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Gene's Corner

 

              

          

                                                     ** See AZ State news below--

        !! Collectively We Can and have been Making a Difference !!   

 

 Legislative Update for June 4th 2010 

 

 

We have 1 Action Alert this week at Issue 1 below.
And some good information for all at Issue 6 below

SUMMARY OF ISSUES:
At Issue 1. below we are asked to urge our Senators to pass H.R. 4213 immediately to stop the 21% cut in Medicare and TRICARE payments to doctors that is currently on hold and has to be fixed NLT 14 June (10 business days from the currently scheduled 1 June effective date). GF

At Issue 2. below we are provided an overview of some of the fallout that our military, veterans and their families are feeling from the national health care reform issue. GF

At Issue 3. below we see again see that MOAA Speaks Out Against Funeral Protesters, and are urging advancement of a Supreme Court's consideration of a lawsuit over protests at military funerals . GF

At Issue 4 below we see some Senate Defense Bill Details in the Senate Armed Services Committee's version of the FY2011 Defense Authorization Bill that includes many important MOAA-supported initiatives along with a major surprise. GF

At Issue 5. below we see some details on Post-9/11 GI Bill Changes. But some of the proposed fixes could face opposition GF

At Issue 6. below we see some details on Another Misleading Chain e-mail that ismaking the rounds on the internet claiming that workers are about to be taxed on the value of their employer-provided health plans. Good infoormation for all to read!! And if someone sends a similar chain Email to you, please consider using MOAA's answer to educate the sender on the facts rather than perpetuate the fiction. GF


Collectively We Can and are Making a Difference


FOR ALL, Please feel free to pass these Weekly Legislative Updates on to your group of Veteran Friends - don't be concerned with possible duplications - if your friends are as concerned as we are with Veteran issues, they probably won't mind getting this from two or more friendly sources.


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ISSUES:



Issue 1. Action Needed on Doc Fix, Concurrent Receipt
Last week, the House approved legislation (H.R. 4213) that would bar cuts to Medicare/TRICARE payments until January 2012. The legislation also would authorize concurrent receipt for severely disabled military medical retirees.

The Senate will consider the bill next week. In the meantime, current law imposed a 21% Medicare/TRICARE payment cut as of June 1. Medicare is using its administrative authority to hold doctors' claims for up to ten business days to give Congress time to pass a fix, but that leaves the Senate only a few days to act.

Please use MOAA's suggested message to urge your senators to approve H.R. 4213 now. (Click on MOAA's suggested message here or above or go to Here are the processes at the end of this Email to urge our Senators to fix this problem NOW. GF)


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Issue 2. Health Care Happenings
Keep up with the latest military, VA, and Medicare health care news at MOAA's Health Care Happenings blog. (Click on Health Care Happeningshere or above to see the details. GF)


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Issue 3. MOAA Urges Court Action on Funeral Protests
Last week, MOAA joined the father of a soldier killed in Iraq whose funeral was disrupted by vicious protestors in petitioning the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision that upheld the protest as "free speech" - and ordered the father to pay the protestors' court costs. (Click on MOAA Urges Court Action on Funeral Protests here or above to again see the details. GF)



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Issue 4. Senate Defense Bill Details

Last week, we reported that the Senate Armed Services Committee had completed drafting its version of the FY2011 Defense Authorization Bill, including a provision that would take the first step toward repealing DoD's "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy.

We now have more details on the bill’s other provisions.

The biggest shock was that the Senate endorsed the Pentagon-proposed 1.4% military pay raise rather than the 1.9% raise endorsed by MOAA and The Military Coalition and approved in the House-passed defense bill. Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) said the Committee is still considering an additional targeted pay raise for certain grades in lieu of a larger across-the-board increase.

MOAA supports the 1.9% raise endorsed by the House. When the country is asking our troops and their families for the greatest sacrifices in more than a half-century, a 1.4% raise (the smallest in nearly 50 years) sends the wrong message.

