NDAA 2013 Update

commosgt

PEB Forum Regular Member
PEB Forum Veteran
I copied and pasted this from another forum via VBN (Veterans Benefit Network) and thought I would post as well as update everyone. I have been watching C-Span II all of last week but not this week due to work. I highly suggest those that are Chapter 61 Retiree's rally and call your senators ASAP. We need every senator called upon, emailed, and faxed (I have done all three and then some). We need to get the message across NOW! If you don't do it then don't complain!

Apparently these amendments were agreed upon in the Senate by unanimous consent today. If anyone has additional information, please reply.

unanimous consent agreement - A unanimous consent request setting terms for the consideration of a specified bill or other measure. These agreements are usually proposed by the majority leader or floor manager of the measure, and reflect negotiations among senators interested in the measure. Many are "time agreements," which limit the time available for debate and specify who will control that time. Many also permit only a list of specified amendments, or require amendments to be to the measure. Many also contain other provisions, such as empowering the majority leader to call up the measure at will or specifying when consideration will begin or end.

SA 3048. Mr. REID submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 3254, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2013 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:


At the end of subtitle D of title VI, add the following:
SEC. 643. ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENT OF BOTH RETIRED PAY AND VETERANS' DISABILITY COMPENSATION FOR CERTAIN MILITARY RETIREES WITH COMPENSABLE SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES.
(a) Extension of Concurrent Receipt Authority to Retirees With Service-Connected Disabilities Rated Less Than 50 Percent.--
(1) REPEAL OF 50 PERCENT REQUIREMENT.--Section 1414 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (2) of subsection (a).
(2) COMPUTATION.--Paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of such section is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(G) For a month for which the retiree receives veterans' disability compensation for a disability rated as 40 percent or less or has a service-connected disability rated as zero percent, $0.''.
(b) Clerical Amendments.--
(1) The heading of section 1414 of such title is amended to read as follows:``§1414. Members eligible for retired pay who are also eligible for veterans' disability compensation: concurrent payment of retired pay and disability compensation''.
(2) The item relating to such section in the table of sections at the beginning of chapter 71 of such title is amended to read as follows:

``1414. Members eligible for retired pay who are also eligible for veterans' disability compensation: concurrent payment of retired pay and disability compensation.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect on January 1, 2013, and shall apply to payments for months beginning on or after that date.
SEC. 644. COORDINATION OF SERVICE ELIGIBILITY FOR COMBAT-RELATED SPECIAL COMPENSATION AND CONCURRENT RECEIPT.
(a) Amendments To Standardize Similar Provisions.--
(1) QUALIFIED RETIREES.--Subsection (a) of section 1414 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 643(a) of this Act, is further amended--
(A) by striking ``a member or'' and all that follows through ``retiree')'' and inserting ``a qualified retiree''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(2) QUALIFIED RETIREES.--For purposes of this section, a qualified retiree, with respect to any month, is a member or former member of the uniformed services who--
``(A) is entitled to retired pay (other by reason of section 12731b of this title); and
``(B) is also entitled for that month to veterans' disability compensation.''.
(2) DISABILITY RETIREES.--Paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of section 1414 of such title is amended to read as follows:
``(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR RETIREES WITH FEWER THAN 20 YEARS OF SERVICE.--The retired pay of a qualified retiree who is retired under chapter 61 of this title with fewer than 20 years of creditable service is subject to reduction by the lesser of--
``(A) the amount of the reduction under sections 5304 and 5305 of title 38; or
``(B) the amount (if any) by which the amount of the member's retired pay under such chapter exceeds the amount equal to 2 1/2 percent of the member's years of creditable service multiplied by the member's retired pay base under section 1406(b)(1) or 1407 of this title, whichever is applicable to the member.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect on January 1, 2013, and shall apply to payments for months beginning on or after that date.
SEC. 645. CLARIFICATION OF COMPUTATION OF COMBAT-RELATED SPECIAL COMPENSATION FOR CHAPTER 61 DISABILITY RETIREES.
(a) In General.--Section 1413a(b)(3) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking ``shall be reduced by the amount (if any) by which the amount of the member's retired pay under chapter 61 of this title exceeds'' both places it appears and inserting ``may not, when combined with the amount of retired pay payable to the retiree after any such reduction under sections 5304 and 5305 of title 38, cause the total of such combined payment to exceed''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect on January 1, 2013, and shall apply to payments for months beginning on or after that date.

