Legislative Brief Achieving Legislative Success for our Navy, Veterans and Retirees in FY2013

(SECNAV RETIREE COUNCIL, 17 April 2012)

Mr. Anthony A. WallisDirector of Legislation, AUSN

• Overview: The Association of the United States Navy (AUSN), established in 2009 with roots going back to the Navy Reserve Association in 1954, is the premier advocate and ‘voice’ for our nation’s active duty and reserve Sailors on Capitol Hill. We work independently, but also alongside Veteran Service Organizations to advocate for the preservation and enhancement of veterans benefits AND act as the lead advocate for all discussions pertaining to the U.S. Navy by Congress.

What does AUSN- LEG DEPT Do for You?

• How We Achieve Success:– DRIVE THE CONVERSATION: AUSN increases presence on Capitol Hill by maximizing amount of in-

person meetings with Members of Congress, key staff and utilizes meetings as a means to inform, educate and develop professional relationships

– GET THE MESSAGE OUT: AUSN increasingly utilizes modern communication tools of Legislative work and advocacy on Capitol Hill through e-newsletters, Legislative Alerts, Twitter post, Letters to Members of Congress and Committee's,

– LISTEN & WORK TOGETHER: AUSN coordinates with other Navy allies and partners

– YOU!!!!!!! We benefit from a grassroots process that begins with our nation’s Sailors, veterans and retirees helping to get the message out!

AUSN Legislative Accomplishments (FY12)

1.) FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act for (Public Law 112-81) which included; SEC. 513. MODIFICATION OF PRESEPERATION COUNSELING FOR RESERVE COMPONENT MEMBERS BEING DEMOBILIZEDThis requires the Secretary of Defense to clarify in policy the availability of pre-separation counseling to members of the reserve component demobilizing less than 90 days before the projected date of discharge or release from active duty. (Related Bills: H.R. 2751 and S. 1465, the Joining Forces for Military Mental Health Act) SEC. 533. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAMThis directs the Secretary of Defense to coordinate with each military department to enhance current suicide prevention information sharing services for members of the Armed Forces. In addition, it would include in pre-separation counseling the availability to the member and dependents of suicide prevention resources following separation from the armed forces. (Related Bill: H.R. 1284, the Armed Forces Suicide Prevention Act) SEC. 702. MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENTS FOR ARMED FORCES DEPLOYED IN SUPPORT OF A CONTINGENCY OPERATIONThis codifies, with several modifications, the existing legislative requirement for the Secretary of Defense to provide person-to person mental health assessments for each member of the armed forces who is deployed in support of a contingency operation at specified times before and after the deployment. (Related Bills: H.R. 1942 and H.R. 26, Serves Members/Veterans Mental Health Screening Act) SEC. 703. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SUPPORT FOR MEMBERS OF THE RESERVE COMPONENTThis requires the Secretary of Defense to provide access to mental health assessments to members of the reserve components during scheduled unit training and assemblies. The provision would also require the Secretary to provide psychological health programs and training on suicide prevention and post-suicide response during scheduled unit training. (Related Bills: H.R. 948 and S. 325, The Embedded Mental Health Providers for Reserves Act) SEC. 711. IMPROVEMENT OF PROCEDURES FOR MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATIONSThis amends chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Defense to prescribe and maintain regulations relating to commanding officer and supervisor referrals of members of the armed forces for mental health evaluations. SEC. 712. EXTENSION ON TIME LIMIT FOR TRICARE CLAIMS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES This extends the time limit for TRICARE claims outside the United States to be no later than three years after the services have been provided.

