Military Housing Coalition’s Post

"When #lawmakers allow a #shutdown to occur, they increase the stress an already strained #workforce must deal with." Staff writer Trey Pennington focuses on the significant impact of government shutdowns faced by U.S. #military. Service members face several challenges during these shutdowns, including the #suspension of pay, #reduced access to basic services like on-base hospitals and schools, and interruptions to military operations and logistics. Pennington explores the broader implications on military #readiness, #morale, and #retention and emphasizes the need for policies like the "#PayOurTroopsAct" to mitigate these issues. Read more below!

How should policymakers decide whether to deploy the National Guard on U.S. soil? Drawing on principles @CountEveryHero published, we outline 3 key considerations to determine whether a domestic mission is in the best interest of the American people: https://lnkd.in/eb_JH7Nw Especially in a tense election year, every effort must be taken to avoid even the impression of interference by the U.S. military—an imperative the @CountEveryHero principles highlight alongside the need to keep the National Guard ready for any emergency that may arise. https://lnkd.in/evSyUhAb

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin faced questions about privatized barracks oversight during a recent congressional testimony, but sidestepped the issue. While lawmakers expressed concerns about privatizing barracks due to past issues with privatized family housing, Austin emphasized the importance of investing in the right kind of housing for troops and allocating resources for maintenance supervision. The Pentagon's fiscal 2025 budget request includes $1.1 billion for new barracks, $2 billion for government-controlled family housing, and $171 million for oversight of privatized family housing. The issue of living conditions in military housing has gained attention in recent years due to reports of mold, pest infestations, and other unsanitary conditions. Stay tuned for the House Armed Services Committee's military quality-of-life panel report addressing housing conditions and proposed fixes in the near future. #Pentagon #CongressionalTestimony #PrivatizedBarracks #MilitaryHousing #MilitaryNews #DefenseSecretary #TroopHousing

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF JD VANCE has a COMBAT ACTION RIBBON? If so, I will update my post: TRUMPERS - Why would you conflate the term WAR with COMBAT, and let's add deployment and deployed for the Marine Public Relations dude. And when you say "saw combat," what does that mean? Dropping bombs or launching missiles from a ship at sea or clearing houses one at a time. What's the technical term? DOOR KICKERS... Trumpers and JD, if you keep splitting hairs, you will become as bald as the ex-President! Let's unpack this. First, "war" and "combat" are not synonymous, just like "truth" and "Trump's Twitter feed." War is... READ MORE HERE 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 https://lnkd.in/eBnf2cPv ☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️

#DidYouKnow that today is #NationalHireAVeteranDay? All government agencies must provide differential pay when and if their #Reserve or #NationalGuard #military employees have orders for training or are become an active component. If you're a non-government corporation, attract your top talent with differential pay (the difference in pay between temporary duty and your employee's ongoing salary) and get to know corporate laws that support and protect #militaryemployees so they can continue to provide the benefits you see everyday as civilians! ➡ The Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), provides for military leave and reemployment rights for veterans and reservists and bars discrimination and retaliation based on an employee's military service. ➡ The Veterans Benefit Improvement Act of 2004, requires employers to provide a notice informing their employees of their rights, benefits and obligations under the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). This includes an option of extending employer-related health benefits for 2 year period. ➡ Get to know the protections for military family members as well. Under amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employers with 50 or more employees must allow up to 26 weeks of leave for eligible family members of certain military personnel to care for service members. Reach out to us at: welcome@rebirthinnovation.com if you need clarity and/or you can likewise find additional information on the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR): https://www.esgr.mil/

Doug Fowler's recommendation for improving military compensation without raising pay? Make enlisted pay free from federal income tax. That would give most enlisted members a 10% - 22% bump without increasing the DoD's personnel budget or burdening the pension system for the next 50 years. It would be a benefit that would expire the day a member leaves the service, so it rewards folks doing the job today. It would also have the effect of keeping servicemembers as residents of their home states (because most state income taxes are based on federal tax) rather than have them become income tax refugees in Texas and Florida. Also, many civilians already assume active duty members don't pay taxes, so this meets their expectations. The down side is that it would nullify the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion, but we could fix that with a modest increase to Hazardous Duty Pay.

Vet the Vote is partnering with the U.S. Vote Foundation to encourage Americans to participate in Vote in Honor of a Veteran programs this election. Currently 16 states, along with counties in Florida and South Carolina, run programs where voters can indicate that they are voting for a veteran or service-member. In 2024, two states, New Hampshire and Mississippi, launched new Vote in Honor of a Veteran programs. READ MORE: https://lnkd.in/g4M6nTUP When voters participate in these programs, they can help honor the memory or current service of those who have worn the uniform. Such programs help underscore how voting is a patriotic civic action that service-members and their families have fought to defend throughout history. • SIGN UP TO SERVE AS A POLL WORKER: https://bit.ly/VtVHOME • Vet the Vote is a national campaign to recruit veterans and military family members (VMF) to serve as poll workers and register to vote. The VtV coalition is composed of VMF service and engagement organizations and our partners, including the NFL. • VtV has recruited more than 140,000 VMF to work the polls. • #VETtheVOTE #BEthePROCESS #pollworkers #vote #veterans #civicengagement #militaryfamilies

As Congress deliberates the fiscal year 2025 Defense budget, the stakes are exceptionally high for national security and military personnel welfare.   Introduction During a recent House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. #Defensebudgethearing #defensepersonnelwelfare #DODbudgetpriorities #IndoPacificsecurity #jointforcemodernization #militarymodernizationfunding #militaryspendingFY25 #PacificDeterrenceInitiative #supplementaldefensebudget #USmilitaryreadiness

Can you imagine??? What if Americans walking into their polling place in November saw poll workers wearing Army hats? And Navy, Air Force, and, of course, Marine hats? Well, they would wonder what was going on!? And here’s is what they’d learn. That America’s Veterans care about their democracy and they show up. This isn’t about left or right or red or blue. This is about all Americans voting safely and securely, and honoring those who fought for us to have this right. It’s about increasing Americans’ confidence in their electoral process. Vet the Vote is a national campaign to recruit Veterans and military family members to be the next generation of poll workers. In 2022, more than 63,500 Veterans raised their hands to serve through Vet the Vote alone. Poll worker recruitment is an ongoing process, and many elections offices report that recruitment can be difficult. It is always best to check with the local elections office to inquire if there are shortfalls. Use the USA.gov online tool to find contact information for your local elections office at https://lnkd.in/eg2-gHcn Check out Vet the Vote at https://vetthe.vote/. Your future is too important to sit this one out. Poll worker training starts soon. Sign up now. #soldierforlife #vetthevote #veterans  

If you're struggling to find affordable housing, even with Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), you're not alone. Nearly two-thirds of service members live off-post in a civilian community, but only 95% of troops' BAH is covered. Increasing the housing allowance to fund 100% of expenses would benefit #militaryfamilies around the world and protect their financial security. Read more: https://loom.ly/FFIuwjI