Federal Daily - July 17, 2009

Bill Would Lower Reserves, National Guard Retirement Age

A bill introduced July 15 would—if passed into law—lower the retirement age to 55 for members of the National Guard and military Reserves. The bill, H.R. 1695, sponsored by Rep. Frank A. LoBiondo, R-N.J., would bring the National Guard and Reserves retirement age more in line with those for active-duty service members. The current age requirement for members of the National Guard or Reserve Component to begin receiving retirement pay is 60 years old. However, active-duty service members may begin receiving retirement pay as soon as they serve their 20 years, which in some cases may be as early as age 38. The age limitation placed on the Reserve Component was set in 1948, when it was a much different force, noted LoBiondo, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. “This bipartisan legislation would ensure uniform requirements across the services and reservists for receiving retirement pay they are rightly due,” said LoBiondo. H.R. 1695 is endorsed by the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States, the Air Force Sergeants Association, the National Association of Uniformed Services and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. To see more, go to: www.house.gov/list/press/nj02_lobiondo/071509.html.

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AFGE Pans Bonuses for VA Executives

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) on July 15 criticized a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program which the union said continues to pay bonuses to managers in VA medical facilities and benefits offices while frontline staff struggle with limited resources. These bonuses, when coupled with the high salaries of medical and benefits executives, represent a misguided approach to compensation lacking fairness and transparency, said Alma Lee, president of AFGE’s National Veterans Affairs Council. The labor union pointed out that Congress rebuked VA in 2007 after bonuses were paid to executives while questions were being raised about VA management—especially concerning mounting claims backlogs and reports of poor patient care. Despite this rebuke, the bonus program continues, AFGE said. “The idea that frontline employees have to stretch resources with limited staff, while executives continue to receive large bonuses is mind-boggling,” said Lee. “If the VA is serious about recruiting and retaining highly trained and capable staff, it should reinvest in frontline staff, not top level bureaucracy.” AFGE said that part of the problem is that VA performance review boards—which make determinations about who receives bonuses—remained filled with the same executives who were scheduled to receive the incentive payments. To see more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=1020.

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