Posted on 08/04/2011 11:09:31 AM PDT by SkyPilot
Military pay raises, funding for veterans health care and the Post-9/11 GI Bill could be sacrificed to new fiscal realities as the result of the deal signed by President Obama on Tuesday to raise the federal debt ceiling, according to the Military Officers Association and veterans groups. The law requires the federal budget be cut $2.1 trillion over 10 years.
The White House said it plans to cut $350 billion from the Defense Department budget (excluding war funding) over the next decade. Retired Air Force Col. Michael Hayden, the association's deputy director for government relations, said this means "everything is on the table," including military pay.
While Congress historically has been reluctant to freeze military pay, the 2011 Budget Control Act signed by Obama on Tuesday makes it clear upfront that military pay is no longer off-limits in budget discussions. If the administration and Congress fail to make the required reductions then across-the-board cuts in discretionary funding will be triggered through a procedure known as sequestration. The law gives the president "authority to exempt any [military] personnel account from sequestration" but only if "savings are achieved through across-the-board reductions in the remainder of the Department of Defense budget," states a House Rules Committee analysis of the bill.
Hayden said, "this leaves pay raises up for grabs" as Defense crafts a new budget to meet cuts planned by the White House. He also expressed concern that cost-of-living increases for military retirees could end up sacrificed in the Pentagon budget-cutting process, although by law they are protected from sequestration.
Retired Air Force Col. Philip Odom, another deputy director for government relations at the Military Officers Association, said troops could face a pay freeze coming on the heels of a small 1.6 percent pay raise in the 2012 budget, the "second lowest increase since 1962."
Keith Weller, a spokesman for the Reserve Officers Association, expressed concern that the "super committee" Congress must establish to determine the budget cuts will use the new strict budget caps to increase fees for the TRICARE health insurance program for active-duty and retired military personnel.
"We don't want them to view TRICARE as a cash cow," Weller said. In January, then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called for a "modest" increase in TRICARE premiums, which have been frozen at $460 a year for the past 15 years, compared to $5,000 a year other federal workers pay for health insurance.
Gates said Defense heath care costs have spiraled to $50 billion a year from $19 billion a year over the past decade, with the 10 million TRICARE beneficiaries accounting for much of that increase.
The budget control law lumps the discretionary budgets for the Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs departments, along with the National Nuclear Security Administration, the intelligence community management account and portions of the State Department budget, in a new "security" category capped at $684 billion in fiscal 2012. This marks a 6 percent, or $44 billion, cut for those entities, according to an analysis by the Heritage Foundation.
If these departments and agencies do not adhere to the budget caps then they would lose funds through the sequestration process spread evenly across their budgets, but with no clear delineation in how and where cuts would be made, the analysis concluded.
Carl Blake, legislative director of Paralyzed Veterans of America, said he has real concerns about the effect the law will have on veterans' health care.
Veterans Affairs Department pension and disability programs are fenced off from cuts or sequestration, Blake said, but not the massive 247,000 employee Veterans Health Administration, which is expected to care for 6.2 million patients in 2012. Blake said VHA operates under discretionary funding, which makes it a target for cuts.
Government Executive learned that John Carson, director of the White House office of public engagement, met with veterans groups, including the America Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and the Wounded Warrior Project, to assure them that veterans compensation programs will be safe from sequestration.
But Joseph Chenelly, assistant national communications director for the Disabled American Veterans, said Carson did not address whether VHA or the Post-9/11GI Bill would be safe from cuts. Joseph Violante, legislative director for the group, said that despite the White House statements, "nothing reassures me that veterans programs are safe from cuts."
Ed Meagher, vice president for health care strategy at Computer Sciences Corp. and a former VA deputy chief information officer, said he doubted VA's requested $3 billion for information technology spending in 2012 will take much of a hit as the department counts on IT to save money through automation of manual processes, including the disability claims system. "At most, the IT budget might get nicked for $100 million," Meagher said.
He agreed that VHA funding faces cuts under the budget control act, and predicted those would come from new mental health projects, a number of which have been adopted to care for Afghanistan and Iraq veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. New projects, Meagher said, are easier to cut than established ones.
VA requested $6.1 billion for mental health care in its 2012 budget and $6.4 billion in its 2013 budget, both which account just under 15 percent of the overall health care budget of $46 billion in each of those years. Nextgov reported in March that more than half the Afghanistan and Iraq veterans treated by VA last year received care for mental health problems, roughly four times the rate of the general population.
Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told a hearing of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee that the nation faces a $1 trillion long-term bill to care for veterans of those wars and warned against slashing program funding "in a shortsighted rush."
VA requested $11.1 billion for the Post-9/11 GI Bill in 2012, up $2.1 billion from 2011, with more than 260,000 veterans enrolled in the college year that just ended.
