Personnel Committee Goals

Picture
TMC Personnel Committee 2018 Goals

This Committee works to ensure that military compensation and benefits are set to the level needed to recruit and retain personnel strength to meet National Security strategies. Compensation must be equitably applied to the seven Uniformed Services, reflect the unique demands of service, and allow service members and their families to maintain their readiness.

SEQUESTRATION AND CONTINUING RESOLUTIONS
  • This Committee, in concert with the TMC, urges Congress to end sequestration in favor of a more responsible and less arbitrary approach to budget reductions. 
  • We further urge Congress to avoid utilizing continuing resolutions (CRs), which stymie the uniformed services’ ability to properly and efficiently modernize, manage, sustain, and grow the total force necessary to meet today’s dynamic, evolving mission requirements.

PERSONNEL
Military Readiness
  • Monitor extended deployments and recalls of the Reserve Components needed to sustain operations, particularly with regard to high demand skills/occupations and the health of the entire force.
Quality Housing & Relocation Support
  • Increase oversight of privatized housing to ensure quality, standardized housing and service are provided, along with equitable utility rates.
  • Fight any decreases to the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and eliminate BAH Reserve Component/Transient (BAH RC/T), instead providing full BAH for any active duty service.
  • Ensure reimbursement or tax credits for cost of licensure or certification a spouse may incur as a result of PCS are available to all uniformed service spouses. 
  • Request a report from DoD on the financial impacts of PCS on military families, including delayed or insufficient reimbursements related to travel or PCS, mandatory use of the Government Travel Credit Card and advanced allowances meant to reduce financial hardship.
  • Ensure legislation and executive action support positive advancement in the unemployment and underemployment rates of uniformed services spouses.
Education
  • Keep the Tuition Assistance program in place and fully fund at 100% for all participating service members.
  • Ensure proper funding of Impact Aid through both the Department of Education and DoD for schools with military children.
Family Readiness & Support Structure.
  • Encourage Congress and the Services, to fully fund effective, evidence-based programs and support mechanisms designed to assist military members and their families with deployment readiness, reintegration and transition.
  • Advocate for child care needs of the Total Force.
  • Advocate for continued expansion of family access to mental health counseling through programs such as Military Family Life Consultants and Military OneSource.
  • Advocate for greater military spouse educational and career opportunities, ensuring they are accessible, effective, and transferable (to include certifications) when possible. 
  • Request a report to Congress on the Military Family Readiness Council’s recommendations to the Secretary of Defense and follow-on actions, since mandated inception.
USERRA Enforcement
  • Eliminate discrimination against uniformed service members in employment environments because they wear a uniform. USERRA guarantees such protection, but it is not always enforced, and in some instances, such as with US Public Health Service officers working at Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities, the discrimination is sanctioned by federal agency leadership.
 
COMPENSATION
  • Ensure annual pay raises remain tied to the Employment Cost Index (ECI) as prescribed by law.
  • Oppose proposals that reduce value of current compensation or undermine long-term retention.
  • Advocate for full “5% plus 1%” TSP government match originally recommended by the MCRMC in their retirement recommendation, and extension of the government match for the entire length of the service member’s career.
  • Change the calculation of a uniformed service member retiree’s defined benefit retirement entitlement such that any qualifying inactive duty performed for ‘points only’ when converted to active duty days at retirement shall be calculated with a 2.5% multiplier
  • Ensure financial literacy and general benefits training is provided, for both the service member and spouse, at all major “touch points,” and emphasizes member responsibility for contribution necessary for maximum benefit.
  • Promote authorization of flexible spending accounts to enable military families to pay health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
  • Provide dislocation allowance for separating and retiring service members, especially those being separated for the convenience of the government.
  • Ensure that any changes to the current TRICARE system do not increase out-of-pocket expenditures to eligible currently serving members and their families, retirees, or survivors.
  • Provide parity in special incentive pay, including career enlisted/officer special aviation incentive pays, diving special duty pay, and pro-pay for medical professionals.
  • Restore full tax-deductibility of non-reimbursable military travel expenses. Support legislation to eliminate a minimal distance requirement for military travel reimbursement.
  • Support equalizing mileage rate paid for PCS and TDY travel in personal vehicles.
 
Wounded Warrior
  • Ensure any restructure of the current disability and compensation systems does not inadvertently reduce compensation levels for disabled service members and/or their caregivers.
  • Support compensation for loss of member's quality of life (QOL), and for programs assisting in the DoD to VA transition.
  • Eliminate distinction between combat vice non-combat disabilities when determining retirement benefits.
  • Extend BAH and housing eligibility up to one year for medically retired, severely wounded and their families.
  • Include Enhanced Disability Severance Pay in the Combat-Related Special Compensation definition, but otherwise eliminate distinction between combat vice non-combat disabilities when determining retirement benefits.
  • Urge the Department of Defense to expand the Operation Warfighter internship program to include placing wounded, ill and injured service members with nonprofit organizations and civilian industry.

DEFENSE RESALE
  • Preserve the Commissary benefit as part of the overall pay and compensation package, including high quality products, maintained savings, access, and customer satisfaction.
  • Maintain appropriations for the Exchanges for proper support and vectoring of MWR dividends.
  • Oppose consolidations of the Commissary and Exchange systems that would degrade the earned benefit.
  • Ensure Congressional oversight of all changes impacting the military resale system, overall.  Benefits derived from the resale benefit must be preserved, to include: quality, savings, and access for patrons; and sufficient MWR dividends to ensure access to quality of life and support programs.