The
17 Feb 2004
Class Act Group Conference
in
Ft Walton Beach, FL

(Click on the small photos to see bigger photos)

Marilyn Reinlie and Doris Day	Jim Whittington and Bob Reinlie	Harry Riley with the final touch
The room before the conference	Colonel George "Bud" Day	Colonel Harry Riley
Edie Smith	Congressman Miller (background)	Lt Col Bob and Marilyn Reinlie
Colonel Bob Geasland the MC (circled)	The conference audience	Doris and Col Day closing the meeting
Colonels Day and Geasland	(?), Richard DuBey, Jim Whittington, and Jack Hollinsworth

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Press Release - Class Act Group Conference - 18 Feb 2004

A Letter to Colonel Day from Congressman Chris Van Hollen - 24 Feb 2004

Congressional Record - Honoring Lt. Col. Robert L. Reinlie - 24 Feb 2004

Congressman Chris Van Hollen - In The House of Representatives - 24 Feb 2004

Congressman Chet Edwards - Keeping Promises To Nations Veterans - 26 Feb 2004

Keep a Promise to Our Greatest Generation - by Larry Schuler - Tampa Tribune - 26 Feb 2004

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PRESS RELEASE:
Class Act Group Conference
Feb 17, 2004, Ft Walton Beach, FL
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Class Act Group
Colonel George "Bud" Day, Attorney
850-664-6324/5139

CLASS ACT GROUP CONFERENCE SUCCESS WITH A SURPRISE

Congressman Chris Van Hollen's HR 3474, Keep Our Promise Bill, leading the way

Sixteen States Represented

Ft Walton Beach, FL - Class Act Group is rolling strong.......join in the effort.

In excess of 300 people attended Class Act Group Conference, Feb 17, 2003 at Fort Walton Beach, FL. Sixteen States from New York to Wisconsin to Wyoming to Texas to Florida and up the east coast were present.

Col Bob Geasland was a MC for the day and in his own entertaining but serious fashion moved us through the agenda smoothly and effective.

Speakers and briefers for the day included Col Bud Day who shared "where we've been, where we are, and where we're going". He brought us up-to-date on the positive impact of the lawsuit he pursued to the U.S. Supreme Court. It was made crystal clear that his rifle is aimed at moving military retiree medical care forward this year via Congressman Van Hollen's HR 3474 and Senator Tim Johnson's S-2065, "Keep Our Promise To America's Military Retirees Act". When the medical care issue is satisfied to Class Act expectations, then other issues may be tackled with Survivor Benefit Program as a likely candidate.

Col Harry Riley briefed HR 3474/S-2065, Keep Our Promise To America's Military Retirees Act", the two bi-partisan Bills we expect to see implemented in the final Congressional action this year. In recognizing the history of the Keep Our Promise Bill, Col Riley reminded everyone of the impact of Col Bud Day's lawsuit, and Ronnie Shows, and Phil Alperson's legislative efforts in TRICARE for Life and Pharmacy Benefits successes. This briefing focused on the three basic points of the Bills - Medicare Part B waiver for military retirees who entered active military service before 7 Dec 1956 and served 20 or more years active duty; Federal Employees Health Benefit Program which will become a healthcare option primarily for those that find TRICARE unacceptable due to provider unwillingness to accept TRICARE or the rare instance that no providers in an area will accept Medicare. The third aspect of the Bill involves an additional plus-up to the existing pharmacy Bill to provide some reimbursement to those that validate an inability to access a TRICARE network pharmacy.

Col Riley emphasized the point that unless all retirees, spouses, and widows get actively involved in contacting their Senators and Representatives, it will be difficult at best to be successful. Toll free numbers 800-648-3516 and 877-762-8762 were given to contact Congress. These numbers will get the Capitol switchboard - when the switchboard answers simply ask for your Senators or Representatives office. Ask them to cosponsor Senate Bill S-2065 and in case of your Representative, HR 3474,both titled, "Keep Our Promise To America's Military Retirees Act". This is FREE call, please call today, tomorrow, and the next.....

Mr. Vincent Filpi, Chief Casualty Assistance, Hurlburt Field, Ft Walton Beach thoroughly briefed the current Survivor Benefit Program in great detail and answered many general and specific questions from the audience. He clearly explained how the 55% - 35% issue is implemented, no one likes this arrangement primarily because the explanation that survivors would lose 20% of the 55% most retirees expected their spouse to receive was never given at the point military retirees signed up for SBP. Mr. Filpi's briefing was well received and many commented on the professional knowledge Mr. Filpi reflected.