Other important initiatives in the Senate bill include:

Continued TRICARE coverage for sons and daughters of military beneficiaries until age 26 if they have no employer coverage
A monthly stipend for caregivers of wounded warriors still on active duty, to match the stipend authorized by the VA for caregivers of disabled veterans
Prohibition of administrative separation based on medical conditions deemed by an evaluation board as not rendering the member unfit for duty
Authority for expedited security clearance background investigations for wounded warriors and spouses seeking employment with DoD or DoD contractors
$45 million in aid to civilian schools serving significant numbers of military children
Travel and transportation allowances for servicemembers and up to three designees per member to attend Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program events
Authority to commission W-1s (the only officers currently ineligible for commissions)
Prohibition of any inpatient TRICARE copay increase through FY2011
Requirements for improved and consistent pre- and post-deployment cognitive assessments and a DoD report on cognitive rehabilitation therapy for troops suffering from traumatic brain injury
Requirement for a DoD plan to "enhance quality, efficiency, and savings within the military health care system"
Requirements for an advisory panel on community support for military families with special-needs children and a report on DoD programs and child care for such children
Temporary authority to permit voluntary retirement of prior-enlisted officers with 8 years of officer service (vs. the normal 10)
Authority for services to pay replacement value for goods damaged during PCS moves if reimbursement isn’t available from the carrier
Requirement for report on servicemembers' out-of-pocket PCS expenses, including overseas shipment of personal vehicles
Requirement for a GAO review of DoD housing surveys and housing allowance standards
We’ll continue to report on developments and possible amendments as the bill moves toward consideration by the full Senate.


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Issue 5. Post-9/11 GI Bill Changes

Just before Memorial Day, Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka (D-HI), a World War II veteran who used the original GI Bill, introduced sweeping new legislation to improve many aspects of the year-old Post-9/11 GI Bill. Many of the upgrades match improvements urged by MOAA and The Military Coalition, including:

Coverage of vocational, OJT and apprenticeship training, flight training, and other types of non-degree training, as all previous GI Bill incarnations have done, but the Post-9/11 GI Bill did not
Authorizing benefits for National Guard members ordered to state active duty (Title 32) to carry out missions authorized by the President or Secretary of Defense or on full-time duty to organize, administer, train and recruit the Guard
Allowing a housing stipend for full-time online (distance) learners. The rate would be set at 50% of the national average for housing based on the DoD housing rate for an E-5 with dependents
Authority for uniformed members of the U.S. Public Health Service and NOAA Corps to transfer GI Bill benefits to family members
Payment of up to $1,000 for a book allowance for servicemembers and their spouses enrolled while on active duty
An upgraded subsistence allowance for disabled veterans using Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VRE) program benefits
Coverage for multiple licensure and certification tests
The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Improvements Act (S. 3447) would also make other adjustments to the program that will likely be controversial.

In place of the current wide payment variations from state-to-state, the bill would pay all "established charges" at any public college or university. Veterans who attend private colleges or foreign schools would be reimbursed at the lesser of the established charges or the national average cost of all private college baccalaureate degree programs.

The bill would also make DoD and the other Federal agencies responsible for funding the transfer-of-benefits program for spouses and dependents (earlier transfer programs managed by DoD did not gain traction because funding competed with cash bonuses for reenlistments or service extensions). DoD also would be responsible for administering transfer-of-benefits changes after a servicemember’s separation or retirement.

Senator Akaka noted at the bill's introduction that winning the changes "will not be a simple process. Nor will it be... easily accomplished."

MOAA is pleased to see that many of our recommendations are reflected in the Akaka bill, and we applaud the senator for taking this initiative to improve the Post-9/11 GI Bill.


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Issue 6. Another Misleading Chain e-mail
Dozens of members have asked MOAA about a chain e-mail floating around the internet that asserts employer W-2s will have to show the value of employer-provided health coverage and that workers will have to pay taxes on that benefit value.

This is a classic case of taking one fact out of context and creating a myth.

If you receive such an e-mail, please use MOAA's response to educate the sender and stop the spread of misinformation that fans misguided fears. (We've double-checked with the Senate Finance Committee staff to ensure we’re reading the law correctly.)