Michael Dakduk, executive director of the Student Veterans of America, said he is worried that budget hawks will flail the program.
Dakduk, a Marine veteran who served tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq, said that Congress supports projects like the GI Bill when the memories of war are fresh, but when those fade, attention shifts from caring for veterans to balancing the budget.
Hayden predicted an intense round of lobbying as various groups work to protect their piece of a smaller pie. But, he said, the stark reality is "everyone will have to suffer a little bit."
Meaning that we have been bad, so in being judged, we have been punished with Obama?
Punishing the RNC with McCain as our primary candidate, maybe. But our country has never done anything to deserve Obama.
I veiw military pensions as deferred compensation. Taking low pay for hazardous duty while in uniform. Any and all servicemembers are subject to being shot at. Just because it didn’t happen doesn’t mean they should be considered on a “lower tier” than those who were. Remember those “REMF’s” in Iraq who were killed and captured when they made a wrong turn? I’m sure they didn’t expect that. How do we justify creating another caste system in the miltary based on one’s career field?
Medical care? That’s a tough one. There are those who abuse the system, but there are also those who have been injured as direct result of their service. There are also those who may not find out for years afterward that they were affected. For example, exposure to hazardous chemicals.
An all-volunteer force comes with a price. There are enticements to encourage young people to put their lives on hold and wear a uniform. To become cannon fodder in some instances. Yet, when it comes to honor the back end of the agreement, the gov’t finds a way to back out of their end of the agreement. “It’s too expensive.” Paying vermin to sit on their asses and contribute nothing to our society is too expensive.
If we don’t want the financial obligations that come with an all-volunteer force, then it’s time to abandon it. Conscription or mandatory 2 years like the Israelis.
But you won’t get anywhere near as effective a force as the Israelis. Why? Because the vast majority of their citizens realize that they are fighting for their very survival each and every day. Here? You’re taking an 18 year old away from his Xbox. He’s gonna be pissed and he’s gonna do whatever he has to in order to get kicked out.
In closing, if, and I mean IF absolutely every dept. was being cut, that none were exempt, I wouldn’t have a problem with paying a bit more for TriCare, not getting a COLA or even taking a cut in my retirement check.
But that’s not the case. We’re being singled out for the cuts. As usual.
I don’t see myself as being “elite”, “nobility” or “special” as has been bandied about on these boards before by others who bear a certain amount of disdain for the military veteran.
We’re tired of being the ones bearing the brunt of our governments duplicity and ineptitude.
The slim in Sodom on the Potomac has screwed us in the ground for years. For years they have cut, cut, cut our pay and benefits and piled on fees for everything. Soon, I will have nothing but memories left for my 20 plus years of active duty service. I started out with a retired check, health and dental coverage, use of the PX and commissary and post facilities for life. Soon, I will only have memories and in the poor house. When they start cutting my retired pay and my wife’s social security, I told her we would send a note in every bill we had to pay and say, when the imperial federal socialized government pays me, I will pay you. Not until. If they want it back, they can come and get it. Basically that is just the house. I can live with out the phones, direct tv, internet service. These Aholes do not care about the military. we are a pawn for them to juggle. Even the so called leadership of the military are in bed with the commies in DC. They are in DC themselves, thus live the life with them.
A military career was their choice. they accepted what goes with following that career path with all the “hits.”
That is absolutely correct; it’s a choice that we made. The conditions were accepted knowingly as part of military service. But it is also true that career military accepted what the government offered and promised in return for their service; namely the compensation system that is currently in place. The government uses military benefits as a recruitment tool. If fiscal realities mandate changing the retirement system, it should be for those who sign up in the future, so they can accept or reject the offered compensation. It’s immoral to promise compensation for service and then reneg. People make life choices based on the government’s guarantee. If a different system was put in place, we may well not have chosen to remain in the military. Also it’s overly simplistic to compare military duties to a typical job; the demands are far greater. Those who serve their country should not be penalized due to the government’s mismanagement. That’s nothing but a bait and switch.
Such an sickening overused phrase when someone doesn’t like what the POLITICIANS are doing.
Good for you, Sky...great pie charts...
As someone else has stated, one of the few things specifically called for in the Constitution is a national defense and it’s the first friggin’ thing they cut...
This is the typical lib-dim meme - cut defense and screw our warriors and their families...
The formula for the destruction of our beloved country...and they know it...
Damn straight!
This retired Navy family has paid the price of service: re-location, family disruption, socialized medicine, lousy schools, etc...and were proud to do it for the good things: job satisfaction, great fellow warriors, support of country, etc.
Now don’t stick the knife in, twist it and keep smiling in my face, telling me you love me...
Dead people, homeless people, illegal aliens, welfare queens, felons, union hacks......They couldn't win if they didn't cheat or pay people off.
When they have to have an honest election, they will lose every time.
