As a member of MOAA, supporting the State and National Legislative priorities is essential. Here are the latest Legislative priorities and how you can participate in supporting our Veterans.
https://moaa.quorum.us/
Advocacy in Action: Summer Initiatives
In this pivotal year for our nation’s servicemembers and veterans, MOAA remains at the forefront in the fight for key legislative changes. Our spring campaign event, Advocacy in Action, saw hundreds of supporters from across the nation gathering on Capitol Hill to spotlight critical issues affecting the uniformed services and veteran communities.
MOAA is grateful to you and others who have engaged in our advocacy efforts through MOAA’s Legislative Action Center. To sustain this momentum, we are urging you and our more than 360,000 members to engage with elected officials during the congressional summer recess. Legislators will be in their home states for the next month, providing a unique opportunity for personal outreach.
Key MOAA advocacy priorities:
- Junior Enlisted Pay Raise: Competitive pay remains critical to the health of the all-volunteer force, and both the House and the Senate seek to address this issue in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The House NDAA calls for servicemembers E-1 to E-4 to receive a 15% pay raise beyond the 4.5% earmarked for all in uniform. While the Senate version calls for an additional 1% increase for servicemembers E-1 to E-3 (beyond the 4.5% raise).
- Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) Restoration: Access to quality housing and promoting financial wellness are important to sustaining the all-volunteer force. Restoring BAH addresses both issues. The House version of the NDAA would restore BAH to 100% for FY 2025 – a move toward MOAA’s goal of full repeal of the BAH reduction, but not a permanent fix. Unfortunately, the Senate version does not address the issue.
- Major Richard Star Act: Tens of thousands of combat-injured veterans lose a dollar of earned DoD retirement pay for every dollar of VA disability compensation. For three years in a row, over two-thirds of Congress has supported the Star Act, which would end that unjust financial offset. Despite this vast support, neither version of the NDAA includes the bill. However, it is critical lawmakers continue to hear about this important issue, especially as we approach the start of the 119th Congress.
If you haven’t taken time this summer to reach out to your local representatives to express your views on these major initiatives, please login to the MOAA legislative quorum, https://moaa.quorum.us to send an email today!