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Show Lmm TriCare explained, including plan choices, benefits and coverage charts. Seepages 13-1-4. ;es Disaster control team covr Uselose leave should h Pet licensing comes 'Are you ready Go to the C 419th Fighter Wing's 2 16 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) Military and civilian employees will get paid for the rest of this fiscal year now that the president has allowed the defense appropriations bill to become law. Clinton agreed to the $243 billion bill just hours before a midnight deadline Nov. 30 to veto, sign or allow the measure to automatically become law. The president did the latter, which means the Department of Defense gets nearly $7 billion more than the administration re- quested. Congress is still working on the defense authorization bill, which deter Vol. 49 No. 49 Hill AFB, Utah mines how the money will be spent, so DOD officials could not say if military members will get their Jan. 1 pay raise on time. The president said in a Nov. 30 White House statement that he accepted the appropriations bill in part to ensure that Congress provides funding for the troop deployment to Bosnia "The pressing demands of peace and of our military service men and women compel my approval of this measure," Clinton said. However, the statement said that the president is concerned that the bill contains "excessive spending for projects that are not currently needed for our defense." Clinton said he will forward to Congress "rescission legislation that would eliminate funding for those 84056-582- 4 Dc. 7. 1 - se - WASHINGTON (AFNS) President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore sent the following letter to federal employees in response to the recent government shutdown. "We are proud of the people who work for the federal government. Any Fortune 100 company would be lucky to have such a work force. Your work makes all Americans more safe, free and prosperous. We are glad you are all back on the job. "We know it hasn't been easy for you, wondering when and if you would get your next pay check. And many of you had to bear the indignity of being called some by government critics, some even by your own supervisors. Calling furloughed workers is deeply offensive and just plain wrong. The law forced us to furlough 800,000 workers whose jobs were not of an emergency nature. The law V Thifd C 84056 2824 UT SERIALS ORDER DEPT UNIVERSITY OF UTAH LIBRARIES SALT LAKE CITY UT 841 2 1 protect necessary priorities in education, the environment and law enforcement," Clinton said in the statement. Set concer. "certain could mate, this country sary support tc a with organize distance peacekeeping or hm. ed by law." activities otherwise a Another provision lcstricts service women and female family members of service personnel from obtaining privately funded abortions in overseas military facilities, except in cases where the mother's life is endangered or the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. "My administration is continuing discussions with the Congress on the re- - The administration and Congress have A a Dec. 15 deadline for resolving differences over the six remaining appropriations bills and for reaching a complan to balance promise on a seven-yea-r the federal budget. Hill AFB officials haven't received word on funding limitations for the base. This means the base will operate under the funding constraints that were in place under the Continuing Resolution Authority. The base will continue to allocate Operation and Maintenance funds at 75 percent of fiscal 1995 funding levels until new funding guidance is released. Turn 1995 ... P' I 7981 Georgia Si.. Hill AFB ton maining spending bills, in order to it. Military leaders thank government employees come from Messages Dill Clinton and President Vice President Al Gore... fc.w ..19 ' President accept; (Editor's note: While the Defense Appropriations Bill has become law, Congress and the president are still debating at least six appropriations bills. Ln -- V 7V.-V- a fc" , r r "1 o 'non-essenti- al' non-essenti- says nothing about 'essential' "No one could say that medical research is nonessential Or helping Americans go to college. Or rehabilitating a million disabled Americans. Or supporting the widows and orphans of veterans. Or keeping our drinking water safe. Or recruiting new volunteers for the armed forces. Or any of the long list of essential government activities that had to be temporarily suspended. In the short term, they were not emergen-cies- , so the law prohibited them, But they remain clearly essential "You all know that the law under which most of the government is operating expires Dec. 15, and the debate that led to the November shutdown is not over. We can't promise you that your jobs and your lives won't be interrupted again. Too much is at stake for America. If you are held hostage again, we know you would not want us to forfeit the nation's future as ransom. "So, until this issue is settled the way we settle great issues in a democracy through peaceful debate and compromise you remain good people caught in what Churchill called 'the worst system of government devised by the wit of man, except for all the others.' And when it is settled, it is you federal workers who will once again carry out the will of the people, who will once Photo by Frances KosakowsKy Col. Larry Wheeler, 75th Air Base Wing commander (center), looks on as Maj. Gen. Pat Condon, Air Logistics Center commander, flips the switch to turn on the lights of the Christmas tree exhibit at the Hill Officers Club Nov. 28. The cheery holiday display was contributed by the Officers and Officers Wives Clubs. Og-de- n ed again make it possible for America to be the winner. We salute you, and we thank you" ... Secretary off the Air Force Shoila E. VidncII... WASHINGTON (AFNS) - Secretary of the Air Force Sheila E. Widnall sent the following memoran- dum to Air Force employees in response to the recent government shutdowu. "As secretary of the Air Force, I am proud of the quality of our entire work force: military, personnel, civilian employees, and the Air Reserve components! We are a team, and when any part of that team suffers for whatever reason, the whole team is affected. "The recent unfortunate need to furlough a large part of our civilian work force was unsettling to everyone. I regret the stress and inconvenience this situation created for each one of you. "You are an important part of the Air Force team. Thank you for the professionalism with which each of you handled the furlough, and for your continuing contributions to the Air Force mission." 4 and Deputy Secretary of Defense John P. White... WASHINGTON (AFNS) - Deputy Secretary of Defense John P. White issued the following letter Nov. 20 to all Department of Defense civilian employees: "To those of you who were furloughed, welcome back! To those of you who worked through the shutdown, thank you for your loyal service. One of the many unfortunate developments caused by last week's shutdown was the public impression that government em- ployees are not 'essential.' Nothing could be further from the truth. All of you are essentiaL The important work of the department could not be done without you. Unfortunately, the law required us to furlough those who were not directly working in exempted activities. Many of you had to stop work, and it will take us weeks to recover from the disruption. . "I ask all of you to put the events of last week behind us. We know that government service is honorable, and that your work is essential Thank you for your support in quickly returning the department's operations to normal." |