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Congress Back in Session

The U.S. House of Representatives is back in session this week to start the 2nd session of the 112th Congress. The Senate convenes next week. Last year Congress fell short of a deal that would reduce federal spending by $1.2 trillion over 10 years, after both sides deadlocked over whether to include new taxes or deeper domestic spending cuts to achieve the savings. The savings were required under the bipartisan Budget Control Act (PL 112-25), which initiated about $489 billion in defense spending savings over 10 years. Lawmakers have until the end of the year to reach a deal that would avert a sequester, which would require reductions of an additional $450 billion in future defense spending plans.

What does this mean to military families? With reduction in defense spending, we anticipate reduction in family programs and support services to military families. While the need for some programs may have been reduced, challenges connected with reintegration and downsizing will call for new programs responding to these challenges. The National Military Family Association is committed to supporting military families and will work with Congress and the Services to protect our military benefits. The Government Relations Department number one goal this year is to ensure that programs and benefits that support military families across all components be sustained at levels that will maintain the readiness of service members and their families. These include those still at war, those who are reintegrating after many deployments, those who continue to experience a high operations tempo, frequent separations, and the families of the wounded and fallen.

Our Association 2012 Issues and Actions provide an outline of the advocacy positions. We recognize the challenges the Nation faces and believe we can find a strategic balance in meeting these challenges and supporting military families. Our three main priorities are: readiness; recovery and renewal; and transition. We remain a Nation at war and service members and their families need support during times of war, peace, and transition.

We encourage all policy makers and military families to read our 2012 Association Issues and Actions. We welcome comments and questions. Please share with us on our Facebook page, post a comment on our website, or email us at Info@MilitaryFamily.org.

(Source: CQToday January 17, 2012 http://www.cq.com/flatfiles/cqtodaypdf/cqtodayonline20120117_19118.pdf)