Mrs. Edie Smith, widow and advocate for spouses and widows, briefed the gathering from a widows' perspective and shared personal experiences she suffered as a result of SBP reductions, and other issues relative to survivors. She shared her observations of legislation that has been implemented in Congress and other legislation that is pending. Her briefing, excellent delivery, and knowledge of a wide range of issues was well received.

In the evening session Congressman Jeff Miller, FL01, spoke on both topics, Military Retiree Healthcare and SBP as he is a co-introducer of HR 3474, Keep Our Promise Bill and has also introduced HR 548 and HR 3763, Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2003. He was encouraged by the prospects of some success in both of these Bills this year and indicated Speaker Hastert and other leaders of the House were inquiring of both issues. Congressman Miller was generous with his time and answered many questions.

Congressman Miller had a surprise for Lt Col Bob Reinlie in the form of an announcement to be read into the Congressional Record when Congress reconvenes on Feb 24, 2004. The letter proclaims and recognizes the tireless, dedicated, and successful accomplishments of Lt Col Reinlie over the years in support of military retiree medical care restoration.

The conference concluded by Col Day offering closing comments. The thread that all speakers emphasized was the absolute necessity of everyone calling their Senators, and Representatives. Please urge them firmly, politely, and often, to sponsor our S-2065 in the Senate and HR 3474, in the House of Representatives, both titled, Keep Our Promise To America's Military Retirees Act".

Harry Riley and Jim Bahl, CAG Representatives

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A Letter To Colonel Day From
Congressman Chris Van Hollen

February 17, 2004

Col. George "Bud" Day (Retired)

Class Act Group, Inc.
32 Beal Parkway, SW
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548-5391

Dear Col. Day:

I want to convey my best wishes to you and the members of the Class Act Group who have worked so hard to restore health care to America's military retirees. I salute you for your grassroots efforts that helped make Tricare for Life the law of the land, and I salute you for convening today to develop a strategy to convince Congress to make good on more of the broken promises. I especially appreciate your efforts to enact my legislation, H.R. 3474, the Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act.

This meeting takes on a greater urgency because we must prepare to honor a new generation of veterans who have been willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our government must be accountable for the promises it makes to young men and women who are asked to serve our country in this way.

Generations of young men and women were recruited into the uniformed services with the promise that heath care would be there for them when they retired after serving a career in service. But while these career soldiers put their lives on the line for our country, the government did not keep its end of the contract. Finally, the Courts have laid to rest the matter of who is responsible for making good on those promises - the United States Congress.

Your gathering today is in the best tradition of American democracy - you are joining together to petition your elected representatives to do the right thing and make good on promises the government made to our military retirees. As veterans, you have already set a good example for our young people by protecting our freedoms and rights. Today you are doing it again by exercising those freedoms and rights.

I send you my best wishes and wish you the best of luck in achieving your ultimate goal, to see that Congress does Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees.

May God bless you, and God bless America.

Sincerely,

CHRIS VAN HOLLEN
Member of Congress

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EXTRACTED FROM THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD

Congressional Record article 1 of 50
HONORING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF
LT. COL. ROBERT L. REINLIE
by the HONORABLE JEFF MILLER
(Extensions of Remarks - February 24, 2004)

[Page: E202] GPO's PDF

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HON. JEFF MILLER
OF FLORIDA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2004

• Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Lt. Col. Robert L. Reinlie for his tireless fight for his fellow veterans.

• Lt. Col. Reinlie and the late William O. ``Sam'' Schism engaged Col. George ``Bud'' Day, Medal of Honor recipient and former POW, as their attorney. By becoming a plaintiff in a 1996 lawsuit, Lt. Col. Reinlie challenged the United States government to honor healthcare commitments made to WWII/Korea era military retirees.

• Lt. Col. Reinlie's extraordinary farsighted vision recognized the need for a plan to support his legal efforts. Lt. Col. Reinlie took it upon himself to begin organizing, what later became the Class Act Group.

• With untiring and aggressive pursuit, Lt. Col. Reinlie's efforts were extended into a nation-wide grass roots network that was instrumental in forging Congressional legislation favorable to military retirees. Lt. Col. Reinlie helped initiate this grass roots initiative through billboards, letter writing campaigns, demonstrations, phone and fax communication blitzes, meetings, marches, web sites, letters to editors, press releases, all geared to influencing Congressional attention. His dynamic and selfless leadership and commitment drove him to a presence in Class Act Group office spaces, even when extensive surgery was imminent and during extended rehabilitation.

