Still Serving in Korea Issue 2010-09 - September, 2010 This newsletter is published monthly by the Military Retiree Assistance Office outside Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Korea. It is provided primarily for the information of retirees of all services and their families living in the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The information contained herein may not necessarily reflect the views or official positions of the Department of Defense, the U.S. military services and their component commands. If you are receiving this newsletter directly by e-mail, it is because you have subscribed to it and confirmed the subscription. To subscribe or unsubscribe, please follow the instructions contained at the end of the newsletter. All issues of the newsletter are maintained in HTML, PDF and Text formats on an index at the Retiree Activities Office web site at http://www.rao-osan.com/e-letter/e-letter-index.htm. The index allows direct access to each news item in each newsletter. A print version is at http://www.rao-osan.com/e-letter/pdf/2010/2010-09.pdf Contact the MRAO: in Korea 031-663-0319; outside Korea 82-31-663-0319; e-mail mrao@rao-osan.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Notices Korea Retirees' Schedule of Events * Sep 6 - All retiree offices in Korea are closed to celebrate the Labor Day holiday. * Sep 21-23 - The Military Retiree Assistance Office and Retiree Activities Office are closed for the Korea Chuseok holiday. Please limit calls to emergency only. * Oct 30 - The USAG Yongsan hosts the Area II Retiree Appreciation Day on Oct 30. Details will be published in the Oct Still Serving in Korea newsletter. Yongsan Job Fair Rescheduled The Army Community Service/Employment Readiness Program Community Job Fair has been rescheduled due to conflict with the Garrison Organization Day and the Chuseok Day celebrations. The new scheduled date for the Job Fair is 29 September 2010. We will let you know if there is any other change to this schedule. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. Yongsan Army Community Services, Aug 17 Beware of Easy Money Gimmicks One of the activities that older folks get into is a search for more money to supplement their meager income from various sources such as military retired pay, Social Security, etc. This is especially true for suvivors who find their benefits insufficient to keep up with the increasing cost of living and medical care. One such survivor jumped at a chance to supplement her income and nearly lost everything. Her story is described here. Military Retiree Assistance Office ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In This Issue * Medical Care Matters o Department of Defense a New (and Improved) TRICARE Web Site o Bottled Tea Beverages May Contain Fewer Polyphenols Than Brewed Tea o Increase in Obesity Rate Will Mean More Cancers, Experts Warn o New TRICARE Overseas Program Starts on Sep 1 o TRR Starts Running Next Week * Pay Matters o U.S. Court of Appeals orders VA to Publish Final Agent Orange Rule by Sep 1 o Advisory Panels Argue Military Benefits Unsustainable o Test Site for Quicker VA Payouts Selected * Legislation Matters o Legislative Week in Brief, the Irony of Priorities * Survivor Matters o Bills Would Mandate Lump-Sum Payouts o Clarifying Survivors Insurance Program * Community Matters o USA.gov Improves Its Search Engine o Schools Partner with VA on GI Bill Yellow Ribbon Program oAAFES Working Double Time to Correct Inadvertent Charges * Federal Service Matters o Pay Order Is a Possibility o Burst of BRAC Activity Ahead o FEGLI Payout Arrangement Targeted * Laughing Matters o 40 Years of Marriage o The Hotel Bill o Golfer at the Dentist o Memo from the Boss * Director's Corner o The Unemployment Picture o Union Issues Vote of No Confidence in ICE Leadership o Britain Will Be Forced to Borrow U.S. Jets to Fly from Its New Aircraft Carriers ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Medical Care Matters Department of Defense a New (and Improved) TRICARE Web Site There is a new TRICARE page for TRICARE beneficiaries up and running. AND IT IS USER FRIENDLY! Go to http://www.tricare.mil and you can easily get to over 180,000 pages of information. It is a huge improvement over the cumbersome and overly crowded predecessor. TREA Weekly Update, Aug 13 Bottled Tea Beverages May Contain Fewer Polyphenols Than Brewed Tea The first measurements of healthful antioxidant levels in commercial bottled tea beverages has concluded that health-conscious consumers may not be getting what they pay for: healthful doses of those antioxidants, or "poylphenols," that may ward off a range of diseases. Scientists reported here today at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) that many of the increasingly popular beverages included in their study, beverages that account for $1 billion in annual sales in the United States alone, contain fewer polyphenols than a single cup of home-brewed green or black tea. Some contain such small amounts that consumers would have to drink 20 bottles to get the polyphenols present in one cup of tea. "Consumers understand very well the concept of the health benefits from drinking tea or consuming other tea products," said Shiming Li, Ph.D., who reported on the new study