The following is provided by Jere Moore
Chariman, Legislative Affairs, Florida Council  of Chapters, MOAA, and Tal-MOAA's Legislative Activities Chairman

Veterans Legislation passes early

All four legislative priorities of veterans organizations passed the 2008 Florida Legislature before the final week of the session and without a single dissenting vote, an extraordinary achievement for any group’s bills.

Three bills were on their way to Gov. Charlie Crist and he had already signed one, which would give the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs more flexibility in spending nursing home trust funds for patients’ personal needs such as shaving gear.

Other legislation that gained approval this year would:

--Allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a direct support organization to receive contributions to expand services of the agency.

--Establish a program to assist Florida businesses owned by disabled veterans in seeking state contracts for sales of goods and services and would give those businesses priority when other factors are equal.

--Increase funding going to veterans nursing homes from vehicle tag sales to $200,000 a year from $100,000 by providing that money from all veteran-related “stamped” tags go to the nursing homes. At present, money from tags such as those for military services goes to nursing homes but that from, for example, Purple Heart and POW tags does not.

Gov. Crist has signed all three.

The Military Officers Association of America has an ambitious list of

Legislative Goals for 2008

Keep them in mind when you talk to your congressman or a candidate for Congress

Here is a select list of the goals:



Health Care Issues

·Fully fund the Defense Health Program

·Protect against health benefit cuts/avoid disproportional cost-shifting to beneficiaries

·Upgrade TRICARE to attract more providers and improve beneficiary access

·Fix Medicare/TRICARE payment rate formula to promote provider participation

·Ensure a broad TRICARE pharmacy formulary

·Improve seamless transition between the Defense and VA health care/benefits systems

·Provide ful1 funding for veterans enrolled in the VA health care system

·Authorize premium offset Option to reservists' civilian health insurance

Retirement/Survivor Issues

·Preserve full-inflation cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs)

·Eliminate the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) deduction from SBP

·Authorize full concurrent receipt of military retired pay and VA disability compensation

·Restore VA survivor annuities for qualifying widows who remarry after age 55

·Oppose military benefit changes that are inconsistent with service career sacrifices

·Expand permanent ID card eligibility for elderly / disabled beneficiaries

·Reform the Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act (USFSPA)

·Authorize full final-month retired pay to survivors

·Implement a more equitable military disability retirement system

Active / Reserve Force Issues

·Increase active duty, G/R force sizes (end strength) to match mission

·Restore full military pay comparability with private sector (3.5% gap remains)

·Upgrade G/R retirement/compensation to reflect 'operatlonal reserve'' demands

·Strengthen financial, legal, reemployment protections for mobilized G/R force

·Protect funding for commissary, dependent schools and other military benefits

·Raise relocation payments to cover members' costs for government-directed moves

·Protect members against travel credit card interest/credit risks for late govt payments

·Upgrade Gl Bill benefits to cover 4-year public college costs

·Restore equitable G/R GI Bill benefits and authorize equal post-service eligibility

Veterans, Family, Other Issues

·Improve quality efficiency, and timeliness of VA claims-processing system

·Authorize pre-tax payment of health, dental, and long-term care premie ms

·Authorize currently serving families to use pre-tax health/dependent care programs

·Provide incentives for civilian/government employers & contractors to hire mil spouses

·Authorize compensation/support for family member caregivers of severely injured

·Win congressional approval of Flag anti-desecration amendment

·Reduce Social Security penalties for certain civil service and state retirees/survivors

·Prevent disproportional Social Security/Medicare penalties for any population segment”



Crist signs 4 bills to help military, veterans

ASSOCIATED PRESS


TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -
Businesses ownedor run by disabled veterans will get preference
when trying to get a state contract under a bill signed by Gov. Charlie Crist.
Florida gives preferences in contracting to minority and women-owned businesses.
The bill (HB 687) would also give preferences to disabled vet-owned companies when their bids are essentially equal to other companies.
During a ceremony Thursday at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Crist signed bills to make
grant money available for services to residents of veterans homes and to increase availability of financial help for some military families.

Another bill bars school districts, colleges and universities from banning ROTC programs.

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