• His tireless dedication served as a contributing and encouraging factor for his attorney, Col. Day, and the legal fight to the United States Supreme Court. This fight led by Lt. Col. Reinlie was a major contributing factor to the military retiree medical benefit now referred to as TRICARE for Life and The Senior Pharmacy Program. The WWII/Korea era military retiree fight is not over and Lt. Col. Reinlie , at the young age of 82, is still in the battle to honor his fellow veterans.

• Mr. Speaker, I, on behalf of the United States Congress, salute Lt. Col. Reinlie . With the encouragement and significant contribution from his wife Marilyn, he reflects a great credit upon himself, our Nation, and the courage of soldiers that gave us the freedom we enjoy today. I offer my sincere thanks for all that he has done for Northwest Florida and this great Nation.

Congressman Chris Van Hollen
Of Maryland
In The House Of Representatives
Tuesday, February 24, 2004

RECOGNIZING THE CLASS ACT GROUP GRASSROOTS CONFERENCE

TO RESTORE THE BROKEN PROMISE OF MILITARY RETIREE HEALTH CARE

• Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Col. George ``Bud'' Day and the members of the Class Act Group who have worked so hard to restore health care to America's military retirees. I salute them for their grassroots efforts that helped make Tricare for Life the law of the land, and I commend them for coming together on February 17, 2004, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, to develop a strategy to convince Congress to make good on more of the broken promises. I especially appreciate their efforts to enact H.R. 3474, the Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act, a bipartisan bill that I was proud to introduce.

• The purpose of the recent meeting takes on a greater urgency because we must prepare to honor a new generation of veterans who have been willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our government must be accountable for the promises it makes to young men and women who are asked to serve our country in this way.

• Generations of young men and women were recruited into the uniformed services with the promise that heath care would be there for them when they retired after serving a career in service. But while these career soldiers put their lives on the line for our country, the government did not keep its end of the contract. Finally, the Courts have laid to rest the matter of who is responsible for making good on those promises--the United States Congress.

• The Class Act Group convention is in the best tradition of American democracy--they are joining together to petition their elected representatives to do the right thing and make good on promises the government made to our military retirees. As veterans, they have already set a good example for our young people by protecting our freedoms and rights. And by organizing this grassroots movement they are doing it again by exercising those freedoms and rights.

• I send my congratulations to the Class Act Group for a job well done! I will work with CAG and anyone else who shares our goal, to see that Congress does Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees.

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February 25, 2004
SPECIAL SECTION
HEALTHCARE

Keeping promises to nation’s veterans
By Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas)

“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceived the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”
— President George Washington

Despite the kind words they’ve been hearing, America’s veterans haven’t felt appreciated lately — they’ve been downright angry. They feel deceived and betrayed about healthcare and retirement benefits.

This isn’t about government handouts, this is about honorable citizens who sacrificed for this nation and were promised fair treatment. It’s pretty simple — veterans expect their promises to be honored. Leaders in Congress and the administration whose words don’t match their deeds are deservedly reaping criticism from America’s veterans.

Recruiters made one of the more notorious broken promises for decades that a career in the military is rewarded with free healthcare for life. While healthcare for military retirees has been addressed through a variety of means, that promise has not been kept. In fact, it was the subject of a lawsuit by the distinguished Medal of Honor winner and lawyer Col. Bud Day, whose class action lawsuit against the U.S. government was rejected by a federal appeals court. He is appealing the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1999, Rep. Ronnie Shows (D-Miss.) tried to solve the problem legislatively,
introducing the Keep Our Promise to America’s Military Retirees Act. The bill allows retirees the option of using the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan to address their healthcare shortfalls. This effort led to the Tricare for Life program — which helped but did not solve the problems retirees were encountering.

With Shows redistricted out of office, I took up the cause and re-introduced the bill in the 108th Congress as H.R. 58. Most recently, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) introduced an update to this legislation (H.R. 3474), with Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.) and myself as original co-sponsors. The bottom line: Veterans aren’t receiving what they were promised. Their service to our nation deserves more respect.

Broken promises on veterans’ healthcare took center stage last year during the budget debate. In this case, the promises were about funding levels. Congresses and administrations of both parties have fallen short of meeting the true needs of veterans’ healthcare for years. But last year’s budget generated heated emotions because promises raise expectations.