AUSN Legislative Accomplishments (FY12)

2.) FY2012 Defense Appropriations (Public Law 112-74) for National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account (NGREA): $75 million appropriated for the Navy Reserve 3.) FY2012 Defense Appropriations (Public Law 112-74) for Military Construction (MILCON): $2.2 billion appropriated for the Navy, $26.3 million appropriated for the Navy Reserve 4.) PASSAGE of H.R. 674, An Act to Amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public Law 112-56), with a provision stating: TITLE II. VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 This directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), by July 1, 2012, to establish and commence a program of retraining assistance for veterans who: (1) are at least 35 but not more than 60 years of age, (2) were last discharged from active-duty service under conditions other than dishonorable, (3) are unemployed, (4) are not eligible for educational assistance under other VA programs, (5) are not in receipt of compensation for a service-connected disability rated total due to un-employability, (6) were not enrolled in any federal or state job training program at any time during the 180-day period ending on the date of application for assistance, and (7) applies for such assistance by October 1, 2013. In addition, it entitles each eligible veteran to up to 12 months of job training assistance toward a high-demand occupation. Finally, it requires the Secretary of Labor to contact each such veteran within 30 days after completion or termination of such training or assistance in order to facilitate employment. (Related Bills: H.R. 2433, the Veterans Opportunity to Work Act (VOW), and S. 951 and H.R. 1941 the Hiring Heroes Act) 5.) PASSAGE of S. 894, the Veterans Compensation COLA Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-53), whereby; The bill directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase, as of December 1, 2011, the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, and the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. 6.) PASSAGE of H.R. 2192, the National Guard and Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-64), whereby; The bill amends the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008 to exempt for an additional four-year period qualifying Armed Forces reserve component and National Guard members (who, after September 11, 2001, are called to active duty or to perform a homeland defense activity for at least 90 days, and remain eligible for an exemption during the 540-day period following such active duty or homeland defense activity service) from the application of the means-test presumption of abuse under chapter 7 (Liquidation) of the Bankruptcy Code, as amended by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.

On 16 February 2012, President Obama released his Fiscal Year 2013 (FY2013) Budget Request.

Highlights: President’s request includes over $120 billion in base funding for U.S. Navy Personnel, Operation and Maintenance, and Military Construction in addition to over $3 billion for U.S. Navy Reserve Personnel, Operation and Maintenance and Military Construction.

Significant adds include $4.1 billion for the Virginia Class submarine (SSN) program that will improve the Navy’s ability to operate in coastal waters and support special operations forces. However, significant cuts to Department of Defense programs were forthcoming due to the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, or ‘Super Committee’, this past fall to find significant cuts in Federal spending, triggering ‘sequestration’ across all Executive Branch agencies.

Challenges to DOD FY13 Budget: 1.) Cuts in MILCON/Procurement & End Strength2.) TRICARE Changes3.) Ship Cuts and Sequestration

The Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13) Budget

Department of Defense (DOD) FY13 Budget Request

U.S. Navy Account FY12 Appropriation FY13 Budget Request Increase/Decrease from FY12

MILCON 2,112,823 1,701,985 -410,838

U.S. Navy Account FY12 Appropriation FY13 Budget Request Increase/Decrease from FY12

O&M 38,120,821 41,606,943 +3,486,122

U.S. Navy Account FY12 Appropriation FY13 Budget Request Increase/Decrease from FY12

Personnel 26,803,334 27,090,893 +287,559

U.S. Navy Account FY12 Appropriation FY13 Budget Request Increase/Decrease from FY12

Procurement 46,191,309 43,894,985 -2,296,324

End Strength FY12 FY13 FY17 PLANActive Duty U.S. Navy 325,700 322,700 319,500U.S. Navy Reserve 66,200 62,500 57,100

Department of Defense (DOD) FY13 Budget Request

FY13 U.S Navy Ship Cuts (Modifications):

