By MOAA Staff

MOAA’s work on Capitol Hill on behalf of the uniformed services community has been recognized again by The Hill, one of the nation’s top Beltway-focused news outlets, with a position on the publication’s Top Lobbyists list for the 17th straight year.

MOAA was among the honorees in the 2023 Grassroots category, which included AARP, Burn Pits 360, and Veterans of Foreign Wars. 

“This honor reflects not just the work of our Government Relations team on the Hill, but our entire headquarters team and our members and supporters throughout the country,” said MOAA President and CEO Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret). “The grassroots support of our councils and chapters has been the backbone of our advocacy mission, along with the tens of thousands of MOAA members who bring our agenda items to their lawmakers via our Legislative Action Center. It’s a yearlong group effort, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

MOAA’s advocacy efforts in 2023 included:

• Bringing several key legislative proposals into the final stages of the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) negotiations, to include an increase in the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and a requirement for a detailed report on beneficiary access to the TRICARE pharmacy network.
  
  

[TAKE ACTION: Restore BAH | Protect the TRICARE Network]

• Defending service-earned burial benefits by supporting H.R. 1413, the Expanding America’s National Cemetery Act, which would authorize the transformation of a VA-run national cemetery into the next location affording military honors as Arlington National Cemetery reaches capacity. The final NDAA also may include language supporting this process.
  
  
• Hosting and contributing to a series of successful events in the nation’s capital, spearheaded by our annual Advocacy in Action campaign, a congressional briefing on “TRICARE 101”, and work alongside our partners in The Military Coalition on behalf of spouse employment programs and other common issues.
  
  
• Leading the ongoing push for passage of the Major Richard Star Act, which grew in co-sponsors throughout the year and now has the support of more than two-thirds of lawmakers.

MOAA’s work on that issue, and many others, continues into the new year.

“Awards like this recognize the influence our organization and its members have on the Hill – providing even more motivation to continue our work on behalf of servicemembers past and present, their families, and their survivors,” Kelly said. “The 118th Congress isn’t over, and we need to take advantage of the progress we’ve made this year. With continued support from our membership, we’ll push many of these long-term goals forward and will continue working with lawmakers from both parties to preserve service-earned benefits and strengthen the all-volunteer force.”

See the full top lobbyist list at this link.