AUSN News for September 29, 2011




Sep 28, 2011 10:20 am


Statement on Data Breach at San Antonio MTF


On September 14, 2011, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
reported a data breach involving personally identifiable and protected
health information (PII/PHI) impacting an estimated 4.9 million military
clinic and hospital patients.



On September 14, 2011, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
reported a data breach involving personally identifiable and protected
health information (PII/PHI) impacting an estimated 4.9 million military
clinic and hospital patients. The information was contained on backup tapes
from an electronic health care record used in the military health system
(MHS) to capture patient data from 1992 through September 7, 2011, and may
include Social Security numbers, addresses and phone numbers, and some
personal health data such as clinical notes, laboratory tests and
prescriptions. There is no financial data, such as credit card or bank
account information, on the backup tapes. The risk of harm to patients is
judged to be low despite the data elements involved since retrieving the
data on the tapes would require knowledge of and access to specific hardware
and software and knowledge of the system and data structure. The incident is
being investigated and additional information will be published as soon as
it is available. Meanwhile, both SAIC and TRICARE Management Activity (TMA)
are reviewing current data protection security policies and procedures to
prevent similar breaches in the future. Anyone who suspects that they were
impacted by this incident is urged to take steps to protect their personal
information and should be guided by the Federal Trade Commission at:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/defend.html.
Concerned patients may contact the SAIC Incident Response Call Center,
Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time at the following
numbers: United States, call toll free: (855) 366-0140 International, call
collect: (952) 556-8312 Questions & Answers Q. Whose personal information
was at risk of compromise? A. Approximately 4.9 million patients who
received care from 1992 through September 7, 2011 in the San Antonio area
military treatment facilities (MTFs) (including the filling of pharmacy
prescriptions) and others whose laboratory workups were processed in these
same MTFs even though the patients were receiving treatment elsewhere. Q.
What type of information was lost? A. The PII/PHI data elements involved
include, but are not limited to names, Social Security numbers, addresses,
diagnoses, treatment information, provider names, provider locations and
other patient data, but do not include any financial data, such as credit
card or bank account information. Q. Can just anyone access this data? A.
No. Retrieving the data on the tapes requires knowledge of and access to
specific hardware and software and knowledge of the system and data
structure. Q. Why have almost 2 weeks passed before this notification was
posted? A. The exact circumstance surrounding this data loss remain the
subject of an ongoing investigation. We did not want to raise undue alarm in
our beneficiaries and so wanted to determine the degree of risk this data
loss represented before making notifications. Q. What is TRICARE doing to
protect affected beneficiaries following the loss of this information? A.
TRICARE and SAIC are working together to identify as quickly as possible all
beneficiaries whose information may have been involved in the breach and
notify as appropriate. Q. What should affected beneficiaries do to protect
themselves? A. Beneficiaries can monitor their credit and place a free fraud
alert on their credit for a period of 90 days using the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) web site. The FTC site also provides other valuable
information regarding actions that can be taken now or in the future, should
any problems develop. This information is available at:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/defend.html Q. How
can affected beneficiaries get more information? A. Beneficiaries can call
the SAIC Incident Response Call Center, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to
6 p.m. Eastern Time at the following numbers: United States, call toll free:
(855) 366-0140 International, call collect: (952) 556-8312







AUSN - Grassroots Efforts having an effect - as Pushback Grows Against
Defense Cuts


The nation's defense establishment has mobilized to fight the possibility of
deep defense reductions, but few areas of the budget will get more
resistance to cuts than pay and benefits for men and women in uniform.


<http://www.ausn.org/NewsPublications/AUSNENews/tabid/2589/articleType/Autho
rView/authorID/7665/ikepuzonausnorg.aspx> ike.puzon@... posted on
September 27, 2011 10:01

CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS Sept. 26, 2011 - 10:56 p.m. By John M. Donnelly, CQ
Staff The nation's defense establishment has mobilized to fight the
possibility of deep defense reductions, but few areas of the budget will get
more resistance to cuts than pay and benefits for men and women in uniform.
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has said repeatedly that "everything is on
the table" when it comes to trimming the U.S. military's budget amid the
push to slim down the nation's budget deficit, and many lawmakers have said
the same. Spending on military personnel - in the form of pay, pensions and
health care benefits - is consuming an ever-larger share of the Pentagon
budget, making it an obvious target. But, as numerous lawmakers have made
clear, that will not happen without significant political bloodletting. The
most recent declaration came on Sept. 23, when 15 senators wrote Panetta to
urge him not to touch the pensions of currently serving military personnel
when offering potential budget cuts."While deficit reduction is essential,
balancing the budget and curbing costs in the U.S. Department of Defense by
cutting retirement benefits to those now serving is patently unfair to our
military members and their families and puts in jeopardy the recruitment and
retention of our nation's future all-volunteer force," the senators wrote.
The letter was signed by Republican James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma and 14
Democrats: Jim Webb of Virginia, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Sherrod Brown of
Ohio, Dianne Feinstein of California, Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, Mark
Begich of Alaska, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Claire McCaskill of
Missouri, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tom
Udall of New Mexico, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Kay Hagan of North
Carolina and Daniel K. Akaka of Hawaii. The letter was prompted in part by a
Pentagon advisory panel's July recommendation that the military's pensions,
which come to those who serve for 20 years, should be transformed into
401(k)-style retirement accounts. One of the options was to have currently
serving personnel switch to the new system going forward. But Panetta
quickly ruled that option out, and the White House Office of Management and
Budget, in a Sept. 19 deficit reduction plan, followed suit. Health Care
Commission The White House, fully aware of how touchy the subject of
military pensions can be, stated in its plan that a special commission
should be created to make recommendations on the subject. It would be
modeled on the base closure panels, whose proposals cannot be altered by
Congress. The White House did recommend changes to another hot-button area
of military personnel benefits by proposing new fees for some of those who
participate in the military's Tricare health care network, as well as higher
co-payments for certain prescriptions. Troops and their families are worried
about these developments, and groups representing them have conveyed those
concerns. In a statement pertaining to the White House's proposal for new
Tricare fees, the Air Force Association said, "The administration is trying
to balance the budget on the backs of those veterans and their families who
have served this country in times of war and peace."Similarly, the Military
Officers Association of America accused the administration of
misunderstanding the commitments made by military personnel and their
families."The whole purpose of the unique military retirement and health
care package is to offset the extraordinary demands and sacrifices inherent
in a service career," the group said in a statement. "They were built to
provide a powerful incentive for top-quality people to serve 20 to 30 years
in uniform, despite the kind of hardships imposed on troops and families
over the last 10 years of war."Some in Congress, such as Webb, the chairman
of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, have struck that
same theme."Our career military professionals' conditions of service are not
comparable to working in corporate America," Webb said in a written
statement. "While there may be some areas where the present system could be
improved, any proposals to do so must be very carefully considered in terms
of their possible unintended consequences on today's military, including
recruiting and retention."Similar voices are being heard on the other side
of Capitol Hill. Rep. Joe Heck, a freshman Republican from Nevada who serves
on the comparable personnel subcommittee in the House, said in a statement
on his website that he does not support any cuts to military pay and
benefits because "we should not ask our service members to take a pay cut
when we are engaged in three wars and they are serving multiple
deployments."Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley tiptoed around the issue
when he appeared at a Sept. 19 Air Force conference."Our obligation to those
who serve is to ensure that the compensation and benefits they earn are
sustainable over the long haul," Donley said. "Any potential changes to our
military retirement system must be carefully considered to make sure we
retain the highly motivated and experienced workforce necessary to execute
the Air Force mission."Other Potential Cuts Of course, personnel programs
aren't the only parts of the defense budget with influential and well-funded
constituents. The list of potential areas for downsizing includes scaling
back or killing new weapons programs and retiring older ones in the
inventory, reducing the ranks of active-duty troops, and shutting down or
shrinking military installations worldwide. The Aerospace Industries
Association has launched an advocacy campaign dubbed "Second to None," in
order to tout the benefits of defense spending in general, while employees
of defense contractors are making their companies' cases locally.
Communities around the country also are hiring lobbyists to make the case
for their military installations that could face funding cuts or even
elimination. And in the House, Armed Services Committee Republicans are
unlikely to suggest to the joint deficit reduction committee any cutbacks to
defense spending beyond the $454 billion already likely to be reduced from
the Pentagon's planned budgets over the next decade under the August debt
ceiling law (PL 112-25).


