when NAUS and others complained

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

“We train for certainty. We educate for uncertainty.”

HAZARDOUS DUTY PAY -- Eliminated in 8 countries and 5 waterways

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

MILITARY RETIREMENT-- Assertion

- System unaffordable- System unfair to those who serve less

than 20 years-- Jo Ann Rooney, Principal Deputy

Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness:

“While the Department acknowledges the military retirement system appears expensive, it is neither unaffordable nor spiraling out of control, as some would contend.”

-- Thrift savings plan

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

MILITARY RETIREE COLABipartisan Budget Agreement- Reduce Retire COLA by 1% until age 62- $6.3 Billion over 10 years

- DEFEATED!!!-

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

VETERANS EMPLOYMENT -- Vow to Hire Heroes Act – 2011 -- $5,600 tax credit for hiring veterans -- $9,600 tax credit for hiring disabled veterans -- Congress allowed them to expire 31 December 2013

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

ELIGIBILITY FOR CIVILIAN PENSIONS

-- Eliminate employee pension for military retirees who go back to work for the government. -- 134,000 people -- Double-dippers

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

MILITARY FUNERALS -- Colorado Journalist -- Provide only to service members and veterans who are legitimate “Heroes” -- “Heroes” undefined -- Absurd but not new (mid-90s)

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

SEQUESTRATION -- Sequestration was thought to be so egregious it

wouldn’t happen -- Debt reduction is a national priority, but should not be on backs of troops and families -- Additional cuts will continue to threaten pay, benefits, and end strength – further lowering end strength places national security at risk

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

ELIMINATE SEQUESTRATION -- The Budget Control Act of 2011 levied a $500B bill on Pentagon on top of already agreed $487B reduction (over 10 years) -- Under Bipartisan Budget Act, DoD received some sequestration relief for FY14 and FY15 -- But, sequestration returns for FY16 - FY22 approximately $50 billion per year -- If remains in place, will require further, dramatic cuts

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

-- Reversed retiree COLA cuts-- Stopped major TRICARE fee-- Won passage of new 21st Century GI Bill-- Lowered retirement age and expanded education benefits for National Guard & Reserve Personnel-- Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission-- Restored tuition assistance funding after 2013 sequestration cuts-- Doc Fix

SUCCESSES

-- DIC offset-- Voting rights-- Stolen Valor Legislation-- Distinguished Warfare Medal (now Device)-- Cemetery-- Ensured that qualified disabled retirees receive both full military retirement pay and VA disability compensation-- TRICARE For Life/TRICARE Senior Pharmacy-- Concurrent Receipt – combat related spec. comp.-- Repealed age-62 “Military Widow’s Tax”

SUCCESSES

-- Defeated Major TRICARE Fee Hikes-- 50.6% Cum. Pay Raise (vs. 37.6% Private Sector)-- Post-9/11 GI Bill + Transferability-- End Strength Increases-- TRICARE Reserve Select-- TRICARE Retired Reserve (Gray Area TRICARE)-- G/R Early Ret. Credit for Call-ups post-28 Jan 2008-- Disability Evaluation System Improvements-- Death Benefit Upgrades (SBP, SGLI, et al)

SUCCESSES

-- Not social entitlements-- Promised – moral contract – court case-- Before all-volunteer force – deferred compensation-- All volunteer force – price of doing business

EARNED BENEFITS

-- HASC Personnel Subcommittee – Win-- HASC Clear Mark – Win-- HASC – Win-- House of Representatives – Win-- SASC – Partial Win

(BAH & Active Duty Pay)

-- Senate-- Conference Committee-- Congress-- President

NDAA 2015

THEY’RE BACK!

Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work said onOctober 14, 2014 that the Pentagon will continuepressing to trim military pay, pension and housing

allowances despite rejection by Congress

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

THE FUTURE -- If political & military officials want to change the promised package of benefits for future enlistees, let’s have the discussion. -- Let’s talk about the probable impact on recruiting, retention and quality of the force. -- Let’s not penalize and break faith with those who have and are serving.

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

“You can’t renegotiate the front end once the back end is done. This is an obligation that has been made to people whose military careers are now done.”

“I’ve said many times that I believe that whether there is a specific contracted obligation or not, when someone has served a full career, we have a moral obligation to provide them with lifetime medical care.”

U.S. Senator James Webb (D-VA)

Senator James Webb (D-VA)

“As we express our gratitude, we mustnever forget the highest appreciation

is notto utter words, but to live by them.”