1.) 7 Navy Cruisers: The Administration proposes to reduce its planned modernization of Navy Cruisers. An overall reduction in defense funding and changing priorities within the Navy resulted in the proposed decommissioning of 7 older Cruisers, six of which had been scheduled for modernization. Consequently, the procurement and installation of the combat systems improvements will be reduced, resulting in a savings of $1.5 billion over the next four years. 2.) Joint High Speed Vessel: The Administration proposes to limit Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV) program procurement to 10 ships, producing savings of $1.4 billion over the next five years. The Navy expects to provide sufficient capacity for the military's wartime and peacetime intra-theater lift requirements by increasing its operational tempo. 3.) Delay SSBN-X (Ohio Class) by two years 4.) Reduce purchase in 2014 for 1 Virginia Class Submarine (SSN) instead of 2

Sequestration (Indiscriminate cuts to DOD if Congress can’t maintain balanced budget directed by the Budget Control Act of 2011):“In my view, if sequestration kicks in… I’m looking at not 285 ships in a given year. I’m looking at 230. We don’t have enough force structure to accrue that kind of savings without reducing procurement.”

– CNO, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, 15 March 2012

1.) DOD Sequestration Exemption Legislation: H.R. 3662 of Rep. Howard ‘Buck’ McKeon (R-CA-25) and S. 2065 of Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Department of Defense (DOD) FY13 Budget Request

Sequestration Resources by House Armed Services Committeehttp://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm?p=defense-cuts-resources

FY13 National Defense Authorization Act

Overview: On 29 March 2012, House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Chairman, Representative Howard ‘Buck’ McKeon (R-CA-25), and Ranking Member, Representative Adam Smith (D-WA-09), introduced the ‘by request’ intro version of the Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The legislation, H.R. 4310, authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 2013 for military activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2013.

The bill contains the same provisions as the FY13 Budget Request, however includes a ‘strike language’ clause upon the Full Committee markup, scheduled for the week of 7 May 2012. HASC Subcommittee’s will markup their version of the bill the week of 23 April 2012.

Highlights: President’s Budget Request for FY13 proposes a $140.3 billion budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

$52.7 billion for medical care, a 4.1% increase over the $50.6 billion approved by Congress for the current fiscal year and a net increase of $165 million above the advance appropriations level enacted for 2012 authorized levels.

$233 million for the administration of the VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program (VR&E), a 14% increase over 2012 authorized levels.

$2.164 billion in support of claims and benefits processing through increased staff, improved business processes, and information technology (IT) enhancements, an increase of $145 million over 2012 authorized levels.

Challenges to VA FY13 Budget:1.) Sequestration: (Indiscriminate cuts to VA if Congress can’t maintain balanced budget directed by the Budget Control Act of 2011):“I think sequestration in part, or in whole, is not necessarily a good policy [for VA]… best approach is a balanced effort towards reduction [of Federal spending]…”

– Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, 29 February 2012

2.) VA Sequestration Exemption Legislation: H.R. 3895 of Representative Jeff Miller (R-FL-01) and S. 2121 of Senator Jon Tester (D-MT)

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) FY13 Budget Request

1.) Maintain Sufficient End- Strength for Navy, Marines and Reserves

2.) Veterans Employment: Continue to support initiatives, programs and legislation that seek to employ veterans as well as facilitate smooth transition from military to civilian life

3.) Healthcare: Maintain healthcare benefits that are fair to what has been promised, TRICARE rates to COLA and not Health Index, Access to Rural Healthcare, Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Care, improve Mental Healthcare (PTSD and TBI)

4.) Veterans/Reserves Component Retirement: Oppose efforts to ‘civilianize’ the Military Retirement System and Authorize Retroactive credit to 11 September 2011 for Reserve Component

5.) Reserve Component: Provide ‘Veteran Status’ to affected Reserve Component members who otherwise were never called to active federal service during their careers – through no fault of their own, as well as DOD Program Guidance relating to the award of Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence (PDMRA) administrative absence days concerns

TOP 5 AUSN LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

AUSN’s Comprehensive FY13 Legislative Priorities can be found here:http://www.ausn.org/Advocacy/LegislativeGoalsandAgenda/tabid/257/Default.aspx