with Professor Chi-Tang Ho and his colleagues. "However, there is a huge gap between the perception that tea consumption is healthy and the actual amount of the healthful nutrients – polyphenols – found in bottled tea beverages. Our analysis of tea beverages found that the polyphenol content is extremely low." Li pointed out that in addition to the low polyphenol content, bottled commercial tea contains other substances, including large amounts of sugar and the accompanying calories that health-conscious consumers may be trying to avoid. He is an analytical and natural product chemist at WellGen, Inc., a biotechnology company in North Brunswick, N.J., that discovers and develops medical foods for patients with diseases, including a proprietary black tea product that will be marketed for its anti-inflammatory benefits, which are due in part to a high polyphenol content. Li and colleagues measured the level of polyphenols – a group of natural antioxidants linked to anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic properties – of six brands of tea purchased from supermarkets. Half of them contained what Li characterized as "virtually no" antioxidants. The rest had small amounts of polyphenols that Li said probably would carry little health benefit, especially when considering the high sugar intake from tea beverages. "Someone would have to drink bottle after bottle of these teas, in some cases, to receive health benefits," he said. "I was surprised at the low polyphenol content. I didn't expect it to be at such a low level." [Source: http://www.physorg.com, August 22] MOAA Legislative Update, Aug 13 Increase in Obesity Rate Will Mean More Cancers, Experts Warn According to just-released figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2.4 million more Americans became obese between 2007 and 2009. Approximately 26.7 percent of the U.S. adult population, or 72.5 million people, are now obese. Experts at the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) said that this increase may result in a corresponding increase in the national cancer rate in years to come. The AICR experts pointed out that those 72.5 million Americans face an increased risk for colorectal cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer, kidney cancer, esophageal cancer, endometrial cancer, pancreatic cancer and gallbladder cancer. "Obesity plays a central role in many cancers," said AICR Director of Research Susan Higginbotham, PhD, RD. "Its links to heart disease and diabetes are well-known, but Americans need to understand that more obesity today means more cancer tomorrow." AICR estimates that excess body fat causes about 103,600 cases of cancer in the United States every year. AICR warns that as the percentage of the population who are obese continues to increase, this number will rise. The 103,600 estimate was calculated by combining projected cancer incidence for 2010 with data on the prevalence of obesity and its impact on cancer risk found in the AICR/WCRF report, Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention, released last year. That report estimated the percentage of various kinds of cancer that are attributable to such risk factors as poor diet, lack of physical activity and excess body fat. According to AICR, the estimated number of U.S. cancers that are currently linked to excess body fat include: 49% of endometrial cancers = 21,300 cases/year 35% of esophageal cancers = 21,300 cases/year 28% of pancreatic cancers = 12,079 cases/year 24% of kidney cancers = 13,978 cases/year 21% of gallbladder cancers = 2,050 cases/year 17% of breast cancers = 35,540 cases/year 9% of colorectal cancers = 12,831 cases/year TOTAL: 103,602 cases/year "It's clearer than ever that efforts to prevent obesity also help to prevent cancer," Higginbotham said. "The need for action has never been more urgent." Reprinted on August 9, 2010, courtesy of the American Institute for Cancer Research. For more information, please visit http://www.aicr.org. Government Employees Health Association Newsletter, Aug 2010 New TRICARE Overseas Program Starts on Sep 1 The new TRICARE Overseas Program contract starts on Sep 1. The new contractor is International SOS Assistance. The claims processing will still be done by [Wisconsin Physician Services] WPS. It combines 6 contracts into one which covers enrollment, claims, medical care, active duty dental care and "care in remote areas" [TRICARE Global Remote Overseas] (TGRO) over 3 TRICARE Overseas Regions: Latin America-Canada, Eurasia-Africa and Pacific. It should be a real improvement, but only if your [Defense Eligibility Enrollment and Reporting System] DEERS records are up to date. To make sure DEERS has any corrections you can update in person, online, by phone or fax or snail mail. Below you can find the locations to update your information. Since over 500,000 TRICARE beneficiaries are living overseas (and many others visit) this is important to many of our members. * In person, find the nearest ID card office at http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/rsl/owa/home * Online, go to http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/address/index.jsp * By phone call 1-800-538-9552 (1-866-363-2883 TTY/TDD) * By faxing dial 1-831-655-8317 * Mail address changes to: DMDC