JOHN F. KENNEDY

“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”

GEORGE WASHINGTON

UNCLE SAM REPAIRS VA HEALTH CARE

DEPARTMENT OFVETERANS AFFAIRS

SCANDAL– Appointment delays – gaming the system- Avoidable deaths- Resignations

• Dr. Robert Petzel – VA’s top health official• VA General Counsel Will Gunn• Acting Under Secretary for Health, Robert Jesse

VETERANS HEALTHCARE

- New Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert A. McDonald

- New authority- More money

Promote A StrongNational Defense

PART II

The Service Member’s Voice in Government

Decline of U.S. Military Power

-- Danger of “Hollow Force”- Smallest Army since 1941- Smallest Navy since 1916- Smallest Air Force with the oldest aircraft inventory in history- Marine Corps incapable of carrying out assigned tasks

HOLLOW FORCE

AIR FORCE- Eliminate A-10s & U2s- Reduce F-16, F-15 & Drones- Eliminate RC-10- Slow purchase of F-35

HOLLOW FORCE

ARMY- 76 Brigades in 1990; 45 Brigades today; going to 32- 2 Active Brigades in Europe

HOLLOW FORCE

NAVY- Carrier and its Wing- No new negotiations for Littoral Combat Ships beyond- ½ of cruisers (11 ships) 32 laid up

HOLLOW FORCE

MARINE CORPS- 1 Regimental Headquarters- 8 Battalions (6 Infantry and 2 Artillery)- 27 Companies and Batteries- 3 Aviation Group Headquarters- 13 Squadrons

Nearly a Divisions Worth of Ground Combat Power

HOLLOW FORCE

Before Decimating National Defense,We Must Ask the Following Critical

Questions:1. What are the threats we face?2. What resources do Combatant Commanders

need to protect against those threats?3. What do those resources cost and how can

we obtain them efficiently?

4. What can we afford and what are the risks to our nation if we do not supply those resources?

CRITICAL QUESTIONS

“Someone has to say. “Listen, America;

You can no longer police the world,

nor should you police the world.”

Representative Walter Jones (R-NC)

AMERICA’S ROLE

DANGEROUS WORLD

-- SYRIA – all chemical weapons may not have been destroyed

• Continuing Civil War – 170,000 deaths

-- IRAQ – ISIS offensive• “Islamic threat beyond everything we’ve seen!” –

Secretary of Defense Hagel

-- IRAN – Continues to procure nuclear weapons• Supporter of International Terrorism

-- LIBYA – • Government lost control of most ministries and state

institutions• U.S. Embassy withdrawn

-- GAZA – Israel and Palestinian war

DANGEROUS WORLD cont.

-- JORDAN – Surrounded-- EGYPT – Islamic Brotherhood-- AFGHANISTAN & PAKISTAN – U.S. withdrawal-- NIGERIA –

• Boko Haram declares Islamic Caliphate• Kidnapped female students

-- SOMOLIA – • Home base of Al-Shabaah• Piracy

-- YEMEN – Islamists & Shiite rebels control Capitol-- KENYA – Attacks by Al-Shabaah-- UGANDA – Al-Shabaah plot to attack Americans

DANGEROUS WORLD cont.

-- WEST AFRICA – Ebola epidemic-- SOUTH SUDAN - Imploding-- CRIMEIA – Annexed by Russia-- UKRAINE –

• Shoot down MH-17 by Rebels• Russian opens war front

-- RUSSIA – • Expansionism• Military modernization

-- SWEDEN – Submarine intrusions

DANGEROUS WORLD cont.

-- CHINA – • Territorial disputes and bullying over oil and other

resources ( India, Japan, Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei)

• Short sharp wars to assert China’s sovereignty• Strike first• “Kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.”• Denounce U.S. strategic shift• Double digit budget increase for two decades• 2020 overtake U.S. Fleet

-- NORTH KOREA – • Nuclear program – weapons• Missile launches• Exporting military technology and equipment

-- JAPAN – Ending ban on military fighting abroad

DANGEROUS WORLD cont.

-- BALKANS – A forgotten front in the war on terrorism

• Bosnia – Islamic fighters in 1992-95 civil war stayed – Training camps – prepare cadets for attacks

in their countries (Spain – Turkey)

• Kosovo – Al-Qaeda firmly established – Training of Syrian fighter – 300

-- ALBANIA – • Small population of fundamentalist Wahhabi Militants• Pursue Islamic supremacist agenda

DANGEROUS WORLD

– Conduct independent and non-partisan review of QDR• Former Secretary of Defense William Perry• General John Abizaid, USA (Ret)

NATIONAL DEFENSE COUNCIL

– Current strategy for sizing the armed services is too weak for today’s global threats

– Need a broader strategy that requires military to fight on multiple fronts simultaneously

– Downsizing U.S. Military to fit budgets is a “Serious Strategic Misstep on the Part of the United States”

– No world order without the power to preserve it– If America can’t or won’t – world’s people will

look elsewhere– “A nagging doubt is eating away at world order

– and the superpower is largely ignoring it.” – The Economist, May 3rd, 2014

– National tipping point – reset defense not hamstring it

WHAT WOULD AMERICA FIGHT FOR?

MILITARY VETERANS IN CONGRESS

VETERANS IN CONGRESS

80%

60%

40%

20%

19731982

19912000

2009

ConfidenceIn the

Military

Vets inCongress

ConfidenceIn

Congress

VETERANS IN CONGRESS

U.S. Confidence in Institutions 2009

82%

59%

51%

39% 38%28%

17%

WHAT CAN YOU DO? -- Write your Representative/Senators -- Call your Representative/Senators -- Fax your Representative/Senators -- Visit you Representative/Senators -- Join NAUS & go to NAUS Capwiz site and send a message

ASSAULT ON MILITARY,VETERAN, RETIREE BENEFITS

NAUS needs you!