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By Sally Saunders |
| Issue 1: Divisive Budget Talk Doesn’t Wash |
| The Wall Street Journal carried a front-page story “As Benefits for Veterans Climb, Military Spending Feels Freeze.” The story talks about the arguments made by Pentagon officials that military retirees are taking budget money that military leaders want to use to help troops fighting today. The story asserts that Congress, feeling the pressure by veterans groups has boosted retiree and survivor benefits (including TRICARE for Life, concurrent receipt, and SBP, but also including increased pay and other fixes for active duty troops. Assertions that increased spending on benefits for military retirees and widows is taking money from weapons or other active duty funding needs are off base. A key point VADM Norb Ryan, Jr. (USN-Ret) raised is that Congress over the past two years has passed legislation specifying that no money for TRICARE For Life or concurrent receipt is to come out of the DOD budget, but is to come from elsewhere in the Treasury. If the Administration is choosing to impose internal funding limitations or budget trade-offs, it’s in direct conflict with the intent of statutes passed by Congress (and signed into law by the President) that were written specifically to prevent that from happening. |
| Issue 2: Nelson, Corzine Introduce SBP Bill |
| Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) introduced a new joint bill to address two remaining major Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) inequities. S.185, the Military Retiree Survivor Equity Act, would end the deduction of VA survivor benefits (paid when the member’s death is caused by a service-connected condition) from the survivor’s SBP annuity. It would also move up the 2008 effective date of 30-year paid-up SBP coverage, which now imposes undue financial penalties on “Greatest Generation” SBP enrollees, to a 2005 implementation. Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Dayton (D-MN) joined Nelson and Corzine as original cosponsors in the bipartisan effort. If military service caused a retired member’s death, the VA indemnity compensation should be added to the SBP benefit the retiree paid for, not substituted for it. No survivors of civilian retirees who are also disabled military veterans and die of a military - service-connected cause should forfeit their purchased survivor benefits in order to receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. (DIC). |
| Issue 3: Virginia Behind in Veterans Care |
| According to a Virginian Pilot editorial of January 28, 2005, Virginia is close to last in the nation when it comes to veterans’ services. Del. Kirk Cox of Colonial Heights and Sen. Frank Ruff of Mecklenburg have discovered that Virginia provides only one claims agent per 49,147 veterans. In contrast, neighboring North Carolina provides a ratio of state agents to veterans of 1-to-20, 859. Governor Mark Warner, included money in his budget to increase the number of full and part time claims workers. Cox and Ruff would raise fulltime claims agents to 28. Even at that level, Virginia would still rank behind North Carolina. The lawmakers also want the state to authorize a $2.8 million treasury loan in order to leverage federal matching funds for completing a 240-bed veterans’ care center in the Richmond area. Missouri has seven veterans’ care centers, Maine has five, and Oklahoma, six. Virginia, in contrast, has one near Roanoke. Cox and Ruff deserve credit for recognizing a legitimate need. However, without the tax increase purposed in Gov. Warner’s budget, it will be far less likely that money would be available this year for veterans’ relief. |
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Ruth Geel, Treasurer
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Darlene Nelson – Doreen Steuteville ROWS extends a warm welcome to the following new members: Barbara Venzke, Norman, Virginia Beach Renewed memberships not in the 2004-05 yearbook: Virginia Folta, Virginia Beach Total Membership of ROWS: 371 |
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January-February 2005 Sharron D’Angelo, Gladys Jenkins, Patty Leon, Fran Erbe TLC COMMITTEE: Margaret Delaney & Sarah Dorin |
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| ROSES |
Dottie Edelman in Bayside Hospital |
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| GET WELL CARDS/NOTES OF CHEER |
Martha Cotton, neck fracture |
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| SYMPATHY CARDS |
family of ROWS member, Marie J. White, 1/20/05 |
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| MEMORIALS |
Dolphin Scholarship Foundation Submarine Vets WWII in honor of ROWS member, Marie J. White 1/20/05 |
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| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
DAV for memorial sent for Col. Bradford Lee Smith, USA-Ret. |
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| THANK YOU NOTES |
from Helen Via for flowers & visit from Anita McPherson for rose & visit TLC Committee |
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From President Anne Meek Kraine Let’s take stock, ROWS members. At the moment, the Nominating Committee is working to identify a slate of nominees for officers for 2005-06. The slate will be presented to the members at the March meeting and immediately published in The Rambling ROWS. Then we will hold the election in April and install the new officers in May. So what have we accomplished in 2004-05? We’ve re-established our incorporation, extended membership to the wives and widows of officers of NOAA and the Public Health Service, reformatted The Rambling ROWS and maintained on-time distribution, taken a dream-come-true holiday trip to Manhattan, offered bridge and golf activities, enjoyed our monthly luncheons, and hosted the best Christmas dinner dance ever. Anything else? Yes—at any of our meetings, when I look across the tables, I see animated conversations, I hear jokes and laughter, I watch people keeping up their connections with each other and making new connections with those they didn’t know before. These happy pictures reveal the behind-the-scenes work of many officers and members. It’s called having fun! It makes me smile! While we look ahead to 2005-06, we must assess what organizational issues we face, what changes we need to make to the Bylaws, what new and different options we can offer in programs and activities. And we need to keep our vision clear and our priorities straight—that means we need to keep on enjoying our “oasis of friendship” with verve and joy. See you at the meeting! |
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For the most current and up-to-date schedule of chapter events, click on Calendar of Events |
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The Official Newsletter for the Retired Officer's Wives Society (ROWS) The Rambling ROWS is published monthly and is intended primarily for distribution to, and non-commercial use by, members and associates of the Retired Officer's Wives Society. The Rambling Rows
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