Note from AFA -- New CSAF, Sequestration and Defense Budget

Earlier this week, we officially said farewell to Mike Dunn as AFA's President and CEO. He served AFA and the nation superbly, and he will surely be missed. AFA's new president is set to take the reins 4 September 2012, but for the month of August I  will be Acting President and will carry on with the periodic updates from headquarters with "Notes from AFA."

This initiative was begun by Mike Dunn early in his five-year tenure, and we intend to continue them because the notes have allowed greater interaction and engagement with our members, supporters, partners and friends.  They have also served to highlight the most critical issues facing our Air Force and nation. With that said…

AFA congratulates General Mark Welsh on his confirmation as Air Force Chief of Staff.  We believe General Welsh is the right person to lead the Air Force through the difficult days ahead.

Recess for Congress starts next week, and we won't be expecting too much to come out of Washington. But there are a couple of legislative issues looming when Congress returns:

1. Sequestration… Most recently, OMB said military personnel accounts would be spared the budget ax, which ultimately will result in even steeper cuts to other areas of the Pentagon budget. Every Service chief has gone on record to say that the effects of sequestration will be devastating, and AFA urges bipartisan agreement to prevent this clause of the Budget Control Act of 2011 from taking place.  

2. Defense Budget: Earlier this week, Senate subcommittee put forward a Pentagon spending plan for FY13 that would set the base budget at $511 billion and would include $93 billion in OCO funds. Those figures are in line with DOD's budget request.  The bill rejects the Obama administration's proposed TRICARE fee hikes; reverses the Navy's plan to retire nine ships and funds the requested number of Joint Strike Fighters; provides an additional $180 million for efficient production of Air Force C-130Js; and provides $21.5 million to accelerate backup oxygen systems for the F-22 Raptor.

The decisions yet to be made in the coming months will affect how the USAF, and its sister Services, will be able to project US power in the years (and decades) to come. As this month progresses, we hope you lend your voices to the cause, contacting your local congressmen and women to protect the issues important to you and this nation. We will keep you updated with what we are doing here. 

Buck

David T. "Buck" Buckwalter
Acting President
Air Force Association

Washington Perspective -- Defense Authorization Bill, Medals, TA

Today the House and the Senate meet in conference to hammer out the details of the 2012 Defense Authorization bill. There are quite a few “people issues” to be determined. The military coalition has weighed in on a number of them. See our letter here: http://www.afa.org/PresidentsCorner/WashingtonPerspective/2011/FY12_NDAA_TMC_Cover_letter.pdf

Here is the matrix of all the issues [warning: 17 pages]: http://www.afa.org/PresidentsCorner/WashingtonPerspective/2011/FY12_NDAA_TMC_Matrix_for_Conferees.pdf

Note that the Air Force Association and the Air Force Sergeants Association do not support the creation of a Unified Medical Command. Lot’s of reasons for that. We believe the needs of each Service are best handled by the Service, rather than putting all medics into one command. Also note that AFA and AFSA were alone in this view. Note AFA’s and AFSA’s asterisks are on the last page.

Secondly, we joined an Amicus brief making it a crime to falsely claim to have been awarded a medal. You can see the brief here [warning: It’s 64 pages in “legalese”]: http://www.afa.org/PresidentsCorner/WashingtonPerspective/2011/United_States_v_Alvarez_amicus_brief.pdf

Finally, yesterday I sent a letter to Sec Panetta urging a temporary delay in the issuance of the DOD memorandum of Understanding for the Military Tuition Assistance program – in order to assure maximum participation by post-secondary education institutions. You can find the letter here: http://www.afa.org/PresidentsCorner/WashingtonPerspective/2011/TA_letter.pdf.

For your consideration. Mike

Michael M. Dunn
President/CEO
Air Force Association

Activity on the Hill: Veterans Employment

AFA has been behind two separate veteran employment bills and keeping track of them as they go through each side of Congress. Yesterday, U.S. Representative Jeff Miller (R-FL), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, commended a bipartisan agreement to boost employment opportunities for veterans -- the "VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011."

The unemployment rate for separated Iraq and Afghanistan veterans averages 13 percent nationally. Often these service men and women are already equipped with the skills needed to qualify for civilian professions. The “VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011” contains bipartisan provisions to ensure service members transitioning to civilian life receive the aid they need to find a job in today’s tough economic climate. This bill combines provisions of Chairman Murray’s Hiring Heroes Act (S. 951; Report #112-36), Chairman Miller’s Veterans Opportunity to Work Act (H.R. 2433; Report #112-242), and veterans’ tax credits into a comprehensive package that will aggressively attack the unacceptably high rate of veteran’s unemployment.

“This agreement is a bipartisan and comprehensive approach to getting our nation’s veterans back to work,” said Chairman Murray. “It includes Republican and Democratic ideas because getting our veterans the financial security and dignity a job provides should never be partisan. For too long in this country we have patted our veterans on the back for their service and then pushed them out into the job market alone. By advancing this legislation we are giving our veterans the job skills to get their foot in the door and incentivizing employers to make sure that door is open to them.”

Key provisions include:

• Improving the Transition Assistance Program (TAP): The VOW to Hire Heroes Act will make TAP mandatory for most servicemembers transitioning to civilian status, upgrade career counseling options, and resume writing skills, as well as ensuring the program is tailored for the 21st Century job market.
  
• Translating Military Skills and Training: This bill will also require the Department of Labor to take a hard look at what military skills and training should be translatable into the civilian sector, and will work to make it easier to get the licenses and certification our veterans need.

• Veterans Tax Credits: The VOW to Hire Heroes Act provides tax incentives of up to $5,600 for hiring veterans, and up to $9,600 for hiring disabled veterans, if the veteran has been looking for work for six months or longer.

Read more here >>

AFA President and CEO Mike Dunn and Legislative Assistant Kristine Robbins
attended Rep Nancy Pelosi's Veterans Roundtable on Wednesday, Nov 2.