Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act
On April 28, the “House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX) today issued the following statement on the FY21 NDAA process:
‘This year, Congress will pass the 60th National Defense Authorization Act. This milestone has been made possible by decades of bipartisanship, regular order, and transparency.
The COVID-19 pandemic will certainly affect how the Committee marks up the FY21 NDAA and how the House considers it on the floor. We are discussing those details and consulting with the Leadership of both parties. At the same time we remain committed to the principles that have guided the bill in the past — regular order through the committee, transparency, and bipartisanship.'”
The EANGUS National Office staff are monitoring Congressional efforts and advocating on behalf of the membership. The COVID pandemic created an atypical environment on Capitol Hill, but Congressional Defense Committee staff are working toward a defense bill. Of note, the EANGUS National Office is working to incorporate H.R. 5169, The TRICARE Fairness for National Guard and Reserve Retirees Act. H.R. 5169 would wed early retirement pay and affordable TRICARE coverage for members under the age of 60.
COVID
The National Office staff are working hard to ensure members have health care coverage when responding to the pandemic. In fact, President Trump issued a memorandum to SECDEF Esper on April 20 to ensure Reserve Component Servicemembers are covered by 502(f) orders and have access to healthcare during the national emergency. EANGUS, and its partner military service organizations, are advocating for health care coverage in similar, future emergency responses. Finally, EANGUS signed onto a coalition letter conveying the need for federal survivors benefits to those that served on State Active Duty orders and lost their life due as a result of their service.
Mobilization Policy
On April 28, the National Guard Bureau issued mobilization guidance. For those awaiting IET, DOD is authorizing 31 day ADOS orders (full benefits including TRICARE) in the pay grade in which they were recruited, E1 to E4. There are about 100 Servicemembers currently on orders, and about twenty-five hundred eligible. Initial entry training is at half capacity due to social distancing. Recruits are quarantined for fourteen days initially. The two weeks do not count toward training, but those days count toward service time.