Sep 27, 2011 10:01 am







Sep 23, 2011 11:33 am



<http://www.ausn.org/Advocacy/AdvocacyNewsInformation/tabid/2153/articleType
/ArticleView/articleId/11330/Supercommittee-Lacks-Consensus-on-Carrying-Out-
Tax-Overhaul.aspx> Super committee Lacks Consensus on Carrying Out Tax
Overhaul


<http://www.ausn.org/Advocacy/AdvocacyNewsInformation/tabid/2153/articleType
/AuthorView/authorID/26736/Kate.aspx> Content Manager posted on September
23, 2011 11:33

CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS - BUDGET
Sept. 22, 2011 - 2:36 p.m.

By Frances Symes, CQ Staff

Although the Joint Deficit Reduction Committee's members are expressing near
unanimous support for overhauling the tax code, the dozen lawmakers have
significantly different ideas over how to make those revisions. Over the
course of a nearly four-hour hearing on tax issues on Thursday, most members
expressed hope that a tax overhaul would stimulate the economy and promote
job creation.

Democrats in particular are weighing tax changes as one of their options for
coming up with their mandated $1.2 trillion in savings over the next decade,
while Republicans have said that the committee could lay the groundwork for
a tax overhaul in the mold of the deficit-neutral Tax Reform Act of 1986 (PL
99-614 <http://www.cq.com/law/99/614> ), which lowered tax rates and
eliminated tax breaks.

The panel was set to hold another private meeting on Thursday afternoon
shortly after the public hearing ended.

Sen. Patrick J. Toomey <http://www.cq.com/person/422> , R-Pa., former
president of the anti-tax group Club for Growth, joined other members of
both parties in promising to "make every effort to do something substantial
on the tax reform side."

However, disagreements surfaced as members started to pinpoint specific tax
expenditures they felt should be continued or eliminated.

Devil in the Details

The chairmen of the tax-writing Senate Finance and House Ways and Means
committees - panel members Max Baucus <http://www.cq.com/person/287> ,
D-Mont., and Dave Camp <http://www.cq.com/person/243> , R-Mich.,
respectively - both warned that just as certain current tax expenditures
have created a system by which the government does, in effect, "pick winners
and losers," eliminating tax expenditures will do the same.

Baucus said that a major overhaul would result in "big dislocations" as
"some industries would hurt a lot and some industries would benefit" from
the kind of changes being discussed. Baucus asked witness Thomas A.
Barthold, the chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), to
study how different industries would be affected if most tax expenditures
were eliminated.

Several members expressed concern about the type of model used by the JCT to
score tax proposals. Republicans on and off the committee have bemoaned
JCT's use of "static" scoring, which, unlike "dynamic" scoring, does not
account for new revenue that might be gained by a bill's impact on economic
growth.

Sen. Jon Kyl <http://www.cq.com/person/27> , R-Ariz., asked whether the JCT
could include behavioral estimates in their scoring, saying the panel faces
a problem in that the JCT and CBO are the "arbiters" of the "success of our
policies."

Barthold said behavior is an important consideration in estimating the
effects of changing certain tax policies. He repeatedly cautioned that
eliminating certain tax expenditures will not necessarily produce an
equivalent amount of savings, since current "tax expenditure calculations do
not account for taxpayer behavior."

Seeking a Balance

In their opening statements the panel's two co-chairmen hinted at the sharp
disagreements among members as they seek to frame an eventual deficit
reduction proposal.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling <http://www.cq.com/person/14872> repeated his argument
that a tax overhaul or an increase in tax rates alone will not be enough for
the panel to reach its deficit reduction goal. "We simply cannot and will
not succeed unless our primary focus is about saving social safety net
programs," said Hensarling, R-Texas.

Sen. Patty Murray <http://www.cq.com/person/522> stressed, however, "the
overwhelming majority of American families, economists, and every serious,
bipartisan commission that has examined this issue has agreed - spending
cuts alone aren't going to put Americans back to work or put our budget back
in balance."

"We have to address both spending and revenue," said Murray, D-Wash.





Sep 23, 2011 11:01 am


FY-12 Navy Reserve Lieutenant Line Selections


The following Line Officers on the Reserve active-status list have been
promoted to the permanent grade of Lieutenant.





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