Washington report

Sea Power, Oct 2003 by Miller, Jeremy M

As Congress wrestles with the long-term costs of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, pressure is building to bring relief to military retirees on a much older issue.

The subject of "concurrent receipt"-the policy of offsetting military retired pay dollar-for-dollar by the amount of service-connected disability compensation received through the Department of Veterans Affairs-has been a thorny topic for many years. Ending the offset, to allow disabled retirees both forms of compensation, has support, in theory, from the majority of Congress but has not been enacted because of the costs associated with it and strong opposition from defense and White House officials.

More Money for Iraq

The nation's attention, understandably, is more focused on planning for a new supplemental spending request from the administration to finance U.S. military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

House Republicans, notably Appropriations Chairman C. W. "Bill" Young of Florida, have begun planning for debate on the long-term costs of those operations and how to fund them-whether, for example, the supplemental funding would be taken from fiscal year 2003 or FY 2004 accounts.

President Bush has yet to submit a request but outlined an $87 billion proposal in his Sept. 7 speech to the nation. At press time, it was not clear when the supplemental request might be introduced, but House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has asked that Congress get the proposal as soon as possible.

Many House conservatives are unhappy with the thought of another supplemental funding request, especially with the deficit growing. They want the administration to provide a fuller accounting of the ongoing costs of war in Iraq and the fight against terrorism.

Additionally, the House leadership is opposed to providing the new funding in installments. It is inclined instead to move a large, free-standing package. Another option would be to tuck funds into one of the pending FY 04 appropriations bills.

The FY 04 budget itself is unresolved. Most lawmakers and aides were expecting to stay past the scheduled adjournment date of Oct. 3, meaning that one or more continuing resolutions would need to be approved, along with a potential omnibus measure wrapping together unfinished appropriations bills, to carry funding past the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year.

Only the FY 04 defense, military construction, homeland security, and legislative branch funding measures are in conference between the House and Senate.

The issue of concurrent receipt has snagged the House-Senate conference committee on the FY 04 defense authorization bill. But, under pressure from groups such as the Military Coalition, of which the Navy League is a member, congressional leaders hope to make progress.

Addressing Maritime Security

The lack of sufficient funding to pay for the several new maritime and port security programs could become a major issue in next year's elections. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, said at a Sept. 9 "oversight" hearing on transportation security that "agency turf battles" have created a situation that requires "continued attention to instituting ... security initiatives." Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.) described the current levels of security at U.S. seaports as "disasters just waiting to happen all over the country." The "critical" problem, said Hollings-principal author of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002-is an overwhelming lack of funding.

"Disabled Veterans Tax"

A "Dear Colleague" letter sent by Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio), a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, and Veterans Affairs ranking member Rep. Lane Evans (D-Ill.), urged the House to end what they called the "disabled veterans tax" and support the more generous Senate bill on concurrent receipt, which would allow full receipt of both retired pay and disability compensation.

The administration threatened a veto of the FY 04 National Defense Authorization Act after the Senate attached concurrent-receipt legislation to its version of the bill.

Unlike the Senate version of the bill, the House version would authorize concurrent receipt only for retirees with 60 percent or more disability and would phase in the change over five years. The Office of Management and Budget has recommended that the President veto the bill if it includes either provision.

Adding new fuel to the fire is H.R. 303, a bipartisan bill specifically to end the offset.

In a statement released Aug. 27, Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.) noted that up to 20 Republicans could join Democrats in forcing the House to vote on the bill. Democrats have filed a petition demanding a vote. So far, 200 Democrats, one independent and one Republican have signed the petition. Under House rules, 218 signatures are required.

Navy Safety Sets Example

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board recommended that. NASA emulate Navy safety programs in order to minimize risks and accidents associated with shuttle flight. The Board refers to the U.S. Navy Submarine Flooding Prevention and Recovery (SUBSAFE) as well as the Naval Nuclear Propulsion (Naval Reactors) programs. The report focuses around naval accident-prevention techniques used in these programs such as institution of "an in-house professional development program" to retain knowledge of past failures, documenting requirements without exception, encouraging minority-opinion input, and implementing stringent, "robust" training programs for all engineers and technical authorities.