Key Committee: Whack Commissaries

Among the bills approved by the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee this week was the “Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2011” (S. 277), sponsored by Sen. Burr (R-NC), the senior Republican on the Committee. The bill would authorize VA health care for former military family members and veterans and certain family members stationed at Camp Lejeune between 1957 and 1987, when the water at the base is acknowledged to have been contaminated with carcinogens.

MOAA indicated its support for the bill and other pending measures in a letter to Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sen. Burr.

But that was before the committee voted unanimously, without notice or hearing, to fund the care by eliminating the federal subsidy for military commissaries and directing consolidation of all DoD commissaries and exchanges.

MOAA strongly opposes this sneak attack on the military benefit package.

First, the Veterans Affairs Committee has no jurisdiction over and no knowledge of DoD commissary and exchange systems, which are under the purview of the Armed Services Committee.

Second, they propose virtually dismantling the commissary system without any hearings or other effort to assess the adverse impact of such a dramatic cut to a core military benefit. There are good reasons why the Armed Services Committees, who actually understand the commissary and exchange programs, have ardently rejected similar proposals for the last four decades.

Third, they seek to poach DoD funds to pay for VA health care at a time when DoD personnel budgets already are under threat.

MOAA supports expanding VA care to cover Camp Lejeune veterans, but the Veterans Affairs Committee needs to find another way to fund it besides raiding the military commissary system.

Make no mistake, without the federal subsidy, military commissaries would eventually go out of business, as prices would have to rise, and savings to customers would be lost.

The commissary is one of DoD’s most cost-effective people programs. Every dollar of the subsidy translates to nearly three dollars of benefit value to patrons (and considerably more than that for lower-grade enlisted families). Where else can the Pentagon get that kind of compensation bang for the buck?

Use MOAA’s suggested message to urge your senators to reject this attack on military commissaries.

This message is listed on the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) to read
more click here.