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As we all know, McNally is famous around here for all the wrong reasons. I'm getting pissed off at how much he's getting dicked around, so after some discussion on discord, I'm making a thread here. The goal is twofold. The sky goal being: I want Congress to repeal the SBP-DIC offset and the realistic goal being: About $1200 a month until I die or remarry This thread is a 'help McNally out' station. Let's write letters, get the media involved, all of the things that make politicians uncomfortable until they have to do something about it. Unfortunately I have to run and can't post more than a basic placeholder like this, but I'll be back in two days and will try write up the whole timeline of events so it can be sent to all and sundry in an effort to get some kind of loving resolution for this dude.
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Jul 6, 2018 23:19
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Iirc, McNally doesn't want media attention or anything public. Letters is a good idea
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Jul 6, 2018 23:23
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Soulex posted:Iirc, McNally doesn't want media attention or anything public. Letters is a good idea That situation has changed apparently per discord.
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Jul 6, 2018 23:24
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Sign me up!
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Jul 6, 2018 23:35
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Slavic Crime Yacht posted:The sky goal being: Well, uh... yeah, those two are actually the same thing. So this whole thread came about because I was bitching in Discord about one of my senators' staff being pretty terrible. I'm sure you're all already familiar with how I got hosed previously, but this is really about how I and every other war widow(er) in the United States are getting hosed over. So here's the story: As the surviving spouse of a service member who died in the line of duty, I'm entitled to a DOD benefit called the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). SBP is primarily for the surviving spouse of a retiree, the idea being is that the retiree buys into it so their spouse can keep getting their retirement after they pass. SBP is granted automatically when a service member dies LOD. It's based on how much the retiree was making or, in the case of an LOD death, how much their retirement would have been worth at the time they died. I'm also entitled to a VA benefit called Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). DIC is primarily for the surviving spouse of a veteran who dies of a service connected condition and is also granted automatically when a service member dies LOD. DIC is non-taxable, SBP is taxable. When a surviving spouse is eligible for both, every dollar of DIC received is deducted from their SBP benefit. In a lot of cases, DIC is larger than SBP. In 2008 Congress agreed that this was bullshit and authorized the Special Spouse Indemnity Allowance (SSIA). The initial amount was $50 per month (lol get hosed), increasing gradually until it reached its cap of $275 a month. SSIA was designed to expire at the end of FY 2017 because it was a stop-gap measure designed to give surviving spouses SOMETHING while still giving time for Congress to find a way to get rid of the SBP-DIC offset permanently. The 2018 NDAA raised SSIA to $310 a month, said it get an annual cost of living increase, and made it permanent. In the aftermath of this, a number of veterans and Gold Star organizations started getting told that Congress now considered the SBP-DIC offset issue fixed. gently caress that. I've been trying to get my congressfuckers to act on this. Just before Memorial Day, I wrote a pleading message to each asking them to push for a repeal in lieu of issuing Memorial Day platitudes. One of my senators told me that a bill to get rid of the offset was in committee and there's nothing she can do for now (because United States Senators can't raise public awareness of issues when bills are in committee, apparently). The other senator sent me a form letter thanking me for my interest in the 2019 NDAA. I have some contacts in his office that I used to say "hey, this is a bullshit answer what gives" and I received an email in response that basically said "not loving over war widows is really expensive and we need to be mindful of spending." Given that they sent me that email on what would have been my fourth wedding anniversary, I got pissed and wrote back saying "wrong answer, I'm now going to be a thorn in your side until I hear directly from the senator on this." My congressman has yet to respond. Fucker. At the recommendation of you fuckers in Discord, I wrote a short version of this to my local paper. Let's see what happens there. Oh, and lol at this bullshit:   
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Jul 6, 2018 23:41
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Filthy civilian whose congressman has a hard-on for vets (not just in front of the camera). Sign me up to help.
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Jul 6, 2018 23:41
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I'm the thumbs up from USAWTF moments in between posting about some lovely barracks shower in fort polk.
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Jul 6, 2018 23:43
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gently caress you, McNally, where's my t-shirt?
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Jul 6, 2018 23:45
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You have my axe. I.E. my ability to be an rear end in a top hat that becomes a problem that can't be ignored. Do you have or want a form letter, e-mail, tweet that can be spammed at congress?
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Jul 6, 2018 23:46
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it's time for BONUS ARMY
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Jul 7, 2018 00:01
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What’s the status of this bill? Has it passed the House? Is it in committee there? You’ve basically got till the end of the year to get it voted on. If might be better to lobby for it when the new Congress is seated in January. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for shaming Congress into doing their jobs but there’s some logistical hurdles to clear.
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Jul 7, 2018 00:03
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Nostalgia4Infinity posted:What’s the status of this bill? Has it passed the House? Is it in committee there? You’ve basically got till the end of the year to get it voted on. If might be better to lobby for it when the new Congress is seated in January. House and Senate both introduce a bill to get rid of the offset at the beginning of every Congress for the past decade. They always die in committee.
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Jul 7, 2018 00:06
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Let me know what you need me to do McNally and I'll help.
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Jul 7, 2018 00:24
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Soulex posted:Let me know what you need me to do McNally and I'll help. 
