The Monsters Under the Bed and Other Scary Tales

National Military Family Association

Christina JumperVolunteer Services DirectorAWAG - Germany

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Our Mission

To fight for benefits and programs that strengthen and protect uniformed services families and reflect the Nation’s respect for their Service.

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About Us

• Founded in 1969 by military wives concerned about military widows

• Has decades of expertise in family issues

• Serves all Services, ranks, components

• Works nationally, but responds to grassroots

• Uses all program work to support advocacy mission

• Acts as the go-to group for Congress, Department of Defense, the White House, and millions of military families

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The Monsters Under the Bed and Other Scary Stories

• Sequestration

• 2014 Budget

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National Military Family Association

Besides Defense, where Are the Cuts?

• Emergency Response• Money for disaster recovery

• Unemployment Benefits• Shrink by up to 9 percent

• Homelessness Programs• More than 100,000 formerly homeless people would

lose their current housing • Rental Assistance

• About 125,000 low-income families would be at risk of losing their housing

• The sequestration would eliminate care for up to 373,000 "seriously mentally ill" people

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• Food Safety• The FDA would conduct fewer food inspections

• Head Start • About 70,000 children would lose access to the early

education program Head Start • Small Business Assistance

• The government's small business loan guarantees would get slashed by nearly $1 billion

• Scientific Research• The sequestration would slash scientific research

funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF), HIV Prevention

• Up to 424,000 HIV tests would be on the chopping block. Thousands of people with HIV also would lose access to "life-saving" HIV medications.

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What’s Exempt from Cuts?

• Social Security• Medicare• Medicaid• Veterans – All programs administered by the Veteran’s

Administration, and special benefits for certain WWII veterans are safe.

• Food stamps• Social Security income (SSI)• Foster care• Treasury bonds• Tax credits (EITC)• Low-income support programs such as school breakfast and

lunch programs, children’s health insurance, temporary assistance for needy families

• Pell grants

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What’s Affected by Cuts?• Federal workers• Defense contractors• Coast Guard – rescue aircraft will fly fewer hours and

cutters will patrol the seas a few number of hours• Airports• Schools – Head start, teacher reductions, teachers and

teacher aides for special needs students• College – could affect 29 million loan borrowers• Food safety• Medicare – 2% cut in gov’t reimbursements to doctors

and hospitals• Programs for the poor• National Parks• Long-term effects: restrain funding for 10 years

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The Monster Under the Bed - Sequestration

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Facts vs Myth

• Fact: Military pay and allowances are protected• Fact: DoD is protecting funding for operations in

Afghanistan and not cutting accounts to war operations.• Bad news: Other accounts are subject to greater cuts

– installation training, maintenance and operations budgets

• Fact: Restoration of Tuition Assistance• Bad news: Funding for this program is still cut by

sequestration, so to fund it at the current levels requires the Services to find the funds

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Facts vs Myth• Fact: Wounded Warrior Programs protected

• Unknown: Much support for Wounded Warrior programs come from other sources such as health care, AW2, Marine for Life, and Navy Safe Harbor. Staffed by civilians that will be furloughed.

• DoD Civilian Furloughs• Fact: DoD schools protected, furloughs at 14 days.

Services are trying to work this out.• Army – furloughs or longer deployments

• Military health care and TRICARE• Fact: $3 billion in cuts, civilians furloughed• Fact: TRICARE for Life is protected

• Bad news: Possible increase cost for prescriptions

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Facts vs Myth• Fact: Community Support Services will be affected by

furloughs and will have to be creative with adjusting hours. • Subject to hiring freezes, smaller staffs – longer wait

times to include access to counseling, financial advise, new parent support, survivor outreach, and victim advocates

• Schools for Military Kids• Fact: Federal education cuts of $106 million in Impact

Aid, $1 billion in special education programs• Child Development Centers

• Fact: Unclear• Civilian furloughs

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Facts vs Myth• Commissaries

• Fact: Commissary closures, fewer if any case lot sales

• Exchanges: Are safe. They do not receive federal funding• PCS Orders

• Fact: Unclear – seeing delays in orders, moves happening with shorter notice

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2014 Budget

• Dealing with 2013 budget and cuts from sequestration

• The Administration’s budget overview contained NO REFERENCE to national security, service members and their families, or veterans

• 1% pay raise• 4.2% increase for housing allowances, 3.4%

subsistence allowances• 8.5% billion in family support

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2014 Budget• Child Care and Youth reduced from $1.3B to

$1.2B• MRW reduced from $1.4B to $1.3B• Family services increase $1.6B to $1.7B• DoD schools increase $2.6B to $2.8B• Military spouse employment programs

reduced $.2B to $.1B• $7M for Defense Suicide Prevention

programs and $25M for sexual response programs

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2014 Budget• New round of BRAC in 2015• $49.4B for military health care

• Includes increase to TRICARE retiree enrollment fees, co-pays, deductibles, and catastrophic cap, some pharmacy co-pays.

• DoD wants fee increases based on the percentage of the beneficiaries’ gross military retirement pay.

• Maintains funding levels for NG & Reserve family and employer support programs

• $1.4B for commissaries

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2014 Budget• $2.3B for recruiting and retention bonuses• DoD is assuming 34,000 troops will remain in

Afghanistan through Sept 2014, but no operations funding yet in budget• Legislation enacting a deficit reduction plan is

how we get rid of future automatic cuts.• If Congress doesn’t pass legislation

including tax increases and spending reductions, then sequestration will occur in 2014 and DoD will have to find $50B in savings out of this budget.

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Focusing on Enhancing the Strength of Military Families

Ending the wars won’t end military families’ need for strong support systems

• Focus on the legacy of a decade at war on military families, especially the children

• Recognize cuts may be inevitable, but military families need sustained support

• Remember, this is not a one-size-fits-all population• Private sector can support but not take over government

responsibilities• Fund what works, protect most vulnerable, value service

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How to Advocate for Your Military Family• Stay involved• Social media campaigns (sequestration

pages)• Send us information • VOLUNTEER• Overseas needs are different• Participate in town hall meetings and be

aware of what is happening at your installation

• Service specific – AFAP, Caring for People Installation levels

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Check Out our Website and Write to Us!

www.MilitaryFamily.org

• CJumper@MilitaryFamily.org• Info@MilitaryFamily.org

• facebook.com/militaryfamily• twitter.com@military_family• twitter.com@nmfachristina