Rep. Bradley.  He is one of the original cosponsors of legislation to repeal the “ SBP Widows’ Tax.

Rep. Bass.  He was not very receptive to the idea of increasing the SBP pay out.  Said he will convene veterans meeting to discuss what the overall priorities for veterans’ issues should be.  His major concern appeared to be the cost of eliminating the SBP offset. All MOAA members who reside in Congressman Bass’s district should contact his office and urge that he support the elimination of the SBP offset.

Sen. Gregg.  Due to his schedule he was unavailable to meet with me at the time of our appointment.  His staffer acknowledged that the Senate Budget Resolution contained language calling for the repeal of the offset, but hinted that that was not a guarantee that the repeal would be enacted. In a letter dated 30 April the Senator said that should the proposed legislation “come before the full Senate for 

Sen. Sununu.  Was encouraging, but did not commit to signing on that day. However, he did sign on as a co-sponsor of the bill to repeal the offset on 7 April.

Of particular interest are the special military rates available for select cruise lines. The average savings are 20-40% over the lowest priced rate available to the general public.  A recent example of the savings opportunity was a 12-day Royal Caribbean Panama Canal cruise.  The public price was $1,299 per person. While the military rate was $754 – a savings of over $500.

The current list of the cruises available under this program is available at www.militaryrates.com or call the number listed above.