NewsBytes November 29, 2019
In this issue:
FRA Meets with USMC Sergeant Major
Secretary of Defense Dismisses Secretary of the Navy
NED Meets with TRI-West on VA Community Care Program
New Sponsor for Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act
Some Veterans Need Card to Access Commissary, Exchanges & MWR
Debra Sampson Act Passes House
The FRA Staff Meets with USMC Sergeant Major
NED Chris Slawinski and DLP John Davis met with Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Troy Black and his staff. They provided a legislative process brief and discussed how the FRA can work with SMMC to represent enlisted Marines. The briefing included providing SMMC the FRA’s 2020 Legislative Agenda. The discussion focused on active duty pay, Basic Allowance for Housing, the Feres Doctrine and end strength needs.
SMMC Black became the 19th SMMC this past July. He replaced SMMC Ronald Green who retired after 36 years of service in the Marine Corps. The position of SMMC, created in 1957, is selected by the Commandant of the Marine Corps and typically serves a four-year term. Serving in this position is at the discretion of the Commandant.
Secretary of Defense Dismisses Secretary of the Navy
Navy Secretary Richard Spencer was fired after allegedly suggesting a secret deal with the White House regarding the fate of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher. This led to the “loss of trust and confidence” in the Navy leader among top officials at the Department of Defense. Gallagher was demoted earlier this year after a military court convicted him of posing for photographs with a corpse of an enemy combatant in Iraq in 2017. He was acquitted of murder and other charges in the case. Spencer launched a peer review process that was going to result in Chief Gallagher’s loss of his Trident and being removed from the Navy SEALs.
Navy Undersecretary Thomas Modley will now serve as Acting Navy Secretary. President Trump has indicated that he will nominate Kenneth Braithwaite, the current ambassador to Norway. Braithwaite graduated from the Naval Academy in 1984 and was an aviator before moving on to head several Navy public affairs shops in the U.S. and overseas. After retirement as a rear Admiral in 2011, he worked as an executive in various businesses, ran communications at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan and was senior advisor to Senator Arlen Specter (Pa.).
NED Meets with TRI-West on VA Community Care Program
NED Chris Slawinksi and several other Veteran Service Organizations met with Tri-West to get an update on the Department of Veterans Affairs Community Care program. TriWest, in partnership with the VA, helps to ensure that high-quality network providers are available to deliver health care when it is needed and cannot be provided by VA providers. They help ensure that claims are paid accurately and timely and quickly address any opportunities to refine the Community Care program to be as efficient as possible so that it works for beneficiaries.
TriWest was contracted to provide these services for the entire United States and territories. They began implementing this contract in December 2018 and was completed at the end of January 2019. This nationwide effort was not intended to be a permanent solution and TriWest has now begun to transfer responsibility for the Northeast and Midwest regions to other service providers. TriWest will maintain the West region. Nationwide, TriWest receives more than 450,000 requests and handles more than 1,100,000 calls each month through the VA Community Care program. They have processed over 21 million claims with 96 percent paid with 30 days. The FRA is monitoring VA health care programs and supports improvements to ensure veterans have timely access to medical care.
New Sponsor for Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act
In the wake of Rep. Walter B. Jones (S.C.) passing, Rep. John Garamendi (Calif.) has become lead sponsor of FRA-supported Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act (H.R.463). This bill would authorize the retention of the full final month's retired pay by the surviving spouse (or other designated survivor) for the month in which the member was alive for at least 24 hours.
Surviving spouses who are unaware that the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) should be immediately notified about the death of the military retiree, are surprised to learn of this requirement. Those who had joint bank accounts, which retirement payments were made electronically, gave little if any thought that DFAS could swoop down and recoup any overpayments of retirement pay from such accounts. This action could easily clear the account of any remaining funds whether they were retirement payments or money from other sources. All these proposals go to the Senate for further consideration.
Members are strongly urged to go to the FRA Action Center to weigh in on this issue.
The VA Card Is Required for Some Veterans to Have Access to Commissary, Exchanges & MWR
As noted in last week’s NewsBytes (11-22-19 ) the Department of Veteran’s Affairs has expanded access to commissary, military exchanges, and to morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) services for Purple Heart recipients, VA designated caregivers of disabled veterans, former prisoners of war and veterans with VA documented service-connected disability. This expansion is mandated by the Purple Heart and Disabled Veterans Equal Access Act of 2018 and takes effect Jan. 1, 2020.
These eligible individuals are required to obtain a Veteran Health Identification Card (VHID) from the VA in order to gain entry to Department of Defense and Coast Guard facilities. Caregiver eligibility will be limited to caregivers who are designated as the primary family caregiver of an eligible veteran under the VA Caregiver program and will need to show an acceptable credential, along with their eligibility letter. The other eligible groups without a VHID card can shop exchanges online. For more information go online .
The Debra Sampson Act Passes the House
The House approved (399-14) the FRA-supported Deborah Sampson Act (H.R.3224), sponsored by Rep. Julia Brownley (Calif.), which will address inequities and barriers that female veterans face when accessing VA care and benefits. The bill is named after a Revolutionary War veteran, Deborah Sampson Gannett, who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and who was awarded a full military pension for her service.
“Currently, women veterans comprise the fastest growing demographic within the veteran community, yet their invaluable service is often overlooked and forgotten, leading these women to feel invisible. The Deborah Sampson Act recognizes and honors women veterans by ensuring inclusivity and equitable access to resources, benefits, and services,” said Rep. Brownley.
“This bill is a result of several roundtables, site visits, and meetings with women veterans across the country to identify issues and barriers they face, and will address many of the inequities and barriers that the Women Veterans Task Force has identified,” Rep. Brownley said “The Deborah Sampson Act will build on the work that Congress has done since our nation’s founding to recognize women in the military. Our women veterans deserve nothing less.” The House also passed eight other veterans bills unanimously that pertain to increase in VA remote health care services, expand GI bill eligibility, and increase oversight of certain VA construction projects.
This issue is listed on the FRA Action Center so members can weigh in on this important legislation.
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