Roll Call – Drill Weekend Talking Points for May 2018
Rare Cancer Research
Since early fall 2017, EANGUS has been engaged in a systematic approach to strategically engage the DOD, VA, and Capitol Hill with an important and increasingly relevant issue that has a disproportional effect on veterans and service members: the issue of rare cancers. As a result of our meetings, just this week EANGUS was able to secure report language into the House FY19 MILCON appropriations. Since our strategic lobbying engagement began on Capitol Hill, we have recruited Congressional champions on the issue on both sides of the aisle, in the three arenas of Defense, Veterans, and Healthcare, to include: Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT), Rep. Scott Taylor (VA), Rep. Nikki Tsongas (MA) and Rep. Martha Roby (AL). We are currently engaging the Senate for FY19 individual office champions.
TRS Expansion: Update
The EANGUS National Office continues to focus on expanding TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) to eligible federal employees. Unfortunately, we face bicameral, bipartisan opposition from Congressional leaders. As this is an election year, Congressional leadership is concerned with making changes to mandatory spending. The $173 Million pay-for to cover the cost of moving eligible members of the National Guard from the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) to TRS is a nonstarter in 2018. Therefore, EANGUS is using this year as an opportunity to garner cosponsors for S. 1086 and H.R. 5121. The House Armed Services Committee is scheduled to hold a mark-up of H.R. 5515, the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, May 9. For those interested, you can watch the mark-up online at armedservices.house.gov. EANGUS is working with committee member offices to address the continuity of care issue and cost issues associated with not allowing technicians to access TRS. However, without an offset, EANGUS is pessimistic that we will achieve a policy win during committee consideration. Fortunately, the mark-up is another opportunity to gain additional cosponsors for H.R. 5121. Therefore, we continue to ask our members to go online to the Legislative Action Center and respond to Call-to-Action 2018-01. We are hopeful that enough Congressional support in 2018 will get this effort over the finish line in 2019.