Support Office 400 Gigling Road Seaside, CA 93955-6771 To read about TRICARE Overseas Program you can get a handbook online at http://www.tricare.mil/overseas. You can also get a printed copy delivered to you by mail if requested online or by phone. TREA Washington Update, Aug 27 TRR Starts Running Next Week On Sep 1, the TRICARE Retired Reserve (TRR) program will be open for enrollment. At least that is what TMA is still saying. We do not have a phone number or e-mail site to give you. That has not yet been released. So if you are interested in enrolling we suggest that you go to http://www.tricare.mil on or after Sep 1 to find enrollment instructions and forms. If you enroll in Sep, medical coverage will start on Oct 1. As we have written before this is a program we urged Congress to pass that could provide continuity of care for "Gray Area" retirees between TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) and their qualification for TRICARE when they reach 60 years of age. Again, as we wrote in TREA's Aug 13 Washington Update, [the Department of Defense] DoD published an Interim Final Rule establishing $388.31 monthly premium for members only and $976.41 monthly premium for member and family for the rest of 2010. The 2011 premiums are $408.01 for member only and $1,020.05 for member and family. This is a crippling figure. We doubt that many Gray Area retirees will enroll at this price. Supportive members of Congress are working to lower this amount. We don't want this program to fail. There is still time to comment on the interim final rule. Go to http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-19313.pdf to read the final rule. Then if you have a comment please submit them by either going through the Federal eRulemaking Portal – http://www.regulations.gov – or by mail to the Federal Docket Management System Office, 1160 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1160. TREA Washington Update, Aug 27 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pay Matters U.S. Court of Appeals orders VA to Publish Final Agent Orange Rule by Sep 1 This week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit directed the VA to publish a final regulation implementing payment of claims for Service Connected Disabilities caused by exposure to Agent Orange for ischemic heart disease, Parkinson's disease and B-cell leukemia. The VA unsuccessfully argues that they could not publish a regulation until the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the draft regulation and said the delays were reasonable due to the complex issues and costs involved. After the regulation is published the VA must still wait 60 days the Congressional Review Act. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) has called for the hold to see if Congress wishes to block the regulation and payments. The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the issue on September 23 after their return from the August recess. (It should be remembered that Congress has approved funds for retroactive and first year payments as well as money to pay for new personnel to adjudicate the new claims.) TREA Washington Update, Aug 6 Advisory Panels Argue Military Benefits Unsustainable More and more Advisory Panels are publically arguing that personnel cost, including health care and retirement benefits are "threatening the viability of the all volunteer force." Last week we told you about the recommendations of the Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel. This week the Board's Chairmen former Defense Secretary William J. Perry and former National Security J. Hadley presented their findings and recommendations before the Senate's Armed Services Committee and repeated their conclusion: "Unless retirees contribute more for their TRICARE insurance, medical costs will not be brought under control and the national defense they served, and for which they fought and sacrificed, will be harmed." They also recommended the creation of yet another commission on military personnel to reconsider long-standing practices that they called economically unsustainable. At the same time a task force for the Defense Business Board released "initial observations which said that DoD's personnel accounts needed to be brought under control by modernizing retirement, pay, health benefits and the 'up-or-out' promotion system." (They also suggested eliminating 110,000 civilian jobs at the Department of Defense!) The Chairman of the Task Force was quoted as saying: "TRICARE for Life, the largest new benefit ever passed, was not subject to any kind of serious review or debate, as best as I can tell. Is that the way to pass something like that? And, okay, just because you passed it, does it have to be in existence for 100 years? Bob Gates makes a pretty compelling argument that 'health care costs are eating us alive'." All this means that we can really expect a serious fight next year to protect your earned retirement benefits. TREA Washington Update, Aug 6 Test Site for Quicker VA Payouts Selected The Department of Veterans Affairs has selected the Providence, R.I., regional benefits office as the first site for testing a new paperless claims processing system. If the pilot works as hoped, VA officials hope to speed payment of compensation and benefits to