, GAO \ United Sttes Generl Accounting Office I, 3 Briefing Report to Congressionl Requesters 188 ih June 1987 MILITARY PERSONNEL Proposed Increses in Household Goods Weight Allownces GAO/NSIAD-87-111 BR c;39389
GAO United Sttes Generl Accounting 0lTice Wshington, DC 20548 Ntionl Security nd Interntionl Affirs Division B-223844 June 25, 1987 The Honorble Les Aspin Chirmn, Committee on Armed Services House of Representtives The Honorble Sm Nunn Chirmn, Committee on Armed Services United Sttes Sente In its report on the fiscl yer 1986 Defense Authoriztion Act, the House Committee on Armed Services sked us to review the Deprtment of Defense (DOD) weight llownces provided to uniformed service members moving household goods under permnent chnge of sttion orders. DOD, in its fiscl yer 1986 budget request, hd sked tht its household goods weight llownces be incresed. The Committee sked us to review -- the services' methodologies for determining weight llownces, -- how much the system encourges shipment of unnecessry items, nd -- the cost effectiveness of lterntive systems. This report contins informtion previously provided to the Committee nd dditionl dt we developed concerning DOD's fiscl yer 1986 request. We found tht the increses proposed by DOD in its fiscl yer 1986 budget request were not bsed on DOD-wide sttisticl dt showing how much use its members were lredy mking of the existing llownces or ny other sttistics tht justified the increses. Its revised pln of Mrch 1986, providing for seprte with nd without dependents llownces, hd similr deficiencies. To respond to the Committee's concern tht the llownce system encourges members to ship unnecessry goods, we evluted the mount of goods shipped by members with nd
B-223844 without dependents --ssuming tht members without dependents should ship less thn those with dependents. We found tht members without dependents shipped slightly more thn hlf of wht their counterprts with dependents shipped. Concerning lterntive systems, we could not mesure the cost effectiveness of vrious moving lterntives becuse of the different dt gthering methods used by the services, the lck of vilble dt, nd the uncertinty of how much the lterntives would be used. These issues re discussed more fully in ppendixes I through IV. Our objectives, scope, nd methodology re discussed in ppendix V. We discussed this briefing report with DOD officils nd hve incorported their comments, where pproprite. As requested, we did not obtin officil comments. We re sending copies of this report to the Secretries of Defense, the Air Force, Army, nd Nvy; the Director, Office of Mngement nd Budget; nd other interested prties. Should you need dditionl informtion or hve questions, plese contct me on (202) 275-4141. Her&y W. Connor Senior Associte Director 2
Contents ~ LETTER APPENDIXES I II III IV V TABLES I.1 I.2 I.3 II.1 II.2 II.3 II.4 II.5 II.6 13.7 II.8 Introduction Proposed Increses in Weight Allownces Not Adequtely Supported Shipment of Nonessentil Items Cost nd Benefits of Alterntive Systems Objectives, Scope, nd Methodology Weight Allownces in 1949 by Py Grde nd Chnges Since Then Current nd Proposed Weight Allownces Cost of Vrious Options Results of Member Survey Bsed on 1971-1972 PCS Moves Summry of Responses to Question of Need nd Mking Use of Higher Allownces Averge Weight Shipped or Stored Per PCS Averge Weight Shipped or Stored Per PCS For Members With Dependents Averge Weight Shipped or Stored Per PCS For Members Without Dependents Percentge of PCS Moves in Which Members Shipped or Stored 1,000 Pounds or Less Numbers nd Costs for Different Types of PCS Moves (Fiscl Yer 1985 Actul Budget Dt) Percentge of PCS Moves Where Members Shipped or Stored in Excess of the Allownces 3 5 12 34 38 42 7 8 10 13 14 16 17 18 20 21 22
TABLES II.9 11.10 II.11 II. 12 II.13 II.14 II.15 II.16 II.17 111.1 III.2 IV.1 DOD PCS Comprison of Army PCS Moves in the Excess Weight Ctegory Under Existing nd Proposed Allownce Levels Comprison of Air Force PCS Moves in the Excess Ctegory Under Existing nd Proposed Allownce Levels Comprison of Army nd Air Force PCS Moves in the Excess Weight Ctegory Under Existing nd Proposed Allownce Levels PCS Moves Which Would Be Within Allownces Under the Revised Proposl of Mrch 1986 Where Army Weight Allownce Levels Would Hve to be Set to Cover Specific Percentges of PCS Moves Where Air Force Weight Allownce Levels Would Hve to be Set to Cover Specific Percentges of PCS Moves Chnges in Averge Age of Members Between 1972 nd 1985 Members with Dependents in 1972 nd 1985 Number of People Per Household in 1972 nd 1985 Summry of Officers' PCS Weights Summry of Enlisted Members' PCS Weights Comprtive Costs of Single weight Allownce Alterntives Deprtment of Defense ABBREVIATIONS permnent chnge of sttion Pge 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 36 37 39 4