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Jul 7, 2018 00:27
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For now, start contacting your congresscritters on the issue. Not sure what phase 2 is yet, but I'm sure we'll get there.
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Jul 7, 2018 00:34
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Does anyone know the title of the bill? I'm happy to smash out some letters but this would also be useful info. (Of course I can try to dig it up for the thread if no one has the title at hand.) Hell I'll ask my grandmothers to help out. One's a veteran's widow and they're both parents of vets. Old people fuckin love writing letters.
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Jul 7, 2018 00:39
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The House bill is H.R. 846 and the Senate bill is S. 339 Also the senator who responded back with "the bill is in committee" mentioned S. 1990 which, unless I'm reading it wrong, doesn't actually eliminate the offset. So good job, dipshits.
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Jul 7, 2018 00:44
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Awesome thank you!
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Jul 7, 2018 00:45
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McNally posted:The House bill is H.R. 846 and the Senate bill is S. 339 Yeah, I went back and read the e-mail I got from the senator and it's absolutely clear that this is a form letter that has nothing at all to do with what I was talking about. S. 1990 is about increasing the amount of DIC compensation. Which is nice, sure, but that's an issue separate from the offset (not everyone eligible for one is eligible for the other). Goddamnit, I'm pissed all over again now.
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Jul 7, 2018 00:51
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We got a form letter we can mail out?
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Jul 7, 2018 00:59
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Nostalgia4Butts posted:We got a form letter we can mail out? I'll write one. I'll even try to keep the gently caress yous to a minimum.
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Jul 7, 2018 01:00
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McNally posted:I'll write one. I'll even try to keep the gently caress yous to a minimum. quote:Dear useless legislator: Feel free to clean this up as you need to. I'm still fuming a little.
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Jul 7, 2018 01:12
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McNally posted:Feel free to clean this up as you need to. I'm still fuming a little. The fact that you haven’t set fire to Congress is a testament to your level of self control and character.
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Jul 7, 2018 01:44
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Seekhay posted:The fact that you haven’t set fire to Congress is a testament to your level of self control and character. It helps that I'm inherently lazy.
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Jul 7, 2018 01:51
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I'm cheering for you McNally, let us know what to do!
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Jul 7, 2018 02:00
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I think Kamala Harris is one of my senators. I'll write it out this weekend for you.
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Jul 7, 2018 03:46
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Think? Brother do you live in California or not?
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Jul 7, 2018 03:55
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Oh nooooooooo I don't want to send a letter to Skeletor
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Jul 7, 2018 04:01
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Nostalgia4Infinity posted:Think? Brother do you live in California or not? I think I do. I got her confused with Tulsi for a second.
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Jul 7, 2018 04:33
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Can we get a script? I'm really bad at understanding how to say this in a quick phone call to my reps
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Jul 7, 2018 09:51
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Email sent to my Representative and both Senators.
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Jul 7, 2018 16:32
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Wasabi the J posted:Can we get a script? I'm really bad at understanding how to say this in a quick phone call to my reps Is (Congressfucker/Senatefucker So-and-so) aware that the government is making war widows pay the cost of their own survivor benefits?
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Jul 7, 2018 20:44
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Do I get my T-shirt faster if I write my Congress critter? 
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Jul 7, 2018 21:13
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LtCol J. Krusinski posted:Do I get my T-shirt faster if I write my Congress critter? You won't not get your t-shirt faster.
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Jul 7, 2018 21:16
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LtCol J. Krusinski posted:Do I get my T-shirt faster if I write my Congress critter? Sorry no tshirt jokes here
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Jul 7, 2018 21:31
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I have been doing some thinking. One of the most important things we need to do is package this. This means putting in work like making an infographic or video. I would do the video but am incredibly busy, and incredibly poor. I cant fly to his location. Pictures dont do it justice. Video works. Especially when you use it to get an emotional reaction. People think with emotions, not logic (mostly). We need to find other people affected by poo poo like this. We need to unite into a force instead of attacking it one by one. We need to find out our taeget audience. You would say its the public. I would argue its the military. We need to flood active military with this poo poo. They can lean ledt or right but everyone faces death and the benefits left for the survivors should be non-negotiable. They realize it could be them or someone they know. Get military folk to write congressmen about this. The package helps condense poo poo down. Things to include regardless of format: Who is affected? Why? What is that? How can I change that? Who can I contact? Where do I find more? Can I donate? That last part will get you into some poo poo possibly so maybe someone with more legal experience can help. This is a legal battle. You will need money.
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Jul 9, 2018 18:00
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I decided to reach out to the Gary Sinise Foundation to see if they'll give any kind of a poo poo.
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Jul 10, 2018 01:05
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I posted on Gary Sinise's Facebook page. Probably won't get his attention but I did get likes and stuff from other people. Y'know, getting the word out there. And then there's this rear end in a top hat.  gently caress this guy.
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Jul 14, 2018 20:12
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Gonna take some time Sunday to go through all McNally's posts in the Army thread and get the timeline done.
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Jul 14, 2018 21:01
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I emailed my reps but got a canned response, going to respond to that and call later. Anyone call into the USARMYWTF live show? I liked the page but their response was loving garbage and ruined it. I know I’m a lurker but could I get a link to the discord?
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Jul 16, 2018 20:09
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