If I'm reading this correctly, you would still get concurrent receipt based on LOS for those ch 61 with less than 20. Any thoughts?

http://democrats.senate.gov/2012/12/03/amendments-agree-to/
 
If they could get this through and get the president to sign it, I will be very surprised. This is for sure a step in the right direction. I just hope it doesn't get bogged down in the fiscal cliff. I will share on FB for sure. I think what is very important is that we support it, but what would carry much more weight is if our family and friends support it as well. That will increase visibility and support 10 fold
 
Ranger2992, I concur with your statement. I have fellow workers whom are chapter 61 at the VA are buzzing hard and making calls, emails, and faxes! We must all stand together as one and leave no one behind on this important step!
 
Here is the actual link to verbage!

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r112:1:./temp/~r1129md8ym:e84339:[/quote]

OK. My brain is foggy. I read these parts, but could use some help in understanding please.

QUESTION:

HOW WILL ANY OF THESE NEW CHANGES IN THE NDAA CHANGE MY CURRENT SITUATION??

CURRENT SITUATION IS:

70% military PDRL This 70% exceeds what I would have rec'd under regular NG retirement.
100% VA
NO CRSC

I have a 20 year NG retirement letter, but will have to wait until I'm 59 1/2 to CRDP.

I am currently losing most all of my PDRL due to the DoD/VA off-set.

I have 12 years total AD time, or 30% if I take 12 years times 2 1/2.

How does this new NDAA come into play for a person who has 12 years AD - AND a NG 20 year retirement letter?

THANK-YOU CLEAR THINKERS!

V/r,
nwlivewire
 
I cannot confirm or deny this but we have been left out in the cold once again. This is based on what other boards are stating. If anyone can confirm this please post an update! If this is true, it just confirms all 300,000 to 500,000 chapter 61 retiree's need to march on washington!
 
I looked at the House of Representatives web site and MOAA. I don't see anything on there about working with the bill today.
 
I looked at the House of Representatives web site and MOAA. I don't see anything on there about working with the bill today.

See article.....

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-2013-ndaa-defense-bill-was-approved-2012-12

No mention of any of these amendments being passed by the Senate version.

But Senate did pass their version and it goes back to the House so they can negotiate some more.

It is my understanding if Senator Reid's amendment didn't make it into the Senate version, then it won't be part of the negotiation between the House and Senate.

Will try and track this Senate version down a little more to see if Reid's amendments made it into the Senate version.

V/r,
nwlivewire
 
See article.....

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-2013-ndaa-defense-bill-was-approved-2012-12

No mention of any of these amendments being passed by the Senate version.

But Senate did pass their version and it goes back to the House so they can negotiate some more.

It is my understanding if Senator Reid's amendment didn't make it into the Senate version, then it won't be part of the negotiation between the House and Senate.

Will try and track this Senate version down a little more to see if Reid's amendments made it into the Senate version.

V/r,
nwlivewire

I looked at the Senate NDAA 2013 version as recorded on the Thomas website. The Senate version is called S. 3254.

There is NO mention of anything for change in current retirement compensation rules for Chapter 61'ers.

Newspaper article says the Senate Version was passed unanamously, too.

NO CHANGE WHATSOEVER.

Here is Senator Reid's comments of the passage of the Senate Version:

http://www.reid.senate.gov/newsroom/pr_120512_defense-authorization.cfm

V/r,
nwlivewire
 
The latest version is SA 3048. Below is the section dealing with the CRSC glitch fix.

