It must be the lack of sleep (BAH question)

[amaristella]

Or maybe I just have exceptionally poor reading comprehension. I keep hearing echoes about a potential 5 percent BAH cut next year on Facebook but this article is mostly all that I can find on the subject.

So, can somebody who a clearer brain than mine please explain to me A) whether BAH is being cut across the board for 2015, B) what percent it is being cut by, and C) whose idea it was to cut BAH in the first place?

Edit: And also D) would these proposed cuts override the "if BAH goes down your current rate gets grandfathered in until you PCS" or not

[Dory1988]

Assuming my reading comprehension did not fail me.

A) It says this is the bill that will be put before the house and senate. If it is passed it would cut BAH but it doesn't seem like it's been passed yet (unless it's been done in the week since this article came out).
B) 1%
C) The DOD proposed a 5% decrease in BAH that would have taken place over 3 years. Obviously they didn't get that.

My HM1 was talking about the co-pays yesterday. Apparently there's talk of charging copays for appointments in the future. I haven't seen anything solid on that though.

[amaristella]

I've always thought co-pays were a good idea. I'm guessing they proposed 5% thinking it was going to get bargained down. Because honestly... 1% doesn't seem like it would affect most families that much. 5%, even over several years I think those who are really on a super tight budget would see a difference and it kind of saddens me that they would choose that area to cut. Like service members are the hot potato in a political game. But I digress.

[amaristella]

New question now. Let's say I'm living in housing now and then move out next spring. Would my BAH rate be set for when we got to this duty station or when we actually start collecting it instead of it being sent to housing? (I can always ask this question on a Facebook group if need be)

I don't think I've updated on our situation in a while. But, as it stands DH is still going on his IA but because he would be leaving here before he's been in his internship for two years (four months short) they changed his GSA to an IAMM so that he will still get the specialty code on his record when promotion time comes around. GSAs are usually done at the end of the tour and you detach from current PDS, attach to a special one in Virginia or in San Diego and they usually allow your family to PCS somewhere for the duration and set BAH for wherever the family is at. Unfortunately since the tour is only 11 months (not 12) and now an IAMM (officially only a TDY from the current duty station) it's really damn difficult to get them to authorize a HHG shipment anywhere. Since we are currently OCONUS there is supposed to be a process where we can request one anyway and get a flag level review but they keep telling DH that's only for foreign OCONUS, which I think is total bullshit because if you're foreign OCONUS and this happens you HAVE to move home because without the service member the family loses sponsorship.

So anyhow I've long since made up my mind we are going back to the mainland because if my child cannot have daddy for 11 months then he should have better access to grandparents and I need the support from family as well. Here on shore tour I have made some friends but it's not the same as when he's on sea tour and everyone else's significant other is gone at the same time and you get more of a bond going. I really want to make the best of the situation by letting A develop more of a bond with his grandparents and I also kind of want to live in an apartment in downtown San Diego because that's always been a girlish dream of mine to do that once in my life. So we're planning to take the Navy's offer to store our HHG and vehicle here in Hawaii and use the difference in BAH rates to pay for the plane tickets, small shipment and deposit on the new apartment. PROVIDED that they do not adjust our BAH rate to San Diego. I've dug through the lines of the Joint Travel Regulations and there's not much covering this situation, especially when we pay to move ourselves. It sounds like BAH should stay the same as the permanent duty station and not change to family location unless we put them up to it. DH's XO told him that they would change our BAH if we moved but I guess she could be wrong. I can see them taking away COLA which is more than fair in my mind, but since the Navy isn't paying to move us and won't give him his follow on orders this early (which will be to San Diego anyway) I don't think they should change our BAH rate.