Legislative Victories Achieved in 2008

• Delivered 3.9 percent active duty, Guard/Reserve pay raise for 2009.
• Rejection of increases in TRICARE fees and pharmacy copayments for retirees under age 65 and their families for the 3rd year in a row.
• Passage of a new GI Bill for today's generation of servicemembers.
• Significantly increased funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
• Provided some relief for the SBP/DIC offset with a $50 allowance in 2008, increasing to $100 in 2012.
• Prevented reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements in 2008-09, preserving access to care for TRICARE For Life beneficiaries.

Be sure to check out our Member News pages for more details on these and other legislative issues we're working on for YOU!

Previous Legislative Victories

For more than 40 yaers, NAUS has played a key role in getting legislation passed to protect and enhance quality of life benefits:

• Adoption of TRICARE For Life, a big step in fulfilling the promise of lifetime health care.
• Extension of Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) to all combat-related disabled veterans.
• Lowering of Guard/Reserve retirement age by 3 months for every aggregate 90 days served on active duty under certain mobilization authorities.
• Full Concurrent Receipt of Disability Pay for all 100% disabled retirees rated Individually Unemployable (IU).
• Increased Death Gratuity for all active duty deaths to $100,000, and established Traumatic Injury Disability Insurance with payments up to $100,000 for certain injuries.
• Saving cost of living adjustments (COLAs), resulting in 45% more in retired pay purchasing power since 1968.
• Protecting commissary benefits and expanding them for Reserve and National Guard members and their families.
• Providing "Forgotten Widows " benefit.
• Authority for widows to retain DIC when they remarry at age 57 or older.
• Improving the retirement system by repealing "redux."
• Implementation of the Senior Pharmacy Program.
• Implementation of permanent ID cards for those age 75 and over.