Posted on 12/02/2014 9:38:01 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
Troops will see smaller pay raises and housing and health care benefits next year under a defense budget agreement unveiled Tuesday in Congress.
Lawmakers agreed to White House and Pentagon requests to reduce personnel and equipment costs by capping pay raises at 1 percent, slowing housing allowance increases, and ratcheting up Tricare prescription copays. The Air Force will not be able to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt but was given authority to reduce its flying time.
The compromise breaks a months-long impasse on Capitol Hill over the benefits. Now, the bill must be fast-tracked and passed in the House and Senate without any amendments, which sponsors hope can be done by next week before Congress wraps up business for the year.
“I think we all recognized we have to provide some savings, but we didn’t want to get too far out in front,” a senior official said during a briefing on the bill by the armed services committees of both chambers.
The White House and the Defense Department earlier this year proposed cuts to benefits including raises, allowance and health insurance, and planned to save money by retiring the Air Force’s A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft, mothballing some ships and curbing other equipment costs.
Top brass came to Capitol Hill and made their case to lawmakers for a spending reduction plan that covers the next decade, saying mandatory budget caps set to kick in 2015 will put the Pentagon in a money crunch. The Senate backed many of the military proposals but the House balked at finding savings by carving out troop benefits.
The compromise bill says nothing about the proposed pay-raise cap, a budgeting method that ensures President Barack Obama’s 1-percent ceiling on increases will be in place next year instead of the typical 1.8-percent increase mandated by law.
Basic housing allowance now covers 100 percent of rental costs for troops. The Pentagon had proposed slowing inflation increases in the coming years until it paid only 95 percent of costs. The compromise budget unveiled Tuesday instead calls for reducing increases next year so the allowance covers 99 percent of costs.
A similar deal on prescription copays for troops covered by Tricare insurance would increase out-of-pocket costs by $3 next year and put off any decisions beyond that. The DOD and the White House proposed a plan that would, over a decade, increase copays by $30, congressional staff said.
A senior staff member said House and Senate lawmakers wanted to see the results of a landmark review of benefits slated to be finished by Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission in February before planning any cuts farther into the future. The commission is expected to weigh in on how to manage ballooning costs.
Supporters of budget cuts also won out in the battle for the future of the A-10, a ground-support aircraft beloved by infantry and championed by a group of lawmakers including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
The bill bars the Air Force from retiring the aircraft as planned but allows Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to reduce maintenance costs through fewer flying hours.
Active Duty ping.
Gotta leave room for all the illegals. Amazing how seniors and the troops get the burden (along with the rest of us tax payers), and the leftists just get more free stuff.
Meanwhile, the EBT Cards are being handed out like Candy.
Which is the only thing addressed in the Constitution, National Defense or Welfare?
America as we knew Her is doomed.
How deep did they slash TANF, SNAP, Section 8 and the rest?
Oh snap.
They didn’t.
They increased it.
This is silly. The British soldiers were shocked to learn how much we earned compared to them, they figured we made much more. If we are going to have a smaller military we need to make sure compensation packages are such that we can continue to get the best and the brightest to serve.
Who was pushing for these low benefits, rats or gops?
I spent 10 years on active duty in the military and it just makes me SCREAM every time the government wants to cut anything military, especially pay and benefits. These decision making assholes owe their very jobs to our military. Their very existence in a free society is due to our military. Assholes one and all.
Not sorry for this rant.
The economy is doing well according to Obama. There should, therefore, be NO need to increase welfare expenditures.
I spent 36 years active and reserve, and what really bugs me is that those who have done absolutely nothing in sacrifice for their country get benefits given to them for free, while military personnel are told they will have to pay more because there is not enough money.
Increase Tricare costs to service members, but give out huge subsidies to Obamacare.
And to every Mexican in sight.
Of course, how could they give prison inmates fraudulent tax refunds and give welfare recipients a raise if they did not cut military benefits. I understand completely. The bastards.
No need to be sorry for the rant. Every word is true.
TY
“we didn’t want to get too far out in front,” a senior official said during a briefing on the bill by the armed services committees of both chambers.”
God no - the concept is utterly unacceptable with a muzzie-loving pRes leading from BEHIND.
“Who was pushing for these low benefits, rats or gops?”
Please explain the difference.
Don’t need best and brightest, doncha know? Obama said his beloved illegals can join.
This bunch of trash makes me ill. Roll out the red carpet and freebies for illegals, but cut what the troops need. Yes it is only a small amount now, but it’s the start of a slippery slope.
I guess the Repubs hate the military and national security now. I see this no other way.
Supply and Demand. If less people sign up, the salary will go up.
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