Mike



SEC. 643. CLARIFICATION OF COMPUTATION OF COMBAT RELATED SPECIAL COMPENSATION FOR CHAPTER 61 DISABILITY RETIREES.



(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1413a(b)(3) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘shall be reduced by the amount (if any) by which the amount of the member’s retired pay under chapter 61 of this title exceeds’’ both places it appears and inserting ‘‘may not, when combined with the amount of retired pay payable to the retiree after any such reduction under sections 5304 and 5305 of title 38, cause the total of such combined payment to exceed’’.



(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect on October 1, 2013, and shall apply to payments for months beginning on or after that

date.
 
The latest version is SA 3048. Below is the section dealing with the CRSC glitch fix.

Mike



SEC. 643. CLARIFICATION OF COMPUTATION OF COMBAT RELATED SPECIAL COMPENSATION FOR CHAPTER 61 DISABILITY RETIREES.



(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1413a(b)(3) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘shall be reduced by the amount (if any) by which the amount of the member’s retired pay under chapter 61 of this title exceeds’’ both places it appears and inserting ‘‘may not, when combined with the amount of retired pay payable to the retiree after any such reduction under sections 5304 and 5305 of title 38, cause the total of such combined payment to exceed’’.



(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect on October 1, 2013, and shall apply to payments for months beginning on or after that

date.

A BIG THANK-YOU MAPARKER. :)

Will go find SA 3048, which is a Senate Amendment.

I'm trying to find all the Senate Amendments that were passed by the Senate the other day that are to be included into their version of the NDAA 2013 - also known as S 3254.

If I can figure out how to find this stuff, I'll post website.

Any others have any leads on official websites?

V/r,
nwlivewire
 
A BIG THANK-YOU MAPARKER. :)

Will go find SA 3048, which is a Senate Amendment.

I'm trying to find all the Senate Amendments that were passed by the Senate the other day that are to be included into their version of the NDAA 2013 - also known as S 3254.

If I can figure out how to find this stuff, I'll post website.

Any others have any leads on official websites?

V/r,
nwlivewire

http://www.senate.gov/galleries/pdcl/index.htm


Please scroll down this page and read Tuesday's Notes on Senate amendments that were included into S 3254 (Senate version of NDAA 2013).


***** Also, note the names of the Senators who will be working with the HOUSE members to resolve these issues for final NDAA version and vote to be determined at a later date.

V/r,
nwlivewire
 
End result; where does Chapter 61 folks sit today?

Until the Senate and House resolve the issues they have on the proposed NDAA 2013, we sit just like we've been sitting - OUT IN THE COLD.:(

No changes yet as these two groups still have more "horse trading" and "back room" deals to do on this before it comes to final vote. Then, when approved by both houses, it gets passed to the POTUS for signature.

Best bet is to stay tuned to this forum. Commosgt and a couple others are tracking this Act as it's winding it's final way through the system. I have my eyes peeled, too.

Will post more when there is something to post about.

V/r,
nwlivewire
 
I've been reading the posts on this issue. I have yet to apply for CRSC but I am confused on who gets it and who doesnt. If VA is more than Army....etc. Therefore, I am unsure of this new legislation and what effect it will have. Can anyone please clarify?
 
This trash is crazy!! We can bailout banks, spend about 45 billion a month on bad mortgages but we cant afford to take care of disabled Veterans!
 
I've been reading the posts on this issue. I have yet to apply for CRSC but I am confused on who gets it and who doesnt. If VA is more than Army....etc. Therefore, I am unsure of this new legislation and what effect it will have. Can anyone please clarify?