veterans and beneficiaries. The new system will focus initially on compensation benefits when it gets started in November. The program will eventually expand to all VA regional offices. VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki has set a goal of reducing the wait for claims processing to 125 days, with a 98-percent accuracy rate, by 2015. Armed Forces New Issue, Aug 13 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Legislation Matters Legislative Week in Brief, the Irony of Priorities The Senate and House remain in recess until September 13. On Tuesday, however, the House returned for a day to give final passage of a $23 billion supplemental appropriations bill for federal medical programs and State teacher salaries. And the Senate returned Thursday to approve a $600 million bill (H.R. 6080) making emergency supplemental appropriations for border security for the fiscal year ending a month from now on Sept. 30, 2010. Meanwhile with our Armed Forces engaged in combat, Defense Department Secretary Robert Gates announced major cuts at Defense. NAUS Weekly Update, Aug 13 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Survivor Matters Bills Would Mandate Lump-Sum Payouts Comparable bills pending before both the House and Senate would require contractor insurance companies to change the way they handle the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) and Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI) policies they underwrite. The Senate bill would make the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) tell insurers to offer lump-sum payouts of government-sponsored death benefits to beneficiaries of service members and federal workers as defaults, rather than options. The measure would end contractor insurance companies' practice of offering so-called "retained asset accounts," under which the companies collect as much as 4 percent interest on money intended for beneficiaries, and hold it in corporate accounts. The money, as such, is earning interest for the companies rather than beneficiaries, says Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., sponsor of the bill. "It's deeply troubling that insurance companies would promote these accounts as if they were run-of-the-mill checking accounts, yet the insurance companies profit from the interest and provide no FDIC guarantee that the money itself is insured," Schumer said. The House bill, H.R. 5993, would require the VA to make contractor insurance companies provide full counseling and disclosure regarding insurance benefits to families of fallen service members. "This legislation will ensure these policies are transparent and life insurance companies are held accountable," said Rep. Debbie Halvorson, D-Ill., who sponsored the measure. Armed Forces News Issue, Aug 13 Clarifying Survivors Insurance Program Over the past several weeks much fury has been expended on a possible instance of large insurance companies using funds meant for survivors of military members, making larger profits than they offer to those whose money they are holding. As reported last week, Bloomberg Markets magazine reported on July 28 that Prudential Insurance Company, which administers the program for the VA, holds payments owed to the families of fallen soldiers in its general corporate account and instead deposits that money into its own general fund. This week, the Vice Chairman of Prudential Financial Mark B. Grier briefed NAUS in our offices. Grier clarified that the "checks" are in fact "drafts" the same as used by people who use credit union accounts to pay bills. The Prudential Vice President showed NAUS President Matz and the legislative staff that the interest rate paid to beneficiaries under the account was at the high end of the range of interest paid by banks and credit unions. He also presented copies of the materials given to survivors at the first meeting. He agreed that the paperwork needs could be written more clear and understandable, and he promised to work with the VA to make that happen. In a separate VA briefing attended by NAUS, VA's Director of Life Insurance Programs Thomas Lastowka stated that the purpose of the accounts, which have been in use for over ten years, is to provide beneficiaries the ability to immediately access needed funds and earn interest until they have decided what to do with the funds over the long term. He stated that VA is satisfied with how Prudential handles these accounts and although there will be an inquiry, he did not expect VA to demand many, if any, changes. NAUS will continue to watch this matter closely to ensure the program benefits, as intended, the survivors of deceased military. We will pursue legislation, if necessary, to see that survivors receive financial counseling and disclosure information regarding life insurance payments. NAUS Weekly Update, Aug 20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Community Matters USA.gov Improves Its Search Engine Have you tried USA.gov's search engine at http://search.usa.gov/search?query=usa.gov+search lately? You may have noticed a few changes: * It's 9 times faster than it was before. * As you type your search terms, you'll be assisted by search-as- you-type functionality * The new design offers better visibility of high-value content, such