DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL PASSES HOUSE

The bill authorizes a 1.6 percent pay raise for military personnel and would restrict the Pentagon from implementing a repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that bars gays from serving openly in the military until the chiefs of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines certify that the change “will not degrade the readiness, effectiveness, cohesion and morale of combat arms units.”

Other items included in the final House legislation would:

• Designate the Chief of the National Guard Bureau as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• Allow a service member with a minor dependent (child under the age of 19) to request a deferment of a deployment to a combat zone if their spouse is currently deployed to a combat zone.
• Deem members of the Armed Forces, and DoD civilian employees who were killed or wounded in the November 5th, 2009 Fort Hood attack to have been killed or wounded in a combat zone as the result of an action of an enemy of the United States.  This makes such victims eligible for combat-related benefits, compensations, and awards with the exception of any member of the Armed Forces whose death or injury was the result of willful misconduct.
• Expand the Department of Defense state licensure exception to qualified and credentialed DOD health-care professionals, including contractors and civilians, and removes the location requirement to better allow our Guard and Reserve access to immediate and efficient care.
• Transfer the Troops to Teachers program from the Department of Education to the Department of Defense. It would also make several changes to the program that would expand eligibility for service members who have served on active duty since September 11, 2001, expand the number of schools eligible to participate in the program, and create an advisory board charged with improving awareness of the program, increasing participation, and ensuring that the program meets the needs of our schools and our veterans.
• Allow members of the Individual Ready Reserve who have been called to active duty for at least one year since 9/11/01 to purchase premium-based TRICARE coverage on the same basis as members of the retired reserve.
• Expand retroactive eligibility of the Army Combat Action Badge to include members of the Army who participated in combat during which they personally engaged, or were personally engaged by, the enemy at any time on or after December 7, 1941.

Next Action:  The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to start crafting its version of the authorization bill in mid-June.