NAUS President’s Thanksgiving Message
“Thanksgiving is a time when we as a nation take time out from our busy lives to gather with family and friends to express thanks for our many blessings.
Regardless of where you will be tomorrow or what you will be doing, I encourage you to reach out to members of the Uniformed Services and their family members. They are serving our nation so that you and I can enjoy our many freedoms as Americans.
To the families of those now serving: thank you for sharing your loved ones to defend us all. To our troops: we admire your selflessness and pray for your success and safe return home. Your country is grateful for each of you, and the cause of human freedom is stronger today because of your efforts.
On behalf of the entire NAUS Headquarters staff, I wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving Day.”
Bill Matz
Congress in Recess
Congress is in recess for the Thanksgiving holiday. The House and Senate are scheduled to return next Monday, the 29th.
As we reported last week NAUS believes that the three most important “must do” issues for the Lame Duck Congress are:
- FY 2011 Appropriations. The Federal government is currently operating under a Continuing Resolution that expires December 3. It is essential that Congress deal with this matter with passage of another Continuing Resolution or similar spending bill.
- “Doc Fix” issue. Without congressional intervention, doctors face a payment reduction of 23.5 percent on December 1. Although this has been taken care of by the Senate, the House must agree on the temporary fix and has scheduled a vote as one of its first pieces of business when they return.
- Tax-related issues, including the tax rate “cuts,” the Alternative Minimum Tax patch, tax breaks for small business owners, and the Estate Tax. Each of these requires legislative attention before year-end or millions of Americans could see their taxes increase next year.
We also reported the following last week but feel the issues are very important and should be addressed. The tax issues are much more complicated than they should be, compounded by Majority Leader Sen. Reid saying that he will hold several votes on either extending the tax rates for all or only those earning less than $250,000. Reid said that he would bring up Minority leader Sen. McConnell’s bill S. 3773 which would permanently enact all of the current tax rates. Before the Thanksgiving recess Reid introduced a new bill S. 3975 which would permanently extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, repeal the estate tax and fix the alternative minimum tax for those who earn less than $250,000. This bill will also be voted on. NAUS will be watching this issue very closely
There are several other issues we hope will be addressed in the Lame Duck session, also. These include the SBP/DIC offset elimination and addressing honoring Merchant Mariners who served during World War II. Both of these issues have much support but Congress has not addressed solving either one.
Down to the Wire - House Action on “Doc Fix” Needed
The Senate voted November 18 to delay cuts in payments to doctors that accept TRICARE and Medicare payments for one month. Provided the House agrees to the same measure when it returns from Thanksgiving recess next week, H.R. 5712 will change the effective date of scheduled cuts from December 1, to Jan. 1, 2011. Lawmakers on both sides of the Hill hope this short-term patch (the fourth of its kind this year) will buy them enough time to finalize the details on a longer-term package.
As it stands right now the House will reconvene at 2:00 pm on November 29, giving representatives just a little more than one day to stop the December 1 cut from occurring. Taking into account the narrow window for action, the House should make this decision its top priority next week.
NAUS continues to press House leadership to take action on H.R. 5712 as quickly as possible. You can bolster our efforts by contacting your rns page.
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A welcoming home for our Troops.