as government forms and FAQs. * New navigation helps you with related searches. We hope you'll experience faster searches and more relevant results on USA.gov Search! USA.gov e-mail, Aug 5 Schools Partner with VA on GI Bill Yellow Ribbon Program Paving the way for recipients of the Post-9/11 GI Bill to attend higher-cost schools, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has entered into more than 3,200 agreements with over 1,100 schools for the upcoming academic year under the "Yellow Ribbon" program. Schools can enter into multiple agreements with VA to accommodate different programs of study offered. The Yellow Ribbon program, a key provision of the new Post-9/11 GI Bill, allows VA and participating educational institutions to share in supporting students attending high-cost schools. The program is reserved for veterans eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill who served at least 36 months on active duty or served at least 30 continuous days before being discharged due to a service-related injury. Normally, the VA-administered Post-9/11 GI Bill reimburses students for tuitions that don't exceed the highest in-State undergraduate tuition rate for a public institution. Under the Yellow Ribbon program, when schools contribute to the difference between the in- State maximum and their usual cost, VA will match them dollar for dollar up to 50 percent of the difference. The Post-9/11 GI Bill, passed by Congress in 2008, is the most extensive educational assistance program authorized since the original GI Bill was signed into law in 1944. The maximum benefit allows every eligible veteran, service member, reservist and National Guard member an opportunity to receive an in- State, undergraduate education at a public institution at no cost. The program includes payments for tuition and fees (paid directly to the schools), a housing allowance, and a books and supplies stipend. For information on specific schools participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program, go to VA Yellow Ribbon website at http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/CH33/YRP/YRP_List_2010.htm. NAUS Weekly Update, Aug 6 AAFES Working Double Time to Correct Inadvertent Charges Numerous transactions at Army and Air Force Exchange operations are experiencing a double whammy no one saw coming; a processing error resulting in duplicate charges on credit and debit card transactions. "Shoppers who swiped their cards anytime between Aug. 7 and Aug. 9 at an AAFES facility are strongly encouraged to review their statements to see if they are impacted by this issue," said AAFES' Chief of Staff Col. Virgil Williams. "If a customer finds a billing anomaly, no action will be required on their part as we're working to correct inaccuracies on their behalf." Scores of associates from AAFES' Information Technology and Finance and Accounting teams are working around the clock to remedy any and all erroneous charges created as a result of the processing error. "We're putting all the resources we have towards doing the right thing for customers affected by this unfortunate turn of events," said Williams. "If there is an overdraft fee as result of a duplicate charge, we're going to fix it. Our priority is to take corrective action as quickly as possible and return customers' accounts to the exact state they were prior to this glitch." The processing error that produced duplicate charges affected AAFES locations worldwide. Depending on the type of card used, corrective action could be visible to the customer anywhere from 24 hours to a couple of weeks. "The timeline is subject to a number of variables," said Williams. "Regardless, we want exchange shoppers to know that every possible measure is being taken to eliminate any additional charges and rectify any concerns created as a result of this processing miscue." AAFES News Release 10-034, Aug 12 VA Education Programs to Receive Increase in FY 2011 NAUS has recently learned that VA has announced that Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) rates would increase by 4 percent in FY 2011 to $1,426 a month, raising the total potential value of the department's older educational program to slightly more than $51,000. This program is the predecessor to the Post 9/11 GI Bill. NAUS Weekly Update, Aug 27 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Federal Service Matters Pay Order Is a Possibility Under federal pay law, the President has an annual opportunity, with an August 31 deadline, to make a federal pay raise recommendation that could become the default raise for the following January if Congress does not enact a specific figure. That would be an opportunity for President Obama to once again back the 1.4 percent January 2011 raise he recommended earlier this year. In some years a President makes such an "alternative" raise recommendation and in some years he doesn't; even when he does, the action typically becomes a moot point later because Congress generally enacts a raise figure, and once that bill is signed into law that figure overrides any earlier action. Typically the raise is specified in the financial services-general government appropriations bill, a measure that this year may end up combined with other spending bills and not passed until after the