Drill Weekend Talking Points: April 2017
2017 House NGRCC Breakfast
On Wednesday, March 8, The House of Representatives’ National Guard and Reserve Component Caucus held its annual breakfast in the Rayburn House Office Building. Caucus Co-Chairs Representative Steven Palazzo (R-MS) and Representative Tim Walz (D-MN) hosted the event. The lack of benefits associated with 12304b duty status was brought up on multiple occasions. Many organizations that make up the Military Coalition were in attendance, and were encouraged to educate their association membership on just what the Reserve Component brings to the fight. Each of the Reserve Component Service Chiefs had the opportunity to speak during the event. Per usual, the breakfast was widely attended and the strength of the caucus was highlighted once again.
A Call to Action: 12304b
Speaking of 12304b, the EANGUS National Office circulated its first advocacy campaign, Call to Action 2017-01 to champion H.R. 1384, “Reserve Component Benefits Parity Act of 2017”. If passed by Congress and signed by the President, H.R. 1384 would provide: Pre- and post-mobilization TRICARE to service members and their families; Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility to support personal and professional development; and greater predictability for operational deployments in order to protect time with families.
12304b mobilization authority was established in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act to allow DOD to deploy reserve forces for preplanned missions in support of combatant commanders. However, 12304b created a benefit disparity among the components. Reserve forces are compelled to leave behind family, friends, careers, and education pursuits to provide: life-saving humanitarian aid across the globe, security forces and logistical support in Sinai, Kosovo, Eastern Europe, and around the world. Unlike the active component, reserve forces are not provided: pre- and post-mobilization TRICARE; Post-9/11 Montgomery GI Bill Benefits; reduction in retirement age; credit for time spent deployed.
H.R. 1384 was introduced in the House of Representatives on the same day as the Caucus breakfast.
Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits & Purple Heart Recipients
On March 27, EANGUS distributed Call to Action 2017-02 asking members to contact their delegation in Washington, D.C. to support Representative Scott Peters’ (D-CA) legislation to provide full Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to all Purple Heart recipients regardless of time in service. H.R. 1379 extends benefits under the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program to all honorably discharged, Purple Heart recipients regardless of duration of service. Currently, Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits are only available if a veteran completes at least 36 months of active duty service or is medically retired; however, some Purple Heart recipients are honorably discharged before either of those qualifications are attained, making them ineligible for full payments. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that each year, between 1,200 and 1,500 Purple Heart recipients are unable to receive full educational benefits because of the 36-month active duty service requirement. A large number of those individuals deployed with the Guard and Reserves. This bill would allow Purple Heart recipients to access the benefits they earned. Please click here to find the EANGUS National Office letter of support.
Senator Daines (R-MT) Highlights EANGUS Initiative
On Wednesday, March 22, 2017, Senator Daines highlighted the out of pocket costs members of the National Guard often incur when traveling to drill weekend during a Subcommittee on Defense – Senate Appropriations hearing on Military Budget and Readiness (skip ahead to the 60 minute mark). The EANGUS National Office staff have worked closely with the offices of Senator Daines and Representative Poliquin (R-ME) on this issue and each office will soon introduce legislative language in their respective chambers to address Guardsmen and women’s out of pocket costs. Please click here to read their joint press release. More information forthcoming.
Advocacy Update
EANGUS members please be on the lookout for National Office legislative calls to action. As the First Session of the 115th Congress continues to roll along, there are a number of pertinent legislative initiatives being advocated at the national level that require your attention and action. EANGUS Calls to Action 2017-01 and 2017-02 highlighting H.R. 1384, the Reserve Component Benefits Parity Act and H.R. 1379 regarding Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits respectively were posted on the EANGUS National Office Legislative Action Center webpage and was distributed to members via the VoterVoice grassroots advocacy platform. Future Calls to Action, to include Senator Daines’s and Representative Poliquin’s legislation, will be posted online and distributed to your email inboxes. If you would like to join our mailing list, please click here and provide your email address in the “Quick Sign Up” box. Thank you for your time and attention to our advocacy efforts.
Army End Srength Increases
Please click here to read the latest Army Bugle Call highlighting Army AC/RC end strength increases
Thanks for stopping by
Thank you to our state associations for visiting EANGUS HQ during your D.C. visit: Indiana, Florida, and Minnesota. Thank you Doug O’Connell for visiting us while in DC discussing G-RAP investigations. It was a pleasure hosting Scott Spencer from Maryland too!