Two examples:

SPC Snuffy hurt his back while working at the motorpool. He was sent for MEB/PEB and medically retired at 40%. The VA rated him for many other conditions and rated him at 70%. At the time of seperation he had 5 years time in service. His conditions were not combat related. His base pay as an E4 over the last three years averaged out to $2250 per month. His pay would look like this:

DOD retired pay - $900 (40% of $2250)
VA Disability Compensation - $1459 (70% with spouse and 1 child)

Because he is a chapter 61 retiree (medical with less than 20 years), he can not collect DOD pay and VA compensation at the same time. He is only allowed to get the higher of the two different pays.

VA- $1459
DOD - $900
Difference - $559

You can see his VA is higher than DOD pay. This is what he will collect. All of his DOD pay is offset (lost). His monthly paycheck will be $1459

2. In this scenario, SPC snuffy was on patrol in Afghanistan and hurt his back in an IED blast. When the IED exploded, he was thrown againt the radio console and fractured a couple of vertabre. He was MEDEVAC home, treated and then sent to MEB/PEB. He was medically retired at 40% and the VA rated him for many other conditions and rated him at 70%. His conditions were combat related. His base pay as an E4 over the last three years averaged out to $2250 per month. His pay would be exactly the same as the first scenario except for the fact all his conditions are combat related. He applied for CRSC and was approved for CRSC at 100%. His pay would look like this:

DOD retired pay - $900 (40% of $2250)
VA Disability Compensation - $1459 (70% with spouse and 1 child)

Because he is a chapter 61 retiree (medical with less than 20 years), but has CRSC adjudicated conditions at 100%, he gets his retired pay back in the form of CRSC.

VA- $1459
DOD - $900
CRSC - $900 (it all depends on the % the CRSC board gives and some crazy math)

He still doesn't collect DOD pay, but he collects CRSC based on the percentage they awarded during adjudication. His retired paycheck would be $2359

This is the difference. I hope it explains things and doesn't kick up a big can of worms. The new legislation will get rid of the CRSC (combat) requirement and allow us to collect both retired pay and VA compensation.
 
Two examples:

SPC Snuffy hurt his back while working at the motorpool. He was sent for MEB/PEB and medically retired at 40%. The VA rated him for many other conditions and rated him at 70%. At the time of seperation he had 5 years time in service. His conditions were not combat related. His base pay as an E4 over the last three years averaged out to $2250 per month. His pay would look like this:

DOD retired pay - $900 (40% of $2250)
VA Disability Compensation - $1459 (70% with spouse and 1 child)

Because he is a chapter 61 retiree (medical with less than 20 years), he can not collect DOD pay and VA compensation at the same time. He is only allowed to get the higher of the two different pays.

VA- $1459
DOD - $900
Difference - $559

You can see his VA is higher than DOD pay. This is what he will collect. All of his DOD pay is offset (lost). His monthly paycheck will be $1459

2. In this scenario, SPC snuffy was on patrol in Afghanistan and hurt his back in an IED blast. When the IED exploded, he was thrown againt the radio console and fractured a couple of vertabre. He was MEDEVAC home, treated and then sent to MEB/PEB. He was medically retired at 40% and the VA rated him for many other conditions and rated him at 70%. His conditions were combat related. His base pay as an E4 over the last three years averaged out to $2250 per month. His pay would be exactly the same as the first scenario except for the fact all his conditions are combat related. He applied for CRSC and was approved for CRSC at 100%. His pay would look like this:

DOD retired pay - $900 (40% of $2250)
VA Disability Compensation - $1459 (70% with spouse and 1 child)

Because he is a chapter 61 retiree (medical with less than 20 years), but has CRSC adjudicated conditions at 100%, he gets his retired pay back in the form of CRSC.

VA- $1459
DOD - $900
CRSC - $900 (it all depends on the % the CRSC board gives and some crazy math)

He still doesn't collect DOD pay, but he collects CRSC based on the percentage they awarded during adjudication. His retired paycheck would be $2359

This is the difference. I hope it explains things and doesn't kick up a big can of worms. The new legislation will get rid of the CRSC (combat) requirement and allow us to collect both retired pay and VA compensation.


I got it now!! Thanks so much for the example!!!! Perfect!!!
 
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