European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 2, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 stars and stripes june 2007 your Money Senate committees reject Tricase hike the Senate armed services com Mittee followed its counterpart in the House by rejecting the Bush administrations Call to raise Tri care fees and deductibles for a second they also rejected raising Tricase re Tail drug senators want to delay action on any such changes for at least another lawmakers and their staffs want to study the final report of the task Force on the future of military which is due in Here Are some other details from the Senate committee Bill accumulated leave the Senate com Mittee voted to allow any service member to carry up to 90 Days of unused leave into the fiscal the current ceiling is 60 Days for members not in a War Sena tors said that is too limiting Given the Pace of operations chapter 61 retirees the Senate com Mittee Bill would take a More dramatic step than the House to expand eligibility for combat related special compensation Csc to chapter 61 retirees forced by service connected disabilities to leave service Short of 20 the Senate language would allow any chapter 61 Retiree with combat related disabilities to receive both disability compensation and their Csc payment would be the equivalent of retired pay based on years the House voted to expand Csc eligibility Only to chapter 61 retirees who served at least 15 years and Toft Philpott military update have com Bat related disabilities rated 60 percent or Reserve retirement one item that will spark negotiation is the Senate commit tees language to lower the Start of Reserve retirement below age 60 by three months for every 90 Days a reservist or National guard members is recalled to Active this change at first glance looks like a Boon to career reservists mobilized for Iraq and but the committee could find no Money to apply mis change retroactively to deployments since the at tacks of this there Bili Zed after the Date the Bill is so Pic offset the Senate Bill is silent on ending or phasing out of the so called so Pic offset that impacts surviving current Law re quires that payments under the military survivor Benefit plan be reduced by amounts surviving spouses receive in disability and indemnity compensation from the department of veterans the House Bill would take a first step to Ward elimination the offset by paying up to a a month survivor indemnity allow Ance starting in october though the Senate committee ignored the so Pic offset an initiative still might be added when amendments voted on during floor debate on the authorization Bill later in survivor benefits the committee did adopt two smaller changes to survivor Ben one provision would allow guardians and caretakers of dependent children to re would Only lower retirement age for chive sep closing a coverage Gap Reserve and National guard personnel to brought to Light with deaths in Iraq and grandparents or other guardians have been left to care for surviving but they Are ineligible for sep to help raise the Senate Bill also would allow service members to designate in writing anyone As beneficiary of their death this change would treat the death payments More like an insurance drug discounts both the House Bill and Senate committee Bill would squeeze pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide Federal pricing discounts to medicines dispensed through Tricase retail pharmacy such discounts already Are Given on medicines dispensed on through the military mail order program and through a clinics and the sen ate language orders the discounts for Tri care retail the House language int As it would allow the depart ment to exclude drugs from the Tricase re Tail formulary if drug makers do not pro vide the the Senate committee decided the House approach could Hurt a to email , write to military Box 201201111 or visit thursdays Market 1 indexes 52week net Ltd 52wk High Low name last chg chg chg Dow Jones 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