Happy Holidays Everyone!
With 2019 coming to a close we wanted to give you all updates on some of the issues we have been working on. As we press on into 2020, we will need your continued help and support to make sure lawmakers know how important these issues are to us and all members of the National Guard.
CONTINUING RESOLUTION, 302B, WHAT’S NEXT
The President signed into law an extension of the Continuing Resolution that funds the government until midnight December 20th. Being discussed as next steps are possibly another short term Continuing Resolution or a full-year Continuing Resolution. The House passed 10 of 12 regular appropriations bills, but the Senate has passed none. The Senate did not work any appropriations bills until the overall budget was set and that happened on August 2nd. The Senate was on recess until after Labor Day, and when they returned, they have only been able to work on Defense and Energy/Water and passed both of those out of committee, awaiting floor action. The first stumbling block was the allocations—called 302(b) allocations—how much of the budget goes to each of the 12 major departments. The major stumbling block to progress is funding for the Southwest Border wall that the president took from military construction money, and whether that money will be restored to military construction accounts—the Senate says yes and the House says no.
NDAA PROGRESS
Although the House and Senate passed their individual versions of the 2020 NDAA before the August recess, negotiators have been feverously working to reconcile the differences. The major differences are on war powers, Guantanamo Bay, transgender service members, the Feres Doctrine, the so-called widow’s tax and the border wall. A pared-down version (called the “skinny NDAA”) was suggested by Senator Jim Inhofe and it has been shelved but it brought the parties a little closer together to work out the differences. Once the differences are agreed upon, an aide on the Senate Armed Services Committee warned that it would take roughly 20 days to process the NDAA and bring it to the floor.
HR 5050 VETERANS AND CONSUMERS FAIR CREDIT ACT
Three Representatives introduced this bill a couple of weeks ago. The bill would extend most of the provisions of the Military Lending Act (MLA) to all consumers. EANGUS is concerned about the gratuitous use of the word “Veterans” in the name since the bill does nothing specifically for veterans as a subset of consumers, and the bill was introduced the day after Veterans Day. EANGUS has weighed in with the House Financial Services staff and made its objections known. Whether the staff will alter the bill or not remains to be seen.
BURN PIT MITIGATION
EANGUS, along with ROA, TAPS, Veteran Warriors, Vietnam Veterans of America, and most recently NGAUS, are drafting a letter to Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist to end the use of burn pits by DOD, and to field the Expeditionary Solid Waste Disposal System (ESWDS) immediately. The requirement is for $8.5 million for fielding ten systems for use where open burn pits are in operation today; and an additional $10 million to jumpstart a program of record to furnish ESWDS in regions where waste management can be accomplished using ESWDS. We have positive indications within the Pentagon that Secretary Norquist will approve this action.
The TEA Act for G.I. Bill Transferability
EANGUS and the VEP team have been working to change the Department of Defense’s upcoming policy that would limit the ability of Servicemembers to transfer the Post-9/11 GI Bill to their family. We are proud to announce that Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Jon Tester (D-MT) heard our concerns and introduced the G.I. Bill Transferability Entitlement Act (TEA Act). In the Senators’ press release they quote Legislative Director Daniel Elkins, “The men and women that protect our way of life often do not come from generational wealth, and they have earned the right to pass on what they have earned to their family.” After months of continued effort and an article written by the Chicago Sun-Times members of the House of Representatives have now begun taking up the issue! As we begin meeting with members of Congress, we will be sending out a letter-writing campaign to all of our members soon so that we can show them just how important this is to us!
TRICARE Fairness for National Guard and Reserve Retirees Act
Last month, the National Office supported a new piece of legislation. Frank Yoakum, our executive director shared the following quote, “The Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS) extends its support for the TRICARE Fairness for National Guard and Reserve Retirees Act. We thank Representative Spano and Representative Gabbard for introducing the legislation. Many members are separating from the National Guard before the age of 60 because of early retirement credits, but are unable to retain their health care coverage. This legislation would fix the loophole, and ease those members’ transitions to civilian life.” There will likely be no action taken on H.R.5169, TRICARE Fairness for National Guard and Reserve Retirees Act in December. The National Office staff will fight to see its inclusion in the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act in the spring.
