[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 139 (Wednesday, October 7, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11698-S11700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROBERTS (for himself and Mr. McCain):
  S. 2563. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to restore 
military retirement benefits that were reduced by the Military 
Retirement Reform Act of 1986; to the Committee on Armed Services.


         MILITARY RETIREMENT READINESS ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 1998

  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, a few weeks ago I called the Senate's 
attention to several issues in the military that are contributing to 
problems in recruiting and retention of key, midcareer military 
personnel. Briefly, those issues were as follows:
  We are asking the military, significantly smaller than it was during 
the cold war, to operate and deploy much more frequently.
  We are asking the military to deploy on missions that may not be in 
the vital national interest of this Nation.
  We are not paying servicemen and women a salary that is comparable to 
the pay they could get outside the military for the same skills.
  We are not providing quality health care for the families of the 
military, and we have not provided the promised health care for the 
retired members of the military.
  We are not providing quality housing to all military families.
  And we are not providing a retirement program that is adequate to 
justify a career commitment to the arduous lifestyle and the difficult 
family separations that are necessary in military life.
  Mr. President, I rise today to offer legislation to address military 
retirement. The bill that I am introducing repeals the Military Reform 
Retirement Act of 1986, also known as REDUX. This experiment in the 
military retirement system was introduced in 1986 with the intended 
purpose--and it was a good one--of encouraging members of the military 
to stay longer than the popular career of 20 years.
  The service chiefs now say that retirement is one of the top reasons 
that our men and women are leaving the service. The Chairman of the 
Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Shelton, listed it among the most 
pressing problems facing the military in retaining key people. The 
Secretary of Defense has voiced very similar concerns.
  Pay is being addressed slowly, including a 3.6 percent pay raise in 
this defense appropriations bill.
  The Department of Defense is working on housing issues that may solve 
the problems. Problems with the health care programs are very complex 
and multilayered and requires detailed study to solve. The issue of the 
high rate of deployments and the quality of

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missions rests at the feet of the administration and this Congress and 
are now the subject of policy debate.
  Congress must address, however, the issue of retirement. We must show 
the men and women of our armed services that we are listening to their 
concerns and that we deeply care about them, their families and the 
commitment they make to the defense of this Nation.
  While the purpose of this bill is to repeal the 1986 retirement 
program, I want to emphasize it is not the final solution to the 
military's retirement problem. I urge the Department of Defense to 
start a comprehensive study--I think they are--and to examine all 
creative options to solve the recruitment and retention problems that 
now face the military.
  The repeal of REDUX is only but one option. There may be others. I 
know that private industry has many creative retirement programs that 
may serve as part of a final solution. The civilian sector of the 
Federal Government has long experience in retirement programs. Whatever 
course we end up taking, the bottom line must be a retirement program 
that is perceived as fair and adequate by our service men and women.
  The fundamental job of the Federal Government is to provide for the 
security of the Nation. That security begins and ends with people. It 
is clear that they are sending a strong message that we are letting 
them down. We are not providing adequately for their welfare and their 
postmilitary life.
  So providing better benefits for members of the military will pay 
dividends for national security. And, Mr. President, it is the right 
thing to do. We owe it to our military men and women who are making the 
personal and family sacrifices to do such an important job. They do an 
outstanding job under the most difficult of circumstances. It is not 
too much to ask that we provide adequate support for them and their 
families.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2563

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES TO TITLE 10, UNITED STATES 
                   CODE.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Military 
     Retirement Readiness Enhancement Act of 1998''.
       (b) References to Title 10.--Except as otherwise expressly 
     provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is 
     expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a 
     section or other provision, the reference shall be considered 
     to be made to a section or other provision of title 10, 
     United States Code.

     SEC. 2. RETIRED PAY MULTIPLIER.

       (a) Repeal of Reduction for Less Than 30 Years of 
     Service.--Subsection (b) of section 1409 is amended by 
     striking out paragraph (2).
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--(1) Paragraph (1) of such 
     subsection is amended by striking out ``paragraphs (2) and 
     (3)'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``paragraph (2)''.
       (2) Paragraph (3) of such subsection is redesignated as 
     paragraph (2).

     SEC. 3. ADJUSTMENTS OF RETIRED AND RETAINER PAY TO REFLECT 
                   CHANGES IN THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX.

       (a) Repeal of Reduced COLA Rate.--Subsection (b) of section 
     1401a is amended--
       (1) by striking out paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4), and 
     inserting in lieu thereof the following:
       ``(1) General rule.--Effective on December 1 of each year, 
     the Secretary of Defense shall increase the retired pay of 
     each member and former member of an armed force by the 
     percent (adjusted to the nearest one-tenth of 1 percent) by 
     which--
       ``(A) the price index for the base quarter of that year, 
     exceeds
       ``(B) the base index.''; and
       (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (2).
       (b) First COLA Adjustment.--Subsections (c)(3) and (d) of 
     such section are amended by striking out ``who first became a 
     member of a uniformed service before August 1, 1986, and''.
       (c) Repeal of Special Rule on Pro Rating Initial Adjustment 
     for Post-1986 Reform Retirees.--Subsection (e) of such 
     section is repealed.
       (d) Conforming Amendments.--Subsections (f), (g), and (h) 
     of such section are redesignated as subsections (e), (f), and 
     (g), respectively.

     SEC. 4. RESTORAL OF FULL RETIREMENT AMOUNT AT AGE 62.

