Washington – U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln is continuing her work to ensure our nation’s military service members, veterans, and their families receive the benefits and care they have earned and deserve.
Lincoln has introduced five amendments to the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, legislation currently pending before the United States Senate that authorizes military spending and priorities.
“Throughout my career in the United States Senate, I have fought to ensure our nation’s military service members, veterans, and their families receive the benefits and care they have earned and certainly deserve,” Lincoln said. “These five proposals not only help us keep our promise to these brave men and women and their families, they also serve to strengthen recruitment and retention and increase the readiness of our reserve forces.”
Lincoln’s five amendments to the annual defense authorization bill would:
· Make health care for Guardsmen and Reservists more accessible so that they can maintain necessary medical readiness to fulfill their missions;
· Ensure that future GI Bill benefits for National Guard and Reserve members keep pace with the national average cost of tuition;
· Lower the travel reimbursement threshold to 50 miles (from 100 miles) for National Guard and Reserve members traveling for drill;
· Enable the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program to expand to new sites and make a difference in the lives of more young people across the nation; and
· Grant full veteran status to members of the reserve components who have 20 or more years of service and do not otherwise qualify under law.
1. Maintaining Readiness Through More Accessible Health Care
Lincoln’s first amendment, which she introduced earlier this year as the stand-alone bill called the “Selected Reserve Continuum of Care Act,” requires more accessible health care for Guardsmen and Reservists so that they can maintain necessary medical readiness to fulfill their missions.
“That National Guard and Reserve have been and will continue to be an operational force serving overseas, and as such, require greater access to health care so that members can achieve a readiness standard required by their deployments,” Lincoln said. “Far too many men and women are declared non-deployable because they have not received the medical and dental care they need to maintain readiness. This can cause disruption in the unit by requiring last-minute replacements from other units or requiring treatment during periods set aside for training. Compounding the challenge is the fact that short notice deployments occur regularly within the National Guard. The Department of Defense can and should do more to bring our Selected Reserve members into a constant state of medical readiness for the benefit of the entire force.”
After September 30, 2009, periodic health assessments to determine readiness will be mandatory for all members of the Selected Reserve. However, concerns are frequently raised about the thoroughness of these exams and the subsequent lack of follow-up to address identified needs. Often times, service members do not seek follow-up care because much of the costs come directly out of their own pockets.
Lincoln’s legislation would require the Secretaries of the military to provide medical and dental services to members of the Selected Reserve if receipt of such services is needed to meet applicable standards of medical and dental readiness. Current law only authorizes, but does not require, this care.
Lincoln’s bill is endorsed by the Military Coalition, a group of 34 military, veterans and uniformed services organizations with over 5.5 million members.
2. Building on the “Total Force GI Bill”
Lincoln’s second amendment builds upon her “Total Force GI Bill” proposals which were enacted into law over the past two years. Lincoln’s amendment would ensure that future GI Bill benefits for members of the National Guard and Reserve keep pace with the national average cost of tuition.
“Selected Reserve GI Bill benefit rates are simply not reflective of the critical role Guardsmen and Reservists play in today’s military,” Lincoln said. “Thousands of Arkansas National Guard and Reserve members have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Some have even served two tours of duty. Our military simply could not function without them. Nor could we function without the thousands of men and women at armories and bases across the nation who serve a critical role in making sure other members of their units are qualified and ready to deploy.
“Providing enhanced benefits makes an investment in these men and women. It also ensures that the GI Bill serves as a more effective recruitment and retention tool for our armed forces. And ultimately, it enhances our nation’s competitiveness by developing a more highly educated and productive workforce.”
3. Providing Greater Travel Reimbursement
Lincoln’s third amendment would authorize the Department of Defense to reimburse members of the Selected Reserve for Inactive Duty Training (drill) travel expenses in excess of 50 miles, including mileage, meals, and lodging at the standard government rate set by the General Services Administration.
The current threshold for reimbursable travel expenses is 100 miles one-way. This high threshold has caused undue hardships for rural members of the Selected Reserve and those who incur non-reimbursable travel expenses while traveling significant distances because of closed or consolidated installations.
“Numerous reservists in Arkansas have contacted me about this undue burden, and with high gas prices and other travel costs increasing, I fear that prohibitive travel expenses may have a negative effect on recruitment and retention,” Lincoln said. “Moreover, defraying the costs associated with traveling to a drill site is simply the right thing to do for service members who are training to defend our nation.”
This legislation was among the recommendations of the Independent Commission on the National Guard and Reserves and is a priority of the Military Coalition.
4. Partnering with the Community
Earlier this year, Lincoln introduced legislation that would better allow the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program to expand to new sites and make a difference in the lives of more young people across the nation. Currently, the federal government pays for 60 percent of a state’s Youth ChalleNGe operating costs, with states covering the remaining 40 percent. Like her stand-alone bill, Lincoln’s fourth amendment calls for the federal government to fund new programs at 100 percent for the first two years. For existing programs, it would change the federal government’s cost-share ratio from 60 to 75 percent, decreasing the cost for states to 25 percent.
“Each year, up to 160 teens benefit from Arkansas’s National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, and that number could be even higher with the help of this legislation,” said Lincoln “I’ve seen first-hand how Arkansas’s program at Camp Robinson helps at-risk youth become more productive, employed, law-abiding citizens. I’m proud to support this important initiative for Arkansas and other states across the nation.”
In May, Lincoln visited Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Ark. to highlight the Arkansas National Guard program’s positive impact on the lives of Arkansas teens.
5. Recognizing All Veterans
Lincoln’s fifth amendment, the “Honor America’s Guard-Reserve Retirees Act,” would grant full veteran status to members of the reserve components who have 20 or more years of service and do not otherwise qualify under law.
As defined by current law, members of the reserve components who have completed 20 or more years of service are considered to be “military retirees.” Subsequently, upon reaching age 60, they are eligible for all of the benefits received by active duty military retirees, such as military retired pay, government health care and other benefits of service, including a number of veterans’ benefits (home loans, burial, among others). However, if they have not served a qualifying period of federal active duty other than active duty for training, they are denied full standing as a “veteran” of the armed forces.
The underlying purpose of this legislation is to provide the recognition and honor that comes with the designation of “veteran.”
“The ‘veteran’ designation is an acknowledgement by our nation that these individuals deserve appropriate recognition,” Lincoln said. “Unfortunately, because of the current legal definition of veteran, men and women who have served 20 or more years without a qualifying period of federal active duty are technically not included in various veterans’ ceremonies and initiatives. While this may not seem of importance to some, for those who wore the same uniform, were subject to the same code of military justice, received the same training and spent twenty years or more being liable for call-up, this lack of recognition is a major insult and a gross injustice.”
Lincoln’s amendment seeks to change only the legal definition of “veteran,” not the legal qualifications for access to any benefits.
