thedrifter
07-10-07, 08:01 PM
Senate unveils 2 major pay proposals
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 10, 2007 18:38:01 EDT
Over Bush administration objections, a Republican senator has taken the first steps toward passage for two big military pay increases.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., an Army combat veteran and former deputy administrator for the Veterans Administration, the forerunner of the Department of Veterans Affairs, is pushing one amendment to the 2008 defense authorization bill that proposes annual military pay raises from next January through January 2012 be slightly larger than the average private-sector pay increase.
He is pushing a second amendment that would allow reservists to receive military retired pay one year earlier than the current age 60 for every two years they serve over the minimum 20 years required to receive the pay.
Hagel’s pay raise amendment is similar to a proposal included in the defense policy bill passed by the House of Representatives that drew stiff White House opposition. The controversial idea is meant to close a perceived gap between military and private-sector pay raises that has existed since 1982. By comparing average military and private-sector wages, there is supposedly a pay gap of about 4 percent today that would be cut by 0.5 percentage points per year under Hagel’s proposal.
But the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office issued a report two weeks ago that raised doubts about the existence of a pay gap, saying that comparing pay raises over the past 26 years does not provide an accurate comparison of military and private-sector pay because it does not take into account significant growth in fringe and deferred military benefits.
Hagel’s retired pay amendment would replace a much smaller proposal, sponsored by Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., that is already in the Senate version of the defense bill, which also opens the door for some reservists to receive retired pay earlier than age 60.
Under Hagel’s amendment, the age at which retired pay begins would be based on total years of service, which could include active or reserve time. For someone who has completed 34 total years of service, the earliest a reservist could get retired pay would be age 53.
Chambliss’ plan is much more limited, with receipt of retired pay before age 60 possible only for National Guard and reserve members mobilized after the bill becomes law. For each 90 days of mobilization, they could receive their retired pay 90 days earlier, with no one allowed to receive retired pay before age 55, the minimum retirement age for federal civilian workers.
Debate on the defense bill began Monday, which is when Hagel introduced his amendments, but it is not clear when or even whether they will come to a vote, because work on the bill is tangled in a political fight over Iraq war strategy. Senate Democratic leaders have set aside two weeks for debate on the $648.3 billion bill.
Hagel is a bit of a political maverick. Although generally conservative on social and fiscal issues, he has worked closely with Democrats on defense and foreign policy matters. He worked with Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., on a three-year effort that led to increases in Army and Marine Corps troop levels, and is now working with Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., on legislation that would require the military to give combat troops as much time at home as they spend deployed.
Webb said he and Hagel are the only two senators with ground combat experience in the Vietnam War. Webb was a Marine and Hagel was a decorated infantryman who received two Purple Hearts for combat injuries.
Ellie
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 10, 2007 18:38:01 EDT
Over Bush administration objections, a Republican senator has taken the first steps toward passage for two big military pay increases.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., an Army combat veteran and former deputy administrator for the Veterans Administration, the forerunner of the Department of Veterans Affairs, is pushing one amendment to the 2008 defense authorization bill that proposes annual military pay raises from next January through January 2012 be slightly larger than the average private-sector pay increase.
He is pushing a second amendment that would allow reservists to receive military retired pay one year earlier than the current age 60 for every two years they serve over the minimum 20 years required to receive the pay.
Hagel’s pay raise amendment is similar to a proposal included in the defense policy bill passed by the House of Representatives that drew stiff White House opposition. The controversial idea is meant to close a perceived gap between military and private-sector pay raises that has existed since 1982. By comparing average military and private-sector wages, there is supposedly a pay gap of about 4 percent today that would be cut by 0.5 percentage points per year under Hagel’s proposal.
But the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office issued a report two weeks ago that raised doubts about the existence of a pay gap, saying that comparing pay raises over the past 26 years does not provide an accurate comparison of military and private-sector pay because it does not take into account significant growth in fringe and deferred military benefits.
Hagel’s retired pay amendment would replace a much smaller proposal, sponsored by Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., that is already in the Senate version of the defense bill, which also opens the door for some reservists to receive retired pay earlier than age 60.
Under Hagel’s amendment, the age at which retired pay begins would be based on total years of service, which could include active or reserve time. For someone who has completed 34 total years of service, the earliest a reservist could get retired pay would be age 53.
Chambliss’ plan is much more limited, with receipt of retired pay before age 60 possible only for National Guard and reserve members mobilized after the bill becomes law. For each 90 days of mobilization, they could receive their retired pay 90 days earlier, with no one allowed to receive retired pay before age 55, the minimum retirement age for federal civilian workers.
Debate on the defense bill began Monday, which is when Hagel introduced his amendments, but it is not clear when or even whether they will come to a vote, because work on the bill is tangled in a political fight over Iraq war strategy. Senate Democratic leaders have set aside two weeks for debate on the $648.3 billion bill.
Hagel is a bit of a political maverick. Although generally conservative on social and fiscal issues, he has worked closely with Democrats on defense and foreign policy matters. He worked with Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., on a three-year effort that led to increases in Army and Marine Corps troop levels, and is now working with Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., on legislation that would require the military to give combat troops as much time at home as they spend deployed.
Webb said he and Hagel are the only two senators with ground combat experience in the Vietnam War. Webb was a Marine and Hagel was a decorated infantryman who received two Purple Hearts for combat injuries.
Ellie