       (a) Repeal.--Section 1410 is repealed.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 71 is amended by striking out the item 
     relating to section 1410.

     SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS FOR SURVIVOR BENEFIT PLAN.

       (a) Unreduced Retired Pay as Basis for Annuity.--Section 
     1447(6)(A) is amended by striking out ``(determined without 
     regard to any reduction under section 1409(b)(2) of this 
     title)''.
       (b) Cost-of-Living Adjustments and Recomputations.--Section 
     1451 is amended by striking out subsections (h) and (i) and 
     inserting in lieu thereof the following:
       ``(h) Adjustments to Base Amount for Cost-of-Living.--
       ``(1) Increases in base amount when retired pay 
     increased.--Whenever retired pay is increased under section 
     1401a of this title (or any other provision of law), the base 
     amount applicable to each participant in the Plan shall be 
     increased at the same time.
       ``(2) Percentage of increase.--The increase shall be by the 
     same percent as the percent by which the retired pay of the 
     participant is so increased.''.
       (c) Reduction in Retired Pay.--(1) Section 1452 is 
     amended--
       (A) in subsection (c), by striking out paragraph (4); and
       (B) by striking out subsection (i).
       (2) Section 1460(d) is amended by striking out ``or 
     recomputed under section 1452(i) of this title'', or 
     recomputed, as the case may be,'' and ``or recomputation''.

     SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take 
     effect on October 1, 1999, and shall apply with respect to 
     retired or retainer pay accruing for months beginning on or 
     after that date.

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I rise to support and cosponsor the 
legislation that Senator Roberts introduced earlier today that 
reinstates the 50 percent retirement ``earned benefit'' plan for men 
and women in the military who retire with 20 years of military service. 
I also implore the Senate leadership to act quickly on this legislation 
and move for its swift passage before the 105th Congress adjourns for 
the year.
  Times have changed since 1986. Our economy has prospered, producing 
historically high levels of employment and resulting in the emergence 
of a very difficult recruiting and retention environment for the armed 
services. Maintaining a top-quality force requires a military personnel 
system that has the flexibility to react quickly to the dynamics of the 
civilian market, and the leadership and confidence to follow through 
with critical personnel decisions rather than neglecting them out of 
fiscal opportunism. Regrettably, this year, first, second, and third-
term enlisted retention, pilot and mid-grade officer retention, and 
recruiting are all short of the goal for each of the services.
  Recruiting and retaining quality individuals requires pay scales that 
adjust to meet prevailing rates rather than fall 14 percent behind 
comparable civilian pay. It requires adequate funding for recruiting. 
It requires proper promotion rates--not promotion boards that take five 
months to process reports of promotion boards, as is the case with the 
Navy. It requires proper living conditions and morale, welfare and 
recreation services. It also requires reasonable tours of duty, a 
higher quality of civilian leadership, and ``role models'' within the 
leadership who are seen to take service members' quality-of-life 
concerns to heart.
  Reinstatement of the 50 percent retirement plan for career military 
men and women would serve as an important signal of resolve to our 
service members that the United States Congress is aware of the 
shortfall in benefits for those who wear the uniform of their country 
and is acting to improve those benefits. Last week, the Senate Armed 
Services Committee heard directly from the Joint Chiefs that restoring 
retirement benefits is a requirement for recruiting and retaining the 
qualified individuals we rely on to defend this nation.
  General Hugh Shelton, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated 
clearly that fixing the military retirement system is a top 
recommendation for restoring the readiness of our armed forces. Army 
Chief of Staff General Reimer has written to me that

       . . .the retirement package we have offered our soldiers 
     entering the Army since 1986 is inadequate. Having lost 25 
     percent of its lifetime value as a result of the 1980's 
     reforms, military retirement is no longer our number one 
     retention tool. Our soldiers and families deserve better. We 
     need to send them a strong signal that we haven't forgotten 
     them.

  The military medical health care system, particularly the TRICARE 
program, has been described by Service

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Chiefs as falling far short of what is warranted and needed. We cannot 
ignore the erosion of retirement and health care benefits, and the 
resultant impact on retention and readiness. General Reimer writes,

       ``The loss in medical benefits when a retiree turns 65 is 
     particularly bothersome to our soldiers who are making career 
     decisions.''

  From the Service Chiefs' answers, it is highly questionable whether 
we are meeting any of these requirements. On the contrary, it is clear 
that there is much work to be done.
  Finally, it is demoralizing to the men and women we send into harm's 
way, and is incomprehensible to the American people, who expect a well-
trained and well-equipped force, to witness as many as 25,000 military 
personnel and their families on food stamps. One tax provision that I 
have tried to reverse this year excludes uniformed men and women in the 
military from beneficial tax treatment on the profits resulting from 
the sale of their homes. We order servicemembers to move from place to 
place, but we do not afford them the same tax treatment as other U.S. 
citizens. Should this issue have been permitted to exist for so many 
years?
  Mr. President, we cannot afford to neglect this array of personnel 
concerns. Let us begin by acting immediately to restore the higher 
earned benefit plan for retired service members. Senator Roberts has 
offered critical legislation to help reverse the diminishing retention 
rates that cripple our Armed Services and ultimately diminish their 
ability to execute our National Military Strategy. On behalf of all men 
and women who have honorably dedicated their careers to serving this 
country in uniform, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this 
legislation.
                                 ______