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LEGISLATIVE AND BENEFIT UPDATES
Credit: Architect of the Capitol Legislative and Benefit Updates
Summer Mariner 2022
By Michael P. Hughes, OSC, USNR (ret.)
FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
The House has passed its n Requires a DoD report to Congress on BAH cal-
version of the FY 2023 culations and a separate report on barriers to home
NDAA as of this writing. ownership to service members.
A few key positive points
included in this house ver- What is not included is the Major Richard Star Act, which
sion are: would allow concurrent receipt of disability pay and
retirement pay for all disabled retirees. Currently, only
n 4.6 % military personnel pay raise. those rated as 50% or more disabled can collect full retire-
ment and disability pay. Those rated below 50% have
n Limits the reduction and realignment of military their retirement pay reduced by the amount they collect
medical personnel for 3 more years. for their disability. NERA considers this an injustice to
those who earned the benefits of these separate and dis-
n Prevents enforcement of pre-dispute forced arbitra- tinct programs.
tion clauses that are covered by the Servicemembers
Civil Relief Act (SCRA). We now await the passage of the Senate version of the
FY 2023 NDAA. There will likely be a joint conference
n Removes the inclusion of the Basic Allowance for committee to iron out the differences between the House
Housing (BAH) in calculating the Basic Needs and Senate versions before it goes to the President for
Allowance (BNA). approval.
Charitable Equity for Veterans Act
Identical bills were introduced in the House, HR 4851 as 501(c)(19). Only members can deduct charitable con-
and Senate, S 2530 in July of 2021. There has been no tributions under current tax law. This puts military asso-
further action. NERA fully supports this action to permit ciations at a disadvantage from being unable compete for
tax deductible contributions to 501(c)(19) associations. contributions from non-members and businesses.
Most military associations, including NERA, are classified
NERA continues to follow and advocate on many more
legislative and policy issues concerning compensation,
benefits and well-being of our members. If you have specific
questions, please email me at [email protected] or send postal
mail to my attention at NERA national headquarters.
6 The Mariner • 2022 SUMMER Edition • Volume 65 • Issue 2