Rock? I had something more akin to a tactical nuke in mind. I won’t write any else because I would surely be banned from FR for life.
I love the military. Dad, sister, brothers, brother in law, friends are all vets.
But I do have a question about whether military retirement and life long disability benefits are constitutional. While they are compassionate and desirable, are they truly constitutional?
If we’re conservatives, we have to be consistent. Does the Constitution allow for such benefits?
Lurk and vette6387 ,
view BlatherNaut’s comment below:
. . . The conditions were accepted knowingly as part of military service . . .
As well as the rest of the comment.
BlatherNaut is exactly correct. Part of the compensation for lower pay is the benefit offered and promised. It is not combat for which we are compensated (which has its own compensation program) but, rather, the 24 hour a-day on call life, lower wages (every officer, for instance, over the rank of captain has a masters deg. on a much lower pay scale than civilian counterpart), long work hours, and that’s just a start.
It is not a perk to have benefits in the military.
Nor is it any kind of favor from the taxpayers, and please keep in mind military members certainly pay taxes out of their earnings.
However, the point I wanted to make was that the government has very few real tasks. The New Deal and The Great Society of democrat presidents notwithstanding.
Protection of our borders is one of those few roles.
I hope you’ll keep that in mind when you do your constitutional research. And please get back to us with your results.
‘’Yep, p-ss on those guys, they don’t count for nuthin,keep votin for 0’b.’’
“I love and respect our military personnel as much as anyone, but it strikes me that what is being said here is that military pensions and benefits should be sacrosanct and not be subject to any alterations while this country deals with a massive over spending problem.”
Considering that our military has been engaged in two wars for over a decade I think its safe to declare that pensions and benefits should be sacronsanct.
However considering that there is a budget crunch I would deem it appropriate if they were grandfather in all current service members but end the benefit for those joining past an agreed upon date.
“Super Congress”
Six progressives and six progressive lites.
This country’s politicians and many voters just make me sick.
If they don’t want to pay or keep promises to their military, then they need to figure out how they’re going to get off their FAT ASSES and go protect their own ‘effin freedom and good life.
This Army family has paid through the nose. A total of three + years living without Dad, move after move, real estate losses, furniture busted up and broken, an entire career given up by mom, new school changes year after year ...not to mention we hardly know our extended family anymore.
And that’s NOTHING compared to a friend of mine w/ 5 kids who just lost her husband of almost 30 years. What did SHE get for any of her sacrifice??
Would the average 2-child American family give any of this up?? NEVER in a million years.
America loves its welfare fatties and their illegals so much — why dont’ they ask THEM to go serve on the front lines????
BURNS ME UP.
The inflation rate is 9.8% if you use the same formula that was used during the Clinton and Bush years.
Medicare is not exempt. ObamaCare moved $500,000,000,000.00 from Medicare to Medicaid, simply by lowering what they pay to providers.
Try and find a Dr. who will take Medicare patients, even if you have a PPO as secondary, and offer to pay cash.
You have no choice as to whether you have Medicare. Of course you could always choose to be independently wealthy, bear in mind that would mean more than a few million.
Congressional debt deal exempts Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security -- for now
You are correct about the lies and smoke and mirrors of the Obama administration. Kathleen Sebelius was caught red handed during Congressional testimony of "double counting" Medicare.
The devil is in the details, and yes, payments could be reduced - but this is nothing like what is happening to veterans. These are real cuts now. TRICARE is going up....now. Possibly by a quadruple amount. Remember, before TRICARE, veterans and their immediate families were promised free health care for life. Now they pay, and it is going to soon be a lot more. Isn't that great?
Medicare was no where near touched or impacted in this debt deal as will be military and veterans.
It is a simple political equation: Democrats demanded entitlements not be touched, and come this November "Super Congress" commission, veterans and the military are going to be slaughtered (my prediction). The article I posted attests to this.
Furthermore, even leaving out benefits to the military and veterans, the "deal" calls for the first 50% of ALL cuts to come DIRECTLY from the DoD - and then after that they can go after whatever crumbs anyone even agrees to. Former Ambassador John Bolton said in a recent interview this was a "disaster" for the Defense Dept, and alluded that instead of weapons and contractors, the DoD may try to take even more away in terms of retirement, health care, and salaries.
Medicare is a "sacred" program to Democrats.
The could give a rat's a$$ about veterans.
Ok. I am a disabled vet. I bought a home this year using my income from the V.A. I got a V.A. home loan. You, the American taxpayer have backed my home loan. You want to cut my current level of pay? Only if you are ready to pick up the note on my home.
The nation made certain promises to our vets. You don’t have to like it one little bit but we kept up our end. You will do the same, or it will be like pulling teeth to get people to join the military anymore....not because of reduced bennies, but because you, the American civilian population will have shown that your word to your vets mean two things....JACK and S**T!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.