elections. The Senate committee-passed version of that bill provides for a 1.4 percent increase, while the House subcommittee version is silent on the raise. A major test could come in the House Appropriations Committee, where amendments to boost the raise commonly have been offered and, in past years at least, commonly accepted. With Congress on recess, such a bid is at least a month away, however. Raise Boost May Be Hard Sell Increasing the raise to the commonly cited target number of 1.9 percent may be a difficult task at a time of large deficits, high unemployment and public debate over whether federal employees are overpaid already. Also in the mix are incidents such as recent revelations of employees improperly taking payments from a housing assistance program and from Social Security, of employees viewing online pornography for hours a day at work, and of employees who are far overdue on their federal taxes. Increasing the raise to the commonly cited target number of 1.9 percent may be a difficult task at a time of large deficits, high unemployment and public debate over whether federal employees are overpaid already. Also in the mix are incidents such as recent revelations of employees improperly taking payments from a housing assistance program and from Social Security, of employees viewing online pornography for hours a day at work, and of employees who are far overdue on their federal taxes. Several proposals to freeze federal pay in 2011 already have been offered and rejected but other attempts are expected as the budget process moves forward, as part of a backlash against such incidents. For example, the House in passing a bill to increase telework by federal employees (HR-1722) accepted an amendment to bar telecommuting by anyone with a tax debt for which a lien has been filed. Also ineligible would be anyone who has been disciplined for reasons related to pornography on government time or on government equipment, anyone who had been disciplined for being absent without permission for more than five days in any calendar year, and anyone who improperly received payments from the housing program. In addition, a Presidential order barring political appointees from receiving awards and similar payments through fiscal 2011, while not directly affecting career employees, is another sign of the desire for more frugality that could have wider implications. FEDweek Weekly Issue, Aug 11 Burst of BRAC Activity Ahead With just more than a year to go before the deadline for completing work under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure [BRAC] round, it appears that about half of the 800 actions will take place in the last year, [Government Accountability Office] GAO has said. More than a quarter of them aren't expected to be finished until just weeks before the deadline of next Sep 15, leaving virtually no room for slippage in construction and other related activities in an initiative that already has experienced numerous such delays, said a report. Many affected employees may end up working in temporary "swing" space for an unknown period. It said the current round is far more ambitious and complex than the previous rounds, in part because it is occurring at a time of active warfighting, and that the upfront costs will exceed those of all the prior rounds combined. Personnel Relocations a Major Issue GAO said that counting both civilian and military personnel, the 2005 BRAC round will mean the relocation of some 123,000 persons. [The Department of Defense] DoD is encountering problems with employees being reluctant to move, raising concerns about crucial positions being left vacant, including certain administrative positions, medical positions and jobs involving highly specialized skills. In response, the department is providing benefits such as relocation and recruitment incentives, home sale guarantees, and paid time for househunting trips and moving, GAO said, but the distance and isolation of some facilities to which some jobs are being moved poses a challenge even so — as does the opposite problem of worsened congestion around some urban area facilities including some in the Washington, D.C. area that stand to gain employees. There are concerns about inadequate roads, school overcrowding and other issues in some of those communities which could further make employees unwilling to move, the report said. FEDweek Weekly Issue, Aug 11 FEGLI Payout Arrangement Targeted Several members of Congress have said that they will push for a change in the default payout option for claims paid under federal life insurance programs, including [Federal Employees Group Life Insurance] FEGLI, following press reports regarding problems with military life insurance benefits that have similar payout arrangements. Under current FEGLI policy, a beneficiary may elect to receive the entire amount as one payment, and full payments are automatic for benefits under $5,000. However, for payments of $5,000 or more, unless a full payment is elected an account is established on the beneficiary's behalf and the beneficiary may draw on that account by writing checks of up to the amount in the account. The proposal would make a full immediate payment the default option, rather than one that must be elected for benefits of $5,000 or more. