As we head into the second session of the 117th Congress, please take note of MOAA’s legislative priorities highlighted below. For 2022, we are continuing the momentum established over the previous year to carry our efforts into the second session of Congress. It is important to note all co-sponsors carry over, as do our messages and continued engagements.
Continuity and consistency of effort will be paramount to success — and we are closing in on many of these issues, so stay plugged in and ready to engage your legislators. There are other issues not listed here that are also being worked by our full staff of lobbyists. Our priorities will be shaped throughout the year depending on concurrent successes or emerging issues that warrant an all-hands approach.
We appreciate your grassroots efforts, which shore up all the work we are doing in the Capitol region. You can follow us online for updates on our progress.
Here is what we are focused on for 2022:
Sustain pay raises and adequate BAH for the troops and COLA raises for retirees.
Ensure the Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Public Health Service continue to receive pay during a government shutdown.
Protect the value of the military health care benefit.
Protect the Military Health System pharmacy benefit, and achieve flexibility in TRICARE pharmacy copays.
Address barriers to accessing care within the MHS, including TRICARE coverage gaps and mental health care access challenges.
Protect family support programs, and ensure military-provided services (housing, PCS, child care, youth programs, financial counseling) are readily available and meet standards for quality and costs.
Achieve equity of benefits, protections, and administrative support for Guard/Reserve members consistent with their active-duty counterparts.
Sustain Veterans Health Administration (VHA) foundational missions and services.
Reform the presumptive process to support veterans claiming service-connected disabilities for toxic exposures.
Achieve concurrent receipt of service-earned retirement pay and VA disability pay.
Protect full military honors and burial at Arlington National Cemetery for those currently eligible.
Improve survivors’ benefits.
Support a quality transition experience from active duty to veteran status for all servicemembers.
Recognize the pandemic continues to affect the lives of our servicemembers
