National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011

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Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. I thank the gentleman from California for yielding.

As the ranking member of the Military Personnel Subcommittee, there are a few issues I would like to highlight with regard to this year's National Defense Authorization Act.

I am pleased the act adopted the Military Personnel Subcommittee mark in full and adopted some important amendments. Of note in the mark was a 1.9 percent basic pay raise for the military, as proposed in my bill, H.R. 4427.

Concerning amendments, first is my amendment to ensure that the Secretary of Defense retains sole authority over TRICARE, the Department of Defense's health care system. This ensures that the health care system of our servicemen and women and families will not be overwhelmed in the health care takeover.

I do have concerns about a few other issues that are not in the NDAA. First is the proposal that we would have allowed military personnel retired with disabilities to receive both their full military disability retirement pay and VA disability pay. The concurrent receipt issue has been addressed numerous times by the committee led by Congressman Jeff Miller of Florida, and while we have been making inroads, there are still many veterans who need our help.

Additionally, it was not allowed to eliminate the widow's tax that results because surviving spouses are required to forfeit their survivor benefit pension annuity. This is a real burden to widows and children of servicemembers.

I am also concerned about the retroactive retirement credit for Guard and Reserve soldiers who served after 9/11. These soldiers have answered the call to duty and deserve no less for their honorable service than their active duty counterparts.

As we bring this act to the floor, it is important to keep the servicemember in the forefront of our mind. It is crucial to consider the repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. The service chiefs, as represented by the fighting men and women of our country, have again and again urged us not to change the law until they have sufficient time to conduct their study.

We are a Nation at war, and, as such, we should follow the wishes of our war fighters.

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