WASHINGTON–Concord Coalition Co-Chairs Sam Nunn and Warren Rudman sent a
letter to all members of Congress today urging the rejection of a provision
in the omnibus spending bill that would substantially repeal the 1986
military pension reforms.
WASHINGTON–Concord Coalition Co-Chairs Sam Nunn and Warren Rudman sent a
letter to all members of Congress today urging the rejection of a provision
in the omnibus spending bill that would substantially repeal the 1986
military pension reforms.
"We urge you in the strongest possible terms to reject this unwise,
expensive, and untimely provision," write former Sen. Nunn (D-Ga.) and
former Sen. Rudman (R-N.H.). "Both of us believe unequivocally in a strong
defense and a responsible fiscal policy. Repealing the 1986 military
pension reforms will produce neither."
The letter notes that the 1986 military pension reforms were designed and
approved on a bipartisan basis after several years of study and hearings.
The reforms reined in excessive costs and overhauled outdated aspects of
the pension system.
"These reforms should not be lightly tossed aside in a last-minute omnibus
spending bill," Nunn and Rudman write. "If changes of this magnitude are to
be made, they should be done only after full consideration by the
appropriate committees and full and informed debate by the House and Senate."
In the near term, the repeal provision requires appropriating $7.3 billion
over the coming decade to pay the "employers’ share" of increasing military
pensions in the future. This $7.3 billion will have to be squeezed out of
the very tight level of appropriations allowed under the spending caps
agreed to in the 1997 Balanced Budget Agreement. In the long term, repeal
of the 1986 reforms would expand the stream of future entitlements by about
$8 billion a year.
MEDIA ADVISORY: The full text of the letter and additional background
information is available under the entitlement reform section of the
Concord Coalition’s web site (www.concordcoalition.org). To receive a fax
copy of the letter and/or the background materials, reporters should call
Craig Cheslog at (202) 467-6222.
