Each year, the Senate and House Armed Services Committees report their respective versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). They contain numerous provisions that affect military personnel, retirees and their family members. Provisions in one version are often not included in another, treated differently, or, in certain cases, they are identical. Following passage of each by the respective legislative body, a Conference Committee is typically convened to resolve the various differences between the House and Senate versions. If a Conference Committee reports its final version of the Authorization Act, the bill is returned to the House and Senate for their consideration. Upon final passage the act is sent to the President for approval. In the course of a typical authorization cycle, congressional staffs receive many constituent requests for information on provisions contained in the annual NDAA. This report highlights those personnel-related issues that seem to generate the most intense constituent interest, and tracks their status in the FY2008 House and Senate versions of the NDAA. The House bill, H.R. 1585 , was introduced on March 20, 2007, reported by the Committee on Armed Services on May 11, 2007 ( H.Rept. 110-146 ), and passed by the House on May 17, 2007. The Senate bill, S. 1547 , was introduced on June 5, 2007 and reported by the Committee on Armed Services on that day ( S.Rept. 110-77 ), and reported by the Select Committee on Intelligence on June 29, 2007 ( S.Rept. 110-125 ). On October 1, 2007, the Senate passed its version after striking everything after the enacting clause of H.R. 1585 and inserting the text of S. 1547 as amended by the Senate. The entries under " H.R. 1585 House-passed Version" and " H.R. 1585 Senate-passed Version" in the following pages are based on language in the House- and Senate-passed bills, respectively, unless otherwise indicated. On December 6, 2007, the conference report ( H.Rept. 110-477 ) was filed. On December 12, 2007, the House agreed to the conference report (397-27) and two days later, the Senate agreed to the conference report (92-3). Objecting to language in the bill regarding a possible freeze on Iraqi assets held in U.S. banks, the President vetoed it on December 28, 2007. The bill was returned to the House and Senate, the language was removed, and the bill was renumbered: H.R. 4986 . The House passed the bill on January 16, 2008 (396-46), the Senate passed the bill on January 22, 2008 (91-3), and signed into law on January 28, 2008 ( P.L. 110-181 , 122 Stat. 3). The new version did not change any of the provisions discussed in this report. Each presentation in this report offers the background on a given issue, compares House and Senate language on the issue, discusses the proposed and enacted language, identifies other relevant CRS products, and designates a CRS issue expert. Note: some issues were addressed in last year's National Defense Authorization Act and discussed in CRS Report RL33571, The FY2007 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Policy Issues , concerning that legislation. Those issues that were previously considered in CRS Report RL33571 are designated with a " * " in the relevant section titles of this report. Background: The House and Senate Committees are concerned about the state of military families, particularly with regard to readiness and deployments. Discussion: These provisions show the growing concerns in Congress regarding the effects of military service on military families, particularly for those undergoing deployment. Reference(s): None. CRS Point of Contact (POC): [author name scrubbed], x[phone number scrubbed]. Background: Congress authorized the Cold War Recognition Certificate ten years ago as part of the FY1998 National Defense Authorization Act (Section 1084). Its was created to recognize the contributions and sacrifices of our armed forces and government civilians whose service contributed to victory in the Cold War. Members of the armed forces and federal government civilian employees who served the United States during the Cold War period, from September 2, 1945, to December 26, 1991, are eligible. Discussion: A number of veterans' organizations have supported efforts to create this medal in recognition of the service members' role in the Cold War. Reference(s): None. CRS Point of Contact (POC): [author name scrubbed], x[phone number scrubbed]. Background: In 1950, Congress enacted P.L. 81-815 and P.L. 81-874. These laws (later made permanent) provide money from the Department of Defense to local school agencies for construction and educational activities in recognition of the impact of the dependents of Defense personnel who attend these schools. Local schools are supported, to a large extent, by the state tax base. In many cases, military personnel pay taxes to their home state which may not be the state where they are serving. Arguably, this assistance minimizes the impact these dependents have on schools near military facilities. Discussion: The law will augment impact aid laws in cases where there is a substantial military presence (and, in certain cases, civilian presence) and/or when military personnel policy or base structure changes bring about 'significant' changes in the average daily student attendance. This assists many states in adjusting to changed education needs pursuant to changes in military basing strategies, etc. Reference(s): None. CRS Point of Contact (POC): [author name scrubbed], x[phone number scrubbed]. Background: In the past, military members, including those eligible to retire, who were convicted of abuse or domestic violence could receive a sentence that included loss of military benefits. As a result, family members, especially those who suffered abuse, lost access to military benefits, including retired pay and health care, at a time when they were most in need of these benefits. On October 23, 1993, Congress enacted P.L. 102-484 , which "authorizes various benefits for the spouses and former spouses of retirement-eligible members who lose eligibility for retired pay as a result of misconduct involving abuse of dependents. Generally, the spouses and former spouses are provided the same rights and benefits that they would have had if there had been no abuse and the member had retired under normal circumstances." Discussion: By example, a member of the armed services who is arrested and confined for abuse prior to reaching eligibility for retirement, may remain confined long enough to qualify for retirement except that such time in confinement is not creditable toward retirement. If it had been enacted, the House language would have allowed those confined to have the time in confinement prior to the actions of a convening authority terminating retirement eligibility, to count toward that retirement eligibility. CRS Point of Contact (POC): [author name scrubbed], x[phone number scrubbed]. Background: The Death Gratuity is one of a number of benefits available to the survivors of military personnel. Its purpose is to provide an immediate cash payment to survivors until other benefits, if any, become available. Under law, the beneficiary(ies) are designated in order of eligibility with the surviving spouse first, followed by the children. If so designated by a service member, others can receive this benefit including parents or siblings. Recently, it was reported that a service member, a single parent, died while on active duty and that her financially struggling parents who had custody of the surviving child were unable to access this benefit. P.L. 110-28 (May 25, 2007) contained language that allows a covered service member to designate up to 50 percent of the death gratuity (in 10% increments) to a person other than the recipient under law. This authority ends September 30, 2007. Discussion: The law allowed service members to designate a beneficiary but also created a specific list of other such beneficiaries if the member did not designate a beneficiary in writing. Reference(s): CRS Report RL32769, Military Death Benefits: Status and Proposals , by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]. CRS Point of Contact (POC): [author name scrubbed], x[phone number scrubbed]. Background: The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) provides an annuity for the survivors of those who die while serving in the Armed Forces and those who have retired from the Armed Forces. For those receiving retired pay, a portion of that pay is withheld for those participating in the SBP. For the surviving spouses of those who die of injuries or illness suffered in the line of duty, the Department of Veterans Affairs provides a monetary benefit known as Dependency and Indemnity Compensation or DIC. If a surviving spouse or former spouse is eligible to receive both benefits, the SBP benefit is offset on a dollar-for-dollar basis. If the DIC is paid to an SBP-eligible surviving spouse or former spouse, a percentage (or possibly all) of the deceased retiree's original contributions to the SBP will be returned to the surviving spouse or former spouse. If the SBP is offset by DIC, that proportion of deductions from the deceased retiree's retired pay which financed the offset portion of the SBP will be refunded. SBP payments can be restored, if the beneficiary becomes ineligible for DIC and remains eligible for SBP, provided that the refunded SBP payments are returned. Discussion: Military widow(er)s are often confused or uninformed when one benefit offsets the other resulting in a return of payments made and any subsequent recoupments that may result. Often, these widow(er)s feel that money has been unfairly taken away from them. It was expected that the House provision would remove any uncertainty as to what happens during the recoupment process when an over payment is made. This language was not included in the law.