European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 6, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 a the stars and stripes wednesday november 6, 1991women closer to flying in combat lawmakers Brush aside old of Navy ban by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington lawmakers have agreed to open up combat Pilot jobs in the air Force and Navy to women a House armed services committee staffer confirmed monday. The Bill would also allow women to Fly Marine corps aircraft for the first time said Becky Constantino who is the chairwoman of the defense advisory committee on women in the service. House and Senate conferees fashioning a final version of the fiscal 1992 defense authorization Bill put the finishing touches oct. 31 on a provision to open combat Pilot jobs to female aviators. But the lawmakers Are still wrestling with the controversial Issue of allowing patient funded abortions at overseas military medical facilities the staffer said. The proposal would repeal the Pentagon a 1988 decision. Rep. Les Aspin d-wis., chairman of the House armed services committee has forwarded the abortion measure to House speaker Thomas s. Foley d-wash., who will decide How to resolve it. Foley was scheduled to return to Washington today and it is unclear what he might do one of his aides said. President Bush has vowed to veto the Bill if it contains the abortion provision and sources said the congressional leadership May decide to drop the abortion e revision rather than hold up the entire ill by going to War with Bush on the Issue. The women in combat provision approved in the Bill would repeal the 44-year-old Laws that have prohibited females from flying combat aircraft and also effectively allows them to serve with air components aboard Navy combat ships. The Bill also contains a provision to set up a commission to assess sweeping issues regarding women in combat jobs including a study of How opening ground combat positions might affect military effectiveness. As written the measure does not apply to army women in combat roles. Army pilots who Fly attack helicopters in support of ground combat troops Are All men. The commission will study the Issue of women in combat roles including army attack aircraft. The commission to be appointed by president Bush would have 15 members and would Forward recommendations to the White House late next year. The legislative language of that initiative proposed by the Senate armed services committee was considerably toned Down in its a anti women prejudice in the final version of the Bill said a House armed services committee staffer. A there Are a lot of Subtle changes that make it much More balance Dan terms of recognizing the value of women to the military services a the staffer said. Rep. Beverly b. Byron d-md., head of the House armed services military personnel subcommittee also won changes that address the concerns of a coalition of women a groups worried about the makeup of the commission As proposed by the Senate committee. The coalition claimed the original language would have resulted in a commission consisting primarily of a older men with no real interest in expanding opportunities for women in the military. An emphasis on people with a distinguished combat experience would limit the participation of women on the commission and result in most members being older men who have never served with women Shirley Sagawa senior Quot counsel at the National women a Law Center wrote in an oct. 7 letter to lawmakers. A the Bill now says the commission will include people who have current experience working with women in the military not just Overall combat experience a said the House armed services committee staffer. A a we re Happy with that change a Sagawa said. A we think its a necessary step to take in order to make the commission fair and unbiased. Mrs. Byrons staff was very supportive in that regard a the congressional stalemate Over the abortion provision came about because the House voted to repeal the Pentagon ban while the Senate did not. The Issue has come up in Congress each year since the Pentagon reversed its policy of allowing abortions in overseas military medical facilities if patients paid for  dependents of . Personnel wait on tax ruling by Amy ge1szler-Jones . Bureau London a a British judge will hand Down a ruling later this week that could Lay the groundwork for taxing British dependents of . Military members and civilians assigned to the United kingdom. The ruling will define a relevant association a in terms of whether the British dependents Are so linked with their american spouses. The term is key to either freeing the British spouses from the unpopular poll tax or not. On monday a British Justice heard arguments at London a Royal courts of Justice regarding a phrase in a 1952 British Law dealing with visiting forces and their dependents. Thirteen British wives of airmen stationed at Raf upper Heyford were declared exempt from the tax in april by a local three member panel in Oxfordshire county. But the local government Cherwell District Council appealed the decision asking for Legal clarification of the phrase. The interpretation of that Section of the visiting forces act of 1952 has a direct bearing on the Issue of poll tax exemptions because the Community charge legislation says that a person with a a relevant association with a visiting Force will be exempted from paying the tax. The visiting forces act defines relevant association regarding dependents As a a person not being a citizen of the United kingdom and colonies or ordinarily a resident in the United kingdom but being a dependent of a