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I INTRODUCTION Over the yers, the Congress hs herd mny complints from DOD nd its uniformed service members bout insufficient reimbursements nd llownces for trnsfers or permnent chnges of sttion (PCS). In herings before the House Committee on Appropritions in April 1985, DOD reported tht when mking PCS move, the verge member is reimbursed for only bout one-fourth of the out-of-pocket expenses incurred. It sid tht over hlf of its members hd to borrow money to cover their PCS expenses. As prt of its fiscl yer 1986 budget proposl, DOD proposed chnging vrious PCS llownces to more fully reimburse its members. The dded cost for these chnges ws estimted t $700 million; the lrgest single mount--$242 million--ws to increse the weight of household goods nd personl effects tht DOD would py to ship or store for its members. The fiscl yer 1986 proposl, intended to chnge the weight tht could be shipped t ech py grde, continued the longstnding DOD prctice of llowing ll members in given py grde to ship the sme weight. In Mrch 1986, however, DOD offered n lterntive to this proposl by sking considertion for llownces bsed on whether the member hd dependents. Members with no dependents would be llowed to ship t the pre-1986 levels, but members with dependents would be llowed to ship t the generlly higher, fiscl yer 1986-proposed levels. WEIGHT ALLOWANCES AND PROGRAM OBJECTIVES Section 406 of title 37, U.S.C., provides for the trnsporttion of household goods of members of the uniformed services under orders for PCS nd within such weight llownces s my be prescribed by the service secretries concerned. Implementing regultions re contined in Volume 1 of the DOD Joint Trvel Regultions. DODwide weight llownces hve been in effect since 1949. Ech py grde hs specific weight llownce ceiling. The government's trnsporttion cost obligtion is limited to the chrge for shipping the member's household goods from one duty sttion to nother in one lot, t the mximum-prescribed weight ceiling. Additionl chrges, such s those for shipping weight in excess of the prescribed ceiling, must be borne by the member. Ech service is responsible for seeing tht the member is ppropritely billed for the dditionl chrges. Historiclly, the weight llownce ceilings hve been set on n scending scle-- the higher the py grde, the higher the ceiling. However, there is no record to show why the ceilings were first 5
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I d estblished t these levels. Responding to question bout this mtter t the fiscl yer 1986 militry mnpower nd compenstion ppropritions herings, the Assistnt Secretry of Defense (Mnpower, Instlltions nd Logistics) sid tht weight llownces re bsed on grde to recognize ech member's reltive position nd responsibility within the orgniztion. He sid tht the system recognizes tht with the incresed rnk nd income, the member's personl property increses. The Assistnt Secretry explined tht ech weight ceiling serves s n "umbrell" to cover both the members with dependents nd those without dependents in ny given py grde. DOD does not justify its weight ceilings on the bsis tht the verge member possesses or ships certin mount of goods, or tht by estblishing ceiling t some level, ll or some percentge of its members will receive fully covered, governmentpid, household goods trnsporttion. In fct, we could not find bsis for the current llownce levels. This mkes it difficult for DOD to ssess whether the llownces, t ny point, re sufficient. The weight llownces re subject to oversight nd pprovl by the DOD uthoriztion nd ppropritions committees. For mny yers, t lest s fr bck s 1953, the ppropritions committees hve cpped the llownces t something less thn the ceilings uthorized by the uthoriztion committees. For exmple, in fiscl yer 1985 the uthoriztion committees uthorized the top py grde llownce t 24,000 pounds. The ppropritions committees limited the funding for tht nd ll other grdes to 13,500 pounds. The service secretries cn lso impose weight limittions on prticulr type of PCS or to prticulr loction. Most py grde weight llownce ceilings hve incresed since 1949. Some senior officer grdes hve hd no increses. Most mid-level nd junior-level officers hve hd two increses, lthough the 0-4s hve hd four increses. Senior-level nd mid-level enlisted members hve hd bsiclly three increses, the most recent in 1966. Junior-level enlisted members hd their first nd lst increse in 1979. Tble I.1 shows the weight llownces for 1949 nd the chnges since then. Tble I.2 shows DOD's current (fiscl yer 1985) uthorized llownces nd its proposed chnges for fiscl yer 1986. 6
3' APPENDIX I APPENDIX I Tble 1.1: Weight Allownces For 1949 by Py Grde nd Chnges Since Then Allownce Py for Revised weiqht llownce qrde - 1949-1951 PP 1954 1959-1963 - 1965 1966 1967 1979 Officers --------------------------- (pounds)------------------------- O-10 24,000 o-9 18,000 O-8 14,500 o-7 12,000 O-6 11,000 o-s 10,000 o-4 9,000 9,500 o-3 8,500 O-2 7,500 O-l 6,000 7,000 Enlisted E-9 E-8 E-7 4,500 E-6 4,500 E-S 4,500 4,500 3,000 E-4 E-4b E-3 200 E-2 200 E-l 200 Senior bjunior E-4s. E-4s. 13,500 12,000 13,500 ll,ooo 13,000 10,000 11,000 12,000 9,000 11,000 8,000 10,000 7,500 9,500 7,000 7,500 9,500 6,500 7,000 9,000 6,000 6,500 8,500 5,500 6,000 8,000 5,000 5,500 7,000 5,000 7,000 200 c1,5oo pounds for overses moves; 225 pounds for moves within the continentl United Sttes. Note: Approprition cts hve prescribed mximum ceiling for purposes of funding-- 9,000 pounds from Jnury 1, 1953, through August 30, 1954; 11,000 pounds from September 1, 1954, through December 30, 1966; nd 13,500 pounds from Jnury 1, 1967, to present. 7
APPENDIX I APPENDIX ig Tble 1.2: Current nd Proposed Weight Allownces Py grde Officers Rnk Proposed for fiscl yers Increse/ 1985 1986 decrese(-) ---------(pounds)-------- O-