European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 18, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                July 1985 the stars and stripes Page 3 military benefits Are among conferees topics compiled by Clint Swift Washington Bureau chief military pay and retirement benefits Are among the personnel issues on the table this week As 39 House and Senate members meet to try to Compromise on More than items that differ in the two bodies defense authorization Bills for next Here Are some of the Central people issues the conferees will have to Deal with pay the House authorized a 3 percent starting the Senate would also give a 3 percent but it would Start the beginning of the new fiscal retirement the House would slash billion from the billion the defense department has sought for the military personnel account in 1986 to pay retirement benefits of future the House Bill would let the Dod decide where to Cut retirement warning the Pentagon not to try to smooth Over the deficit with accounting Maneu vers instead of making real changes in the the Senate wants to Cut billion and re quire the department to submit a plan for a restructured retirement package by via the Senate committee voted to Cut off the Basic allowance for quarters and the variable housing Al Lowance in excess of actual both Chambers agreed to payment of the allow ances in so that will not be a conference special and incentive pays the Senate would improve these pays As recommended by the 5th quadrennial review of military for the 5th a rec sought to increase the enlisted pay to equalize enlisted and officer incentives for experimental stress and flight deck duty and exposure to toxic dangerous toxic fuels and the House did not address the selective reenlistment bonuses the House would require that 75 percent of a Bonus be paid up present Law provides that members receive half when they reenlist and the rest in equal yearly the Senate did not address the pcs reimbursements both the House and Senate agreed to give family members not just service members per diem on permanent change of station the rates for those under 12 and for those 12 and older match those paid by the civil the Bills provide mileage reimbursement of 15 cents a mile for one 17 cents for two 19 cents for three and 20 cents for four or leave travel both houses would authorize paid travel to the Home of record of service members and family Mem Bers who voluntarily serve consecutive Tours reducing permanent change of station overseas extensions both would increase overseas Extension pay from a month to a pcs entitlements both would increase weight limits on household goods shipments to a minimum of pounds and a maximum of the present limits Are 225 pounds for a stateside move by the lowest ranking members and for the the House voted to Start funding mileage allow ances for family members of Junior enlisted personnel e4 and below with less than two years service on moves in the the Benefit is already paid Over the Senate did not address both House and Senate seek to fund the 4year old temporary lodging expenses allowance at a Day for up to four the Senate also would make it an meaning Congress would have to fund it instead of leaving it an allowance that the military is authorized to fund if it can find the student travel the House would define the residence of a Stu Dent As the family Home instead of for the purpose of student the Section responds to a 1984 comptroller general decision that said service members could not be reimbursed for bringing Stu dents to their new Home after a permanent change of station if the students were going Back to the Senate did not address the the House also would allow students to continue on a military Airlift command flight to the final destination of the on a space available present legislation authorizes a trip to the planes destination nearest the overseas duty station of the the Senate did not address the flatmate per diem the House would authorize each of the services to test paying the flatmate per diem that has a Maxi mum of a the air Force is testing the Cost and paper work cutting but the armed services committee wants the other services to try it in a pattern that would permit their experiences to be the Senate did not address the bad checks the House Bill would allow the government to withhold part of a members pay if there were a dishonoured Check outstanding at a base club or other the Senate did not address the dental the House would go along with the pentagons proposed voluntary automatic enrolment dental insurance for to a the pro Gram would pay for diagnostic and Emer gency work and 80 percent of the Cost of routine fillings and appliance space available dental care would be denied to family members the Senate did not address in House voting after the sen ate had approved its agreed on a voice vote to a Bill offered by Pat to develop a food stamp program for eligible service members to fund student travel in the states and to require a Dod report on availability and affordability of of base housing for members and their a Bill offered by Les and Schroeder to compensate service members ind their families who Are victims of another Aspin measure would require a test of Cham pus coverage of certain Home health a Bill by Guam Delegate Ben a to again allow members in Japan including Okinawa and Singapore to ship foreign made cars Home through Guam was Defeated 272 to a conference results when House and Senate Bills As they almost always they must be reconciled so that a single measure can be sent to the president for his signature or conferees usually Are representatives and senators who were heavily involved in shaping their Chambers the conference report goes Back to each House for another floor last the conference did not come up with an authorization Bill until the third week of one week before the Start of the new fiscal some appropriations which Are supposed to follow authorization did not make it into final form until after the Start of the fiscal leaving the defense department and several other agencies operating under a continuing under such a departments May carry on operations at the same level of funding As the pre Vious but May not begin new divers recover ancient treasure a photo a diver gathers ancient greek pottery from the seabed off the coast of Jerusalem a israeli divers have recovered Bronze jewelry and swords dating Back 35 centuries from sunken ships in a secret two year Salvage opera Tion off israels the Israel museum the finds make up one of the largest treasures Ever found under not Only in Quantity but in historical Kurt a diver from the governments department of the treasure will go on display at the museum july Raven said a storm in 1983 shifted Silt that had lain for centuries about 150 Yards off the coast of exposing the coins and other divers had to Salvage the treasure before another storm re coated the area with he the water was very we had to come up every hour and fill our wetsuits with hot he scientists with Metal detectors found More Booty buried nearby in nine feet of Raven but decided not to reveal their finds to keep Amateur treasure seekers the ships were either wrecked in a storm or robbed by pirates who took the Gold and Silver and Sank the ships with the rest of the Raven he said few traces of the ships Osnat an archaeologist from the museum who is assembling the said the objects came from at least three one ship carried half a ton of coins that were minted in she it was on its Way to Egypt with a cargo of candlesticks and materials for Public she the Hoard of coins is one of the largest in the world As far As we said the earliest carrying tin and Copper was sunk in the 14th Century about the time Moses was leading the israelite out of Misc Brandl she said she believed the tin and Lead ingots were the oldest Ever a Gree period ship sunk More than years later yielded Bronze jewelry and chunks of life sized including the broken off fold of a dress inlaid with Silver in an intricate Floral she a dutch born said ships travelling through the Eastern Mediterranean Seldom approached the which has few Safe harbours and a dangerous underwater the area was a Haven for he Raven said As Many As 100 ships May be resting in the shallow water off israels we have found older ships but none with such a vast he told re jewellers arrowheads and a few 2nd Century coins were found in one earthen Jar that apparently had been protected by leaving its contents beautifully he Misc Brandl said the jewelry and other items in the which weighed about 220 were probably on their Way to be melted Down for it is unusual to find Bronze artifices be cause of the prohibitive Cost of Metal in that she nothing was thrown Metal was always she the treasure also includes several canaanite swords curved like a sickle but with the cutting Edge on the on one the wooden Hilt was still pre and on another the name of the egyptian pharaoh Ramses ii was she