[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 75 (Saturday, May 26, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO CREATE EQUITABLE RETIREMENT ELIGIBILITY FOR 
                      MILITARY RESERVE TECHNICIANS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NEIL ABERCROMBIE

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 25, 2001

  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce a bill that would 
provide comparable retirement eligibility for Military Reserve 
Technicians as applies to those on active duty.
  For years, Congress has passed legislation on behalf of active duty 
service members and active duty retirees. Sometimes, full-time military 
reserve employees enjoy collateral benefits from this legislation. But 
often, they are not included. We are talking about Guard and Reserve 
employees who come to work in uniform each day; they are assigned to 
their military reserve unit and meet all military standards. They 
perform comparable, usually identical, military functions but in a 
civil service status. These are the employees that make our Guard and 
Reserve such a ``good deal'' for our country. Our reserve units can 
perform virtually all of the missions as their active duty counterparts 
at a fraction of the price because these dedicated full-time employees 
are available to provide continuity between unit training assembly, 
also known as drill, weekends.
  Our Armed Forces are undergoing a thorough analysis and 
transformation to insure we are able and equipped to meet the evolving 
national security needs of tomorrow. It is obvious that the Guard and 
Reserve will continue to have vital missions and roles in this 
transformation. The Air Force has fully integrated the Guard and 
Reserve into its Aerospace Expeditionary Forces and cannot perform 
their scheduled rotations without them. The Army is studying the 
prospects of involving National Guard components in a more substantial 
role in Homeland Defense as recommended in the Hart-Rudman study.
  Our hometown militia is here to stay, and so we must maintain 
benefits that will entice new young people to invest their future in 
the Guard and Reserves. One way to do this is to offer an attractive 
retirement package, similar to that of active duty members. This bill 
will do just that. Instead of having to wait until age 55 for a full 
civil service annuity, full-time military reserve technicians could 
retire at age 50. Or, once they have served over 20 years in civil 
service status, the number of years for retirement eligibility on 
active duty, they can retire at any age without a reduction in annuity.
  It will continue to be challenging to recruit and retain young people 
into the armed forces. These challenges are not lost on the full-time 
reserve technician workforce. In many ways it will be worse, because 
the Reserves typically only recruit full-time staff from among those 
already in the service. In other words, they have a smaller pool from 
which to draw. It is our responsibility to make sure the Guard and 
Reserves remain strong and vital, and one way to do this is to invest 
in their human capital.
  The legislation I am introducing today is important not only to our 
current military reserve technicians who may meet the new retirement 
eligibility, but also to those new prospects who are evaluating 
employment alternatives as they decide with whom to invest their 
future. Make it a priority today to strengthen our Guard and Reserves 
of the future.

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