House Armed Services Committe
Subcommittee Chairman Snyder's Opening Statement --May 02, 2007
"We are here this morning to mark-up the military personnel subcommittee portion of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. The mark includes many worthwhile and important provisions that will help and improve the lives of service members and their families during a time of war.
"This year was extremely difficult for the subcommittee. The President's budget assumed over $2 billion in savings for TRICARE fee increases and another $212 million in efficiency savings was levied against the Services. And, in testimony before the subcommittee, members heard that the impact of these efficiency savings could result in the potential closure of a medical center if realized. So, already the subcommittee had serious fiscal challenges that we needed to face.
"The mark, however, is the result of a strong bi-partisan effort, and I thank the ranking member, Mr. McHugh, for his support and assistance in putting together this mark. Members of this committee can be proud of the product before us today.
"Let me touch on some of the issues that we addressed in this mark:
"The committee again proposes to increase the end strength above the President's proposal. The committee recommends an end strength increase of 525,400 for the Army, an increase of 36,000 above the President's request; 329,098 for the Navy, an increase of 698 above the President's request; 189,000 for the Marine Corps, an increase of 9,000 above the President's request and 329,563 for the Air Force, an increase of 963 above the President's request.
"The end strength increases, particularly for the Navy and the Air Force, are intended to restore the personnel cuts in Navy Medicine, as well as prohibit the proposed military to civilian conversions within the medical services. The committee heard testimony from the beneficiaries and the Surgeon Generals, as well as recommendations from the Independent Study Group, that these conversions and reductions in military personnel within the medical community are having an adverse impact on access and quality of care for beneficiaries.
"The committee also provides a 3.5 percent pay raise, which is .5 percent above the President's budget request and one-half of one percent above private sector raises as measured by the Employment Cost Index (ECI). This is the ninth consecutive year of pay raises above ECI and will further reduce the gap between military and private sector raises from 3.9 percent to 3.4 percent from a high of 13.5 percent during fiscal year 1999.
"The committee again prohibited fee increases in the TRICARE program that were included in the President's budget request for another year. The committee remains concerned that the Department proposal is dependent on recommendations from the task force on the future of military health care that will not provide its final report until the end of this year, and that the Government Accountability Office has yet to complete its audit of the information the Department used to develop its proposed fee structure and accompanied savings. The committee is concerned that without a careful, comprehensive, unbiased review of the cost of military health care, premature proposals that put the burden on military retirees may not really address systematic cost drivers within the system. The committee also proposes to prohibit fee increases within the TRICARE pharmacy program for another year for similar reasons.
"One of the major initiatives that I mentioned earlier that the committee proposes this year is to transfer the Reserve Montgomery GI Bill program from the Department of Defense to the Department of Veterans Affairs to help ensure greater equity in benefits for reserve component members. The reserve components are being transformed from a strategic reserve force to an operational reserve force; however, their educational benefits have not been changed to reflect the new and greater demands being placed on them. The transfer of the reserve education program from the title 10 to title 38 will help to ensure greater equity for the reserve components.
"Another major initiative that the committee proposes to undertake in the mark is the consolidation of special pay, incentive pays and bonus authorities for the Uniformed Services to provide greater flexibility to the Services to manage the recruitment and retention of service members. The Department has asked for this greater flexibility, and the committee believes that the Department needs wider latitude in this area to respond more quickly to the changing recruitment and retention environment.
"The committee remains concerned that traumatic brain injury (TBI) among service members is growing given the increased blast injuries that are being seen in the combat theatre. TBI is difficult to identify and recognize, but its impact on service members and their families is life changing. The committee recognizes the importance of ensuring the best treatment and research to support service members and their families and proposes to establish a TBI initiative that will ensure that all service members with a potential TBI receive timely diagnosis, appropriate treatment and rehabilitation.
"The committee remains concerned that the Department of Defense faces continuing challenges in providing mental health program to service members and their families. The committee is anxiously awaiting the result of the Department of Defense task force on mental health, but understands that there are a number of new concepts and technologies that continue to evolve, particularly in mental health research and development. The committee proposes to establish a mental health initiative that would allow researchers to compete for funding on the scientific merits that would contribute to the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health issues.
"The utilization of the National Guard and Reserve over the past several years has raised concerns with the level of support being provided to these citizen soldiers who are returning home from combat. The committee recognizes that there are several worthwhile and effective programs being run by states, such as those in Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, New Hampshire that have been developed. However, there literally hundreds of programs across the country that are currently on-going, the committee believes that the best course of action is to establish a working group that is directed to look at the best practices of all these programs and develop programs and policies that can be implemented across the country. As history has proven, what may be best for one part of the country does not necessarily work in another.
"While the financial landscape has been challenging for the committee, I am pleased that we are able to move forward incrementally on authorizing a survivor indemnity allowance to surviving spouses who are denied the full amount of their annuity under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) because of the offset required as a result of concurrent receipt of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from the Department of Veterans Affairs. This has been a point of contention among those who have lost their loved one in combat or as a result of a service connected injury or wound. The committee proposes to authorize such surviving spouses a monthly payment equal to $40 or the amount of the SBP annuity subject to the DIC offset should it be a lesser amount beginning on October 1, 2008.
"The committee is also taking an important step forward in expanding concurrent receipt for our wounded warriors. The committee proposes to expand the combat-related special compensation eligibility for Chapter 61 military retirees with fewer than 20 years of creditable service, so long as they possess a minimum of 15 years of creditable service and the level of their disability is rated at least 60 percent disabling. It would also require that the amount of military retired pay received by the member would be reduced by the amount that the member's disability retired pay exceeds the amount of retired pay due to the member based on years of service alone. This provision would also begin implementation on October 1, 2008.
"The committee has also included in the mark, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act, which passed the House of Representatives last month. The committee takes this action to ensure that this important piece of legislation is moved forward as part of the defense authorization process.
"While we have a number of significant and essential provisions in the mark, there are several that require a sequential waiver from other committees. I want to advise members that we have worked cooperatively with outside committees to secure their waiver of the right to referral for provisions within their respective jurisdiction. However, we still have several provisions for which we have yet to receive waivers. Pursuant to long-standing committee practice, if we do not secure those outstanding waivers by the time of the full committee mark-up on May 9th, I will move to strike those provisions to avoid the entire bill being referred after the bill has been filed.
"Members of this subcommittee should be proud of the accomplishments before us today. This is a great mark that has been developed in a bi-partisan manner and I appreciate the input and support of the ranking member, Mr. McHugh.
"Mr. McHugh, are there any comments that you would like to make."
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