member of that visiting Force or of a civilian component of that  lawyers for the wives have argued that if the phrase is interpreted to indicate that spouses need to meet one or the other of the two descriptions their clients would be exempt because they do not ordinarily reside in the United kingdom. Some live there Only because their husbands were stationed there while others follow their husbands to duty assignments elsewhere. Two of the original 13 have already left the country. The Cherwell Council has maintained that since the wives Are British citizens and Are living in Britain now they done to qualify As having that relevant association. The arguments of the sections syntax and semantics proved perplexing at times during mondays hearing even for the judge. When the councils lawyer said it thought the Section was straightforward the Justice said a it can to be. It does no to make grammatical  earlier in the hearing he remarked that lawmakers a must have been drunk when they drafted  2 new separation pay plans reportedly Given approval by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a lawmakers seeking to reduce the need to Force people out of the military have approved two new separation pay plans to encourage service members to leave voluntarily military and congressional sources said monday. One plan offers Severance payments stretched Over a Long number of years while the other features a Lump sum payment. A a it a a More varied attractive package than we would have had if we had Only approved one or the other a said a staffer with the House armed services committee. A with a blend of both the services have More  a a we la be Happy with anything we can get to help achieve the lower end strength Levels that we re striving to reach a said a Pentagon official who asked not to be identified. One plan was drawn up by Congress the other by the Pentagon. Both Are part of the fiscal 1992 defense authorization Bill which conferees from the House and Senate armed services committees tentatively agreed to on oct. 31. The Senate version of the Bill would have barred the Pentagon from forcing out personnel with Between five and 20 years of service in fiscal 1992, but the staffer said that provision was dropped when the voluntary separation pay plans were approved. Lawmakers decided to give the Pentagon the authority to Force out mid career personnel but Are clearly hoping that enough service members take advantage of the two new separation plans so that Large numbers of Force outs will not be needed he said. If the Bill is approved by the full House and Senate and signed into Law it would bring the number of separation payment plans on the books to three. The Pentagon already is authorized to Issue Lump sum payments to personnel who Are forced out. A service member in Grade e-7 with 14 years of service a with annual Basic pay adjusted for the 4.2 percent pay raise that will take effective Jan. 1 a would receive the following amounts under the three plans a under the Pentagon a voluntary separation incentive Vii the service member would receive about $7,650 per year for 28 years for a total of $214,200. A under the congressional plan the service member would receive a Lump sum of about $45,900 plus other Szpara Ion benefits. A under the involuntary separation plan the scr ice member would receive about $30,600 plus other separation benefits. How the Pentagon will use the two new plans is unclear the Pentagon official said. A a we re just not sure yet if Well offer a Choice of either plan to everybody or use them As specialized tools to target specific segments of the military population a he said. The formula for the congressional Lump sum initiative is final annual Basic pay times 15 percent times years of service. That is the same Basic formula used in the involuntary separation payment plan although that one uses a multiplier of 10 percent. Vii the Pentagon plan is billed by military officials As a a reverse re enlistment  it is a yearly payment equal to final annual Basic pay times 2.5 percent times years of service payable for twice the number of years a member served. There Are advantages and disadvantages to both plans said Erik Johnson a spokesman for the military coalition a group of 26 military and veterans organizations that has been advising Congress on military personnel issues. Although the total amount of Money a member receives would be much higher under Vii its value May be eroded by inflation Over the years that it is parcelled out Johnson said. The congressional Lump sum plan which the military coalition actively endorsed offers less Money but dispenses it All at once and also carries the same comprehensive package of benefits already offered under the involuntary separation pay plan Johnson said. Those benefits include extended military medical care for 120 Days after separation extended commissary and Exchange benefits for two years after separation pre separation counselling and relocation and employment assistance. Past military analyses have shown that younger service members generally favor Lump sums to use a a Gyins a car or As Down payments on a Home while spread out payments Are usually More attractive to older service members because they allow for a lower tax bite the Pentagon official said. The two voluntary plans Are expected to be used services in cutting personnel Levels but they will probably be of most Benefit to the army which must trim the most personnel of  by far he said. Lawmakers had been leaning toward approving the congressional Lump sum payment plan Over the pm until late last week the House armed services committee staffer said