Taking Care of Our People
The fiscal 2011 base budget proposal includes $138.5 billion in Military Personnel funding for the pay and allowances of 2.3 million Service Members, an increase of $3.6 billion or 2.6 percent over FY 2010 enacted levels. The request reflects the Department’s highest priority, which is to care for DoD people.
The level of planned spending on Military Personnel reflects the achievement of the significant growth in ground forces announced in January 2007. Additional temporary end strength increases of 22,000 for the Active Army and 4,400 for Active Navy Individual Augmentees are funded in the Department’s Overseas Contingency Operations request.
The budget request also supports personnel through Operation and Maintenance (O&M) funding for readiness, training, support for base operating costs, and administrative and headquarters costs. The FY 2011 request contains $200.2 billion for O&M, including $30.9 billion for the Defense Health Program.
The President’s request for FY 2011 includes the following personnel-related highlights:
Pay Raise. The FY 2011 budget includes an increase of 1.4 percent for civilian salaries and military basic pay. The pay raise is equal to the full Employment Cost Index, as prescribed by law, and it will keep military and civilian pay increases in line with those in the private sector.
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and Subsistence (BAS). In addition to the military pay raise, the FY 2011 budget request supports an average increase of 4.2 percent in BAH and 3.4 percent in BAS, which maintains these programs at current standards and keeps military pay very competitive with other employment sectors.
Care for Wounded Warriors. Recognizing that the Department has no greater concern than to care for wounded, ill, and injured Service Members, the FY 2010 enacted budget included a substantial increase in funding. The FY 2011 request includes continued increases for care and support. The FY 2011 request also includes $1.1 billion for the treatment, care, and research of Traumatic Brain Injuries and Psychological Health (TBI/PH) issues.
Military Healthcare. The FY 2011 budget request includes $50.7 billion (including $30.9 billion for the Defense Health Program) to fully fund the military health system, which currently serves 9.5 million eligible beneficiaries -- Active Duty Service Members and their families, military retirees and their families, dependent survivors, and certain eligible Reserve Component Members and their families. The FY 2011 budget supports strong programs to prevent and treat mental illness and includes $0.3 billion to support efforts to modernize the Department’s Electronic Health Record and medical information technology infrastructure, while partnering with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the private sector to pursue the Administration’s goal of building a Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER).
Military Family Support Programs. In light of the unprecedented demands that have strained the All-Volunteer Force and military families since 2001, DoD is requesting $8.1 billion for Family Support Programs in FY 2011 to lighten the burdens of Service Members and their families during all phases of deployment. This is an increase of about $0.5 billion over the enacted level of FY 2010. Included are funds for child care and youth programs; military spouse employment; morale, welfare and recreation; commissaries; Department of Defense Education Activity schools; financial planning assistance; spousal education and tuition aid; and a Military OneSource Call Center which currently handles 2,000 calls per day.
Build and Sustain Excellent Facilities. The FY 2011 budget requests $16.9 billion for Military Construction and $1.8 billion for Family Housing. This request is lower than in recent years because construction funding requirements to implement the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decisions have largely been met. The FY 2011 budget does begin a five-year plan to replace and recapitalize more than half of the 194 DoD schools. Funding will address schools in poor or failing condition. In FY 2011, the Military Construction investment for DODEA is $439 million, which will replace or modernize 10 schools.
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Reforming How DoD Does Business
To make the most of the nation’s resources entrusted to the Department of Defense and to carry out its mission more effectively, the Department continues striving to improve the way it does business.
Changing How We Operate. A critical effort involves reforming the processes by which we buy weapons and other important systems through implementation of the Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act. To maintain America’s technological and conventional edge, we are working to achieve predictable cost, schedule, and performance outcomes, based on mature, demonstrated technologies and realistic cost/schedule estimates. To help achieve this goal, the Department is increasing the number of acquisition personnel by 20,000 – from approximately 127,000 in FY 2010 to about 147,000 by FY 2015. The FY 2011 budget request continues support for this transition and includes funds for training and retention programs that will bolster the capability and size of the acquisition workforce. Acquisition reform will provide America’s warfighters with world class capability, while assuring good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
The FY 2011 budget also includes $261 million to manage the conversion out of the National Security Personnel System by January 1, 2012, as required by the FY 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. 3.4 percent in BAS, which maintains these programs at current standards and keeps military pay very competitive with other employment sectors.
PDFMore about the conversion:
Critics laud the move, calling the program unfair and dysfunctional◦By Amber Corrin◦Nov 02, 2009
The National Security Personnel System, the Defense Department's effort to tie salary to job performance, is on its way out. On Oct. 28, President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2010 fiscal year, which includes provisions to kill the program.
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Randy Erwin, legislative director at the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), said the NSPS policy stripped employees of their right to collectively bargain pay rates, which can be aided by union backing. Officials familiar with the situation, speaking on background, said the program also allowed managers to play favorites and abuse the system, a charge with which Erwin agreed.
Congress
restored collective bargaining rights in 2008 and made other changes to the system intended to assuage its critics.
However, many criticisms remained. “There is evidence that pay for performance was discriminatory and used as a way to take money from lower-paid employees and routed it to higher-paid employees,” Erwin said.
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