When the president said that “help is on the way” during his 2000 campaign, both military personnel and veterans alike responded at the ballot box. However, his budgets created concern with veterans advocates who believed they fell far short of need. They wanted their share of the promised “help.” When the House Budget Committee passed the FY 2004 budget resolution, the resentment boiled over. The resolution included $28 billion in Veterans Affairs (VA) cuts over 10 years while safeguarding other priorities — like tax cuts.

Edward Heath, commander of the Disabled American Veterans, asked the Speaker: “Has Congress no shame? Is there no honor left in the hallowed halls of our government that you choose to dishonor the sacrifices of our nation’s heroes and rob our programs — healthcare and disability compensation — to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy?”

Most of the Budget Committee’s cuts were reversed, and $1.8 billion was added to the FY 2004 VA budget. The House leadership assured veterans groups that the funds were secure. However, when the Appropriations Committee considered the VA budget that summer, the $1.8 billion evaporated. Ray Sisk, commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, summed it up, saying, “The House leadership has deceived us.”

Eventually, the veterans’ outcry overwhelmed those who sought to cut their funding and most of that $1.8 billion was restored in the recent omnibus appropriations bill, but veterans were insulted that they had to beg for it.

With this year’s funding request suggesting a 1.8 percent increase in VA healthcare (versus the 14 percent the VA says is needed to maintain current healthcare services), the chorus of veterans’ voices and service organizations begins once again.

In this time of war, it’s past time that we learned that words are just not enough. We need to start honoring our veterans with our deeds as well.

Edwards is one of only six House members to serve on both the Budget and Appropriations committees.

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Keep A Promise To Our 'Greatest Generation'
By LARRY SCHULER Special to The Tampa Tribune
Published: Feb 26, 2004

Floridians are leading a national movement to champion the restoration of health care benefits promised to American veterans when they entered military service prior to Dec. 7, 1956.

These retirees include World War II and Korean veterans - our "Greatest Generation'' - liberators of countries and cultures that became our closest allies. These are soldiers who selflessly sacrificed well-paid civilian careers, sailors whose families never lived in their hometown or in a permanent residence, and airmen who flew dangerous missions over hostile territory, in the dark and alone.

While serving their country, they were called to years of duty overseas during the Cold War, protecting and securing our liberty and freedom while quietly worrying about their own safety and the well-being of their loved ones back home.

Of these veterans, who are dying at the rate of 1,500 a day, one might say: "Duty, Honor and Country - and a Promise Broken.''

One of them, retired Col. George "Bud'' Day, a Vietnam POW, has said, "Would anyone believe that these warriors from WWII and Korea would be the first to lose their military medical care benefits at their Army, Air Force and Navy hospital?''

Not long ago, our federal government decided the promise of health care in retirement was not founded in law or funded by Congress, but only printed in the recruiting and retention materials published by the Department of Defense.

The Clinton administration and the Pentagon moved these veterans into Medicare, which requires them to pay for monthly supplemental coverage and surcharges. Many of them find health care to be unavailable or unaffordable.

The "Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act,'' HR 3474, and a similar bill in the Senate, S-2065, can restore their health care benefits. These bills would cost the government and taxpayers nothing. For particulars, see the Military Retiree Grass Roots Group Web site www.mrgrg-ms.org.

In a rare bipartisan action, 170 congressional representatives have co-sponsored the House bill in an effort to bring it out of committee and to the floor for a vote. Congressman Jim Davis of Tampa, unlike his counterparts from Sarasota and Tarpon Springs, is not among them. He has responded with only a form letter concerning his stand on this bill.

Co-sponsors serve an important function: taking a stand against a threatened veto. Although G.W. Bush said during his presidential campaign, ``Promises made should be promises kept'' to all our military veterans, he has since threatened to veto any congressional action toward the recovery of these benefits.

It is time for all our elected officials to hear from military retirees and their civilian friends. Vietnam era veterans, you should act now or come to realize that your government is planning the same treatment for you.

It is time for all of us to ensure that this "promise'' to our fathers and mothers, sealed in the hearts of all our citizens, becomes federal law.

If this Congress cannot do it, we should replace our lawmakers with those who have the courage to ensure we will always have a strong and dedicated military whose veterans are assured of their future care. How can our nation expect dedication from current service members when they see how it treats our "Greatest Generation'' of veterans?

Contact your congressional representative and senators and urge them to do the right thing. Ask them to help our nation keep its promise to those who have given so much to our country.

Lawrence R. Schuler of Tampa is a retired master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and a disabled veteran.

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