The answer follows: It's true that the new law requires an entry on the W-2 showing the cost of employer-provided care.

But employees won't be taxed on it. The purpose of including it on the W-2 is to show employees what the benefit value is (much as the military services provide an annual statement of military benefits value to currently serving personnel).

It's not the employees, but the insurance companies providing those plans (and employers that self-insure) that could be subject to taxation on part of such value - several years downstream.
There isn't any tax on health benefits value before 2018.
There won't be any taxes imposed on plans that aren't deemed "Cadillac" plans (which are defined as costing more than $10,200 for individual coverage or $27,500 for a family plan).
The tax won’t be on the total value of the plan. Insurers will be assessed 40% of whatever share of the value exceeds the $27,500 threshold. (i.e., if the value of a plan is $30,000, the insurer will be taxed 40% of $2,500 = $1,000).





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Here are the processes:

If the steps below are new to some, I recommend that you review all of the steps and then you might want to copy this process by high lighting all of the steps below. Then click on "File" at the top of your screen, select "Print", then click on "Selection" at the next display and then hit "Print"; or print the selected portion as you usually do this kind of task.

1. Click here on http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/ to put you at the "Issues and Legislation" screen .
2. Scroll down to and/or click here on: Stop the 21% Medicare/TRICARE Payment Cut . If it appears twice, click on the first one.
3. At the next screen each time, if prompted, enter your Zip Code and click on [Go!], and/or at the screen that appears, scroll down and leave 'Email' checked next to your Senators' and/or Representative's name under "Delivery Method:" or check 'Printed Letter' to print letters instead of sending Emails if desired.
4. If an Issue Area: line appears and doesn't have an issue shown, click on the down arrow and select an issue; e.g., Health, Veteran Affairs, Military, etc.
5. Scroll down to the "Editable text" area and edit/modify the text of the message if desired.
Take note of the warning not to put your name or address
or any other personal information in the body (editable text) of the message.
6. Insert "Your Closing" (I show 'Respectfully), and "Your Name" and fill in the rest of the mandatory {asterisked} SENDER INFORMATION. The "Phone" number is now required by some Legislators. Fill in the 'Guest Type", "Service", "Rank", "Component", and "Status" if you want that information to show in your message (recommended). You may be prompted to include a phone number if you try to send the message without entering your phone number. Don't be concerned about entering a phone number. I haven't received return calls except on rare occasions to thank me for my interest in a particular piece of Legislation, at which time you can comment (pro or con) to the staff member on how the Senator stands on the issue.
7. Check "Remember Me" (recommended) if you don't want to have to re-enter all of your Sender Information the next time you send a message. You can always change your information or uncheck 'Remember Me' anytime in the future.
8. Check 'Yes' or 'No' as to whether you want to have a copy of your letter sent to your Email Address (suggested at least for you initial efforts, and to see how your personal data is included in the message).
9. Hit "Send Message"
10. If Letter is selected for any of the messages above, at the screen after hitting "Send Message" at step above, leave "Plain Paper Style" and "Word Processor (RTF)" checked unless you have another preference. Then left click on "Print Letter(s)" at the end of the "PRINT LETTER" screen. At the File Download" alert that appears next, click on "Open". You can then edit and print or save the letter for editing, printing, signing and mailing.


That's it for this week - thanks again for your support.


 

 

 



 



 
 
 
 
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Arizona Legislative Issues 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
To easily pass this Legislative Update on to your membership,  just hit "Forward" from this Email. Then enter Email addresses of your Membership (or a special group address that you have set up for this action) on the Bcc: line above (to suppress the address list). Then delete "Fw:" at the subject line, so that if you or recipients are using Norton Anti-Spam Software it won't potentially add [Norton AntiSpam] to the Subject Line. Then delete the Red line just below this paragraph and everything above it.  And then hit send.
 
Let's pass our thanks to those Senators who voted NO on the Payday Loan Strike Everything Bill on Tuesday evening.
 
