At press time, the fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill was still pending, even though the Defense Department is almost three months into the fiscal year. Issues vital to service members include:
Concurrent receipt of military retired pay and full VA disability for military retirees rated 100 percent unemployable but not 100 percent disabled.
Premium-based Tricare coverage for drilling Guard and reserve members.
Elimination of the dollar-for-dollar offset in the Survivor Benefit Plan incurred by survivors who receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.
Reducing the reserve retirement age from age 60 to as low as age 50.
Extra pay for hospitalized troops who were injured in combat.
Expansion of the $100,000 combat death gratuity to include all active-duty deaths.
Thrift Savings Plans with matching government contributions for first-term service members.
A hike in household-goods weight allowances for E-7s, E-8s and E-9s.
Pay for mobilized Reserve Component members to offset differences between their military and civilian wages.
