mickeyd
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
The news was mostly good in late March as the House and Senate began working on their respective versions of the FY2008 Budget Resolution, which establishes budget caps that Congress will have to live by in the next fiscal year.
The best news was that both the House and Senate resolutions rejected the Administration's budget proposal to impose large fee increases on retired military beneficiaries under age 65. Both resolutions restored the $1.86 billion that the Administration had proposed cutting from the Defense health program.
Only a small portion of the proposed budget cut was attributable to increased revenues from higher fees. Most of the proposed reduction was attributable to an assumption that the fee increases would drive hundreds of thousands of military beneficiaries away from using their earned TRICARE benefits.
Both chambers saw that as inappropriate and restored the full funding amount - which means the Armed Services Committees will again have the latitude to reject the proposed increases, just as they did last year.
The best news was that both the House and Senate resolutions rejected the Administration's budget proposal to impose large fee increases on retired military beneficiaries under age 65. Both resolutions restored the $1.86 billion that the Administration had proposed cutting from the Defense health program.
Only a small portion of the proposed budget cut was attributable to increased revenues from higher fees. Most of the proposed reduction was attributable to an assumption that the fee increases would drive hundreds of thousands of military beneficiaries away from using their earned TRICARE benefits.
Both chambers saw that as inappropriate and restored the full funding amount - which means the Armed Services Committees will again have the latitude to reject the proposed increases, just as they did last year.