Please consider giving them a call to thank them, or send them an Email (editable draft and addresses provided below).
 
Those Senate Appropriation Committee members shown in red below voted NO. Sen. Amanda Aguirre was ready to vote NO also but, due to another commitment, had to leave before the vote was taken as a result of the committee meeting being delayed for nearly two hours (by a special session of the full Senate) and 3 plus hours of discussion of the committee agenda issues, mostly the pros and cons on the the payday lending issues.
 
 

Sen. Rebecca Rios , Pinal County — (602) 926-5685
Sen. Amanda Aguirre , Yuma — (602) 926-4139 ( aaguirre@azleg.gov;)
Sen. Sylvia Allen , Snowflake — (602) 926-5219
Sen. David Braswell , Phoenix, Glendale, Cave Creek — (602) 926-5284
(newly appointed senator; replaced Pamela Gorman)
Sen. Ron Gould , Lake Havasu City — (602) 926-4138
Sen. Jack Harper , Surprise — (602) 926-4178
Sen. Al Melvin , Tucson — COMMITTEE VICE-CHAIRMAN (602) 926-4326
Sen. Paula Aboud , Tucson — (602) 926-5262
Sen. Russell Pearce , Mesa — COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN — (602) 926-5760

 

 
 
 

Gene Fenstermacher

Colonel, USAF (Retired)
Veterans Legislative Affairs
AFA Cochise Chapter, MOAA Coronado Chapter
and  MOAA AZ Council of Chapters


Recommended message
 
Subject:  Thank You - Thank you
 
Thank you for your vote against predatory payday lending on Tuesday evening.  We won the battle, but the war is not over.  We need to remain vigilant against any further industry attempts to circumvent the will of the people who in 2008 decisively voted down Prop 200, the first attempt by the payday lending industry to keep triple digit APRs alive. 
 
I would like to ask you to encourage other Legislators in both the Senate and House not to bend to further pressures by the industry to seek another means to keep triple digit APR payday lending rates alive and/or by eliminating the 1 July 2010 termination clause in current Statute (A.R.S. Title 6, Section 6-1263) that, left in tact, will return short term loan transactions to the more reasonable  36% Arizona Usury cap.
 
Respectfully,
 

 

Senate Committee on Appropriations members who voted NO to predatory payday lending:

 

paboud@azleg.gov;  sallen@azleg.gov; dbraswell@azleg.gov; rgould@azleg.gov; rrios@azleg.gov

 

AOL users may find that the list below with comma separators will work better for you.

 

paboud@azleg.gov,  sallen@azleg.gov, dbraswell@azleg.gov, rgould@azleg.gov, rrios@azleg.gov,

 

 
 
INSTRUCTIONS
To send this message to Senate Committee on Appropriations members who voted NO on the the Payday loan bil, copy  everything between the red lines above and paste it in the body of a new Email.
 
Copy the words after Subject: from the text that you pasted in your Email, and paste it on the Subject: line of your new Email.  Then delete the word  Subject: and the subject line from the text.  Edit if desired and insert your name below "Respectfully," and IF DESIRED,  (recommended) add any or all of the following: your retired rank (if retired) or merely insert something like "Concerned Veteran" or "Concerned Citizen" as you deem appropriate, your address or merely your city of residence, and your Email address and phone number if desired.
 
Then copy the list of five Senate Committee on Appropriations members who voted NO to predatory payday lending addresses from the text of your new Email and paste it on the To: line of your new Email.  If you are an AOL user, you may find that the list with comma sepatators works better.
 
Then delete the phrase Senate Committee on Appropriations  members who voted NO to predatory payday lending: and all of the addresses at the end of the text of your message, and make sure that only the text and your closing appear as the text of your Email 
 
Then hit"Send" to send the Email.
 
If you should have any rejections or other problems with any addressees, legislator Email addresses and phone numbers can be found at  www.azleg.gov/  by sliding your cursor over  "Senate" at the left of the home page menu bar and then click on "Members" on the drop down menus.