1.) Maintain Sufficient End- Strength for Navy, Marines and Reserves

H.R. 4294, Limited End Strength Reduction Act: Limits the end strength reductions for the regular component of the Army and Marine Corps and to ensure that the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Navy are provided adequate resources in order to meet the National Security Strategy. (Referred to House Armed Services Committee)

2.) Veterans Employment

H.R. 4155/ S. 2239, Veteran Skills to Jobs Act: Directs the head of each agency to treat relevant military training as sufficient to satisfy training or certification requirements for Federal licenses. (Referred to House/Senate Government Reform/Oversight Committees)

H.R. 4051/ S. 2246, TAP Modernization Act: Directs the Secretary of Labor to provide off-base transition training. (Referred to House/Senate Veterans Affairs Committees)

AUSN PRIORITY BILLS

AUSN’s Comprehensive Priority Bills (Bills of Interest) can be found here:http://www.ausn.org/Advocacy/BillsofInterest/tabid/2668/Default.aspx

3.) Healthcare

H.R. 1855/S. 957, Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitative Services Improvements Act: The bills amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the provision of rehabilitative services for veterans with traumatic brain injury. (Hearings held and reported by House/Senate Veterans Affairs Committees)

H.R. 3612/S. 1629, Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act: Clarifies presumptions relating to the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam. (Referred to House/Senate Veterans Affairs Committees)

S. 1849, Rural Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act: Requires a five-year strategic plan for the Office of Rural Health of the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs for improving access to, and the quality of, health care services for veterans in rural areas. (Referred to Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee)

AUSN PRIORITY BILLS

4.) Veterans/Reserves Retirement

H.R. 181, National Guardsmen and Reservists Parity for Patriots Act: The bill would amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to back-date to September 11, 2001, the period of active duty or performed active service, in support of a contingency operation or in other emergency situations, for which members of Ready Reserve components of the armed forces shall receive credit in determining eligibility for early receipt of non-regular service retired pay. (Referred to HASC- Subcommittee on Military Personnel)

H.R. 1283/S. 866, Reserve Retirement Deployment Credit Correction Act: The bills would amend title 10, United States Code, to eliminate the per-fiscal year calculation of days of certain active duty or active service used to reduce the minimum age at which a member of a reserve component of the uniformed services may retire for non-regular service. (Referred to HASC- Subcommittee on Military Personnel and SASC)

AUSN PRIORITY BILLS

5.) Reserve Component

H.R. 1025/S. 491, The Honor America’s Guard-Reserve Retirees Act: The bills would amend title 38, United States Code, to recognize the service in the reserve components of the Armed Forces of certain persons by honoring them with status as veterans under law. Honors as a veteran any person entitled to retired pay for non-regular (reserve) service or, but for age, would be so entitled. The bills also provide that such person shall not be entitled to any benefit by reason of such recognition. (PASSED HOUSE!, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Hearings Held)

H.R. 4045/S. 2121, Modify the DOD Program Guidance relating to the award of Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence (PDMRA): States that effective as of 1 October 2011, the changes made by the Secretary of Defense to the Program Guidance relating to the award of Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence administrative absence days to members of the reserve components under DOD Instruction 1327.06 shall not apply to a member of a reserve component whose qualified mobilization (as described in such program guidance) commenced before October 1, 2011, and continued on or after that date until the date the mobilization is terminated. (Referred to House and Senate Armed Services Committees)

AUSN PRIORITY BILLS

AUSN’s CONTACT/WRITE TO CONGRESS: http://www.ausn.org/Advocacy/LegislativeActionCenter/tabid/2187/Default.aspx

What YOU can do to help!

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!!!

Get to Know your Members of Congress!!!

http://www.house.gov

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QUESTIONS???

Mr. Anthony A. Wallis, Legislative DirectorPhone: 703-548-5800BB Mobile: 703-517-9310E-Mail: Anthony.Wallis@ausn.org AUSN Advocacy Webpage: http://www.ausn.org/Advocacy/tabid/150/Default.aspx