TREA Legislative Update For March 24, 2006

Remember TREA’S Washington Office has a toll free number: 1-800-554-8732. Please call us if you have any questions concerning proposed Legislation and regulations that could affect your Earned Benefits. We look forward to speaking to you.

Legislative Movement

We have been lobbying hard in Washington and several items are moving in the correct direction.

But it is far to early in the session to know if we will ultimately be successful Therefore, please, call your Senators and member of the House of Representatives and tell then how crucial these issues are to you and your family.

Department of Veterans Affairs-Both the House of Representative’s and the Senate’s Veterans Affairs Committees have rejected the Administration’s proposals to charge a $250 yearly enrollment for veterans in Categories 7 and 8 and increasing their pharmacy co-pay from the present  $8 co-pay to $15 prescription.

In their “Views and Estimates” both Committees proposed an additional $800 million be added to make up for that subtraction. This is very good news. Additionally, the Senate unanimously has included in their budget recommendations the Burns Amendment that would not allow the proposed increases.

TRICARE Proposals (DoD)-Representatives Chet Edwards (D-TX) and Representative Walter Jones (R-NC) introduced HR 4949. It would take away DoD’s present power to increase the TRICARE enrollment fees and TRICARE Standards co-pays without Congressional action.

TREA was one of the 12 Veterans/Retirees who spoke at the Congressional press conference. When the bill was rolled out it had 49 co-sponsors. In less than a week it has grown to 77 co-sponsors. Additionally the Republican Chairman Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC)  and Democratic Ranking member Ben Nelson (D-NE) of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee both stated they would oppose the proposed increase until at least a full audit of the Military health care system was made to see if there were other ways to control costs.

While on the House side the Republican Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and Democratic ranking member Ike Skelton (D-MO) of the Armed Services Committee simply stated they were opposed to the proposed increases. Due to all this opposition we are told that DoD has directed the TRICARE civilian contractors to cancel the plans for an October 1, 2006 increase of fees for retirees under the age of 65. This does not mean that we have won this fight.

There is still a long way to go. But it does mean that we have gotten Washington’s attention.

SBP/DIC Offset-After serous lobbying from us for over a year the Senate, on a voice vote, put the money in its budget resolution to end the SBP/DIC Offset last Friday afternoon. (Which proves once again the old rule: “You do not vote against widows and orphans during a war - in an election year”.) The budget resolution is simply advisory; it is not binding.

But it does mean that we have head room to argue with members of the Appropriations Committee later in the year. This is another real step forward. 

Solomon Amendment found Constitutional-On March 6 a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Solomon Amendment is Constitutional.

The Amendment requires law schools to allow Military recruiters on campus in the same manner as civilian employers’ recruiters, or the University would lose some of their federal funding. (the funding included money from Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Nuclear Security Administration of the Department of Energy. This is a very big stick!)

The Law Schools had said that they objected to DoD’S policy on Gays in the military and requiring them to allow recruiters on campus allowed their first amendment rights of free speech and free association. In the oral arguments Chief Justice Roberts said they could refuse the Military recruiters if they just didn’t take the money.

In his written decision Justice Roberts went farther and implied that Congress might have required the inclusion of Military recruiters based on Congress’ power under Article I to “provide for the common defence”  “to raise and support Armies” and “ to provide and maintain a Navy.”

But he said it was surely acceptable under the spending clause that Congress used. This reversed the Third Circuit’s decision and is a huge success. To read the full opinion, click here.

TRICARE Uniform Formulary Update-When DoD puts out their latest list of named drugs being placed in the first tier ($3 co-pay), second tier ($9 co-pay) or third tier ( $22 co-pay) level, TREA will publish the new chart in our weekly updates. This is only of interest to you if you are taking one of the listed drugs.