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee plans a hearing after Congress reconvenes in September. FEDweek Weekly Issue, Aug 18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Laughing Matters 40 Years of Marriage A married couple in their early 60s was celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant. Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table. She said, "For being such an exemplary married couple and for being loving to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish." The wife answered, "Oh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband." The fairy waved her magic wand and – poof! – two tickets for the Queen Mary II appeared in her hands." The husband thought for a moment: "Well, this is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this will never come again. I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me." The wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish. So the fairy waved her magic wand and – poof! – the husband became 92 years old. from the Internet The Hotel Bill A married couple were traveling by car from Victoria to Prince George. Being seniors, after almost eleven hours on the road they were too tired to continue and decided to take a room. But, they only planned to sleep for four hours and then get back on the road. When they checked out four hours later, the desk clerk handed them a bill for $350.00. The man exploded and demanded to know why the charge is so high. He told the clerk, although it's a nice hotel, the rooms certainly aren't worth $350.00 for four hours. Then the clerk told him that $350.00 is the 'standard rate' The man insisted on speaking to the Manager. The Manager appeared, listened to him, and then explained that the hotel has an Olympic-sized pool and a huge conference centre that were available for them to use, "But we didn't use them," the husband said. "Well, they are here, and you could have," explained the Manager. The Manager went on to explain that the couple could also have taken in one of the shows for which the hotel is famous. "We have the best entertainers from New York, Hollywood, and Las Vegas perform here," the Manager said. "But we didn't go to any of those shows," the husband said. "Well, we have them, and you could have," the Manager replied. No matter what amenity the Manager mentioned, the husband replied, "But we didn't use it!" The Manager was unmoved, and eventually the husband gave up and agreed to pay. As he didn't have the check book, he asked his wife to write the check. She did and gave it to the Manager. The Manager was surprised when he looked at the check. "But ma'am, this is only made out for $50.00." "That's correct. I charged you $300.00 for sleeping with me," she replied. "But I didn't!" exclaims the Manager. "Well, too bad. I was here, and you could have." Moral of the story: Don't mess with senior citizens. They didn't get there by being stupid! from the Internet Golfer at the Dentist A man and his wife walked into a dentist's office. The man said to the dentist, "Doc, I'm in one heck of a hurry. I have two buddies sitting out in my car waiting for us to go play golf, so forget about the anesthetic, I don't have time for the gums to get numb. I just want you to pull the tooth, and be done with it! We have a 10:00am tee time at the best golf course in town and it's 9:30 already. I don't have time to wait for the anesthetic to work!" The dentist thought to himself, "My goodness, this is surely a very brave man asking to have his tooth pulled without using anything to kill the pain." So the dentist said to him, "Well, OK, which tooth is it, sir?" The man turned to his wife and said, "Open your mouth, Honey, and show him." from the Internet Memo from the Boss As the CEO of this organization, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barack Obama is our president and that our taxes and government fees will increase in a BIG way. To compensate for these increases, our prices would have to increase by about 10%. But since we cannot increase our prices right now due to the dismal state of the economy, we will have to lay off sixty of our employees instead. This has really been bothering me, since I believe we are family here and I didn't know how to choose who would have to go. So, this is what I did: I walked through our parking lots and found sixty "Obama" bumper stickers on our employees' cars and have decided these folks will be the ones to let go. I can't think of a more fair way to approach this problem. They voted for change, I gave it to them. I will see the rest of you at the annual company picnic. from the Internet ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Director's Corner The Unemployment Picture The American Observer has an animation showing how US unemployment rates have changed by county between Jan 2007 and May 2010. It's at http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html. Jack Terwiel Union Issues Vote of No Confidence in ICE Leadership An Immigration and Customs Enforcement union has issued a vote of no confidence berating ICE director John Morton and the assistant director of the Office of Detention Policy and Planning for "abandoning the agency's core mission" of immigration enforcement in favor of an amnesty campaign. The union's council, American Federation of Government Employees National Council 188, which said it was acting on behalf of its thousands of members, cast the vote in order to "publicly separate ourselves" from the agency leadership's efforts to campaign "for programs and policies related to amnesty and the creation of a special detention system for foreign nationals that exceeds the care and services provided" to most jailed US citizens. The ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Susan Collins, R-Maine, has called on DHS secretary Janet Napolitano to look into concerns raised by the group, as well as an agency draft memo they made public describing ways to pursue immigration reform that Collins views as an attempt to circumvent the legislative process. "The issues raised by ICE officers are of great concern to me," she said, adding that the draft memo indicates DHS "is considering how to avoid removing illegally present individuals from the country as a way of administratively achieving 'meaningful immigration reform absent legislative action.'" She said the memo and the concerns brought up "raise serious questions in my mind about the department's commitment to enforcing the nation's immigration laws." The union also maintains the department is overstating the effectiveness of programs including Secure Communities, saying they lack necessary manpower and resources. Federal Manager's Daily Report, Aug 17 Britain Will Be Forced to Borrow U.S. Jets to Fly from Its New Aircraft Carriers Britain will be forced to borrow U.S. warplanes to fly from the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers because of defense cuts, the Daily Mail can reveal. The navy's Harrier Jump Jets – the aircraft that won renown in the Falklands conflict – are to be retired early, leaving the two new carriers with no aircraft when they come into service. Under the plans, the U.S. Marines would be invited to fly from the British carriers in joint operations and the navy is also examining the prospect of leasing aircraft from the Americans. Major costs savings are necessary because the Treasury budget for the carriers only covers the costs of building an empty shell – leaving no money for the aircraft to fly from them. A senior military source said: 'The U.S. Marines have the aircraft. Their aircraft would fly from the British carriers. Or we could borrow some from them. The Treasury are happy to pay for the carriers but there's an issue over the cost of the aircraft." The carriers are due to enter service in 2014 and 2016, respectively, and the remaining Harriers, famous for their ability to take off and land vertically, are currently due to be retired in 2018. But bringing that date forward, which would save more than £1 billion and could happen as early as the end of next year, would leave the navy with a capability gap that would have to be filled by the Americans before Joint Strike Fighter aircraft become available in 2018. Rather than "salami slice" kit from every area, Defense Secretary Liam Fox has decided to give up major capabilities that let Britain fight wars alone, and rely on American support in future conflicts instead. The RAF is set to abandon its "spy in the sky" aerial surveillance planes because the U.S. can provide the intelligence material instead. That is likely to mean the cancellation of new Nimrod aircraft. In order to pay for the new aircraft carriers, which will cost a total of £5.2 billion, the navy is expected to have to sacrifice its amphibious landing capability. The source added: "It comes down to a choice between carrier strike capability and amphibious landing - and they're not going to give up the carriers." That means the Royal Marines and the army would have to rely on American assault ships if they wanted to launch a sea-borne invasion like the Falklands in the future. "There are going to be some very painful decisions," the source said. "But the plan is to sacrifice some capabilities so that we can keep the kit where we really need it." Chancellor George Osborne has also asked the Ministry of Defense to find budget savings of between 10 and 20 percent. One carrier may be axed to save money, but navy chiefs would rather fight for them both. But to pay for them, the second may be downgraded to carry helicopters rather than jets. Ministers are also examining whether they can share some costs with the French navy. The British Harrier Jump Jet was the first in the world to be able to take off in a very short distance and land vertically without a runway. A mainstay of the Fleet Air Arm since 1960, its finest hour was the 1982 conflict to recover the Falklands, when the planes shot down 20 Argentine aircraft without suffering a single loss in return. The Harrier's primary role is air defense, operating from Royal Navy aircraft carriers. It was instrumental in protecting the Falklands Task Force from serious losses at the hands of the Argentine air force. The last Sea Harriers operated by the Fleet Air Arm were withdrawn from service in 2006, leaving navy and RAF pilots using the GR9 ground attack variant of the aircraft. There are 45 Harriers left, but the jet is due to go out of service by 2018 to be replaced by a variant of the U.S.-made Joint Strike Fighter. 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