The Pentagon is pushing hard to raise Tricare fees for retirees under 65—and Congress is pushing back. Lawmakers have called for an independent review, while legislation in both House and Senate would scale back Pentagon plans. At least one former defense official says the current Pentagon crowd had the wrong idea. Dov Zakheim, the DOD comptroller from 2001 to 2004, tells Air Force Magazine Contributing Editor Tom Philpott that the Pentagon plan offers the wrong solution to a very real problem. Zakheim offered his oft-repeated suggestion that the DOD budget is no place to fund military health care. He advocates moving it out of the Pentagon’s mainstream budget, where it competes with operations and maintenance funding, and making it an entitlement.
President Donald Trump signed legislation reopening the federal government late Nov. 12, ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The move sets the stage for tens of thousands of defense civilians to return to work and guarantees troops will be paid in a few days’ time.
