Personnel Committee Goals

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TMC Personnel Committee 2023 Goals

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

Compensation
  • Advocate in support of annual pay raises that are tied to the Employment Cost Index (ECI) as prescribed by law, and work with Congress to restore the 2.6% in accumulated lawful pay raises lost between 2014 and 2016.
  • Update military pay tables to reflect pay commensurate with work performed and needs of servicemembers.
  • Increase Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rate to 100% level of rental housing and utilities.
  • Oppose proposals that reduce the value of current compensation or undermine retention in the uniformed services.
  • 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.
  • Support changing 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.
  • Support a requirement for uniformed services to provide financial literacy and general benefits training be provided, for both the service member and spouse, at all major “touch points,” and emphasize member responsibility for contribution necessary for maximum benefit.
  • Promote authorization of flexible spending accounts to enable uniformed families to pay health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars, similar to employment benefits in the private sector.
  • Support dislocation allowance for separating and retiring service members, especially those being separated for the convenience of the government.
  • Advocate for sufficient funding to enable TRICARE to provide quality care for currently serving uniformed service members and their families, retirees, and survivors.  Also, ensure that any changes to the current TRICARE system do not increase out-of-pocket expenditures, or at least do not exceed pay increases and cost of living adjustment for eligible currently serving members and their families, retirees, and survivors.
  • Ensure continuation of pay Coast Guard, USPHS, and NOAA to align with the other uniformed services to ensure no disruption in pay for servicemembers, retirees, and survivors during a government shutdown.

Quality Housing & Relocation Support
  • Increase oversight of privatized and government owned family housing and barracks to ensure quality housing is provided, health and safety hazards are properly addressed, abated and prevented, and utility rates are equitable.
  • To ensure the health and safety of service members, civilians, and families, support the modernization of government facilities, housing, and barracks to have the necessary HVAC systems to detect moisture, prevent mold, and other toxic substances.
  • Fight any arbitrary percentage 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.
  • Increase oversight of PCS process, including legal protections and logistical support as well as financial impact on uniformed service members and families - such as 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.

Education
  • Expand Tuition Assistance (TA) to support all service members regardless of component and keep the TA program in place and fully funded at 100% for all participating service members, while ensuring the funds are being utilized at high quality institutions.
  • Ensure adequate and timely funding of Impact Aid through both the Department of Education and DoD for schools with children of uniformed service members. Oppose any proposal that would divert funds from the Impact Aid program.
  • Improve meaningful education opportunities for military spouses such as expanding access and opportunities available through MyCAA while protecting uniformed spouses from predatory institutions.
  • Support adequate and consistent special education programs, services, and funding for EFMP and special needs families.

Family Readiness & Support Structure
  • Encourage Congress and the Services to fully fund effective, evidence-based programs and support mechanisms designed to assist service members and their families with deployment readiness, reintegration, and transition.
  • Improve access to and availability of safe, high quality, affordable childcare through expanded funding, staffing, and renovations/construction of child development centers.
  • Advocate for continued expansion and affordable family access to mental health counseling through programs such as Military Family Life Counselors and Military OneSource.
  • Advocate for uniformed spouse career opportunities that are accessible, effective, and transferable. Ensure that legislative and executive actions support positive advancement in unemployment and underemployment rates among uniformed spouses.
  • Request a report to Congress on the Military Family Readiness Council’s recommendations to the Secretary of Defense and follow-on actions.

Financial Protections
  • Eliminate discrimination against uniformed service members in employment environments by ensuring enforcement of the USERRA. 
  • Maintain integrity of financial protections in place while ensuring service members and their families have access to quality credit and financial resources.
  • Ensure all uniformed service members receive free credit monitoring.
  • Provide enhanced protection against debt collector harassment to members of the uniformed services.
  • Increase Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) max coverage to $500,000.

Wounded Warrior
  • Ensure that any restructuring of the current disability and compensation systems does not inadvertently reduce compensation levels for service-disabled service members and veterans and/or their caregivers.
  • Eliminate the distinction between combat and 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.
  • Support concurrent receipt for Chapter 61 retirees (medically retired).

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 Military Resale programs, with proper support and vectoring of MWR dividends to ensure access to quality of life and support programs.
  • Ensure any modernization efforts of the Commissary and Exchange systems in no way degrades the earned benefit or reduces overall patron savings.

Sexual Harassment & Assault Prevention
  • Monitor the findings and recommendations of the Defense Advisory Board on Investigation, Prosecution and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces (DAC-IPAD) and the new Defense Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Sexual Misconduct. 
  • Monitor the appropriation of the funding and staffing resources needed to implement the prevention-of-sexual-misconduct-programs and the changes to the Military Justice System recommended by the 2021 Independent Review Commission and enacted by NDAA 2022.
  • Establish accountability measures for administrative and UCMJ actions resulting from sexual harassment and assault investigations. Establish a 90-day time standard for sexual harassment and assault investigations to ensure timely resolution of allegations, appropriate number of assigned investigators to meet the time standard. These actions will help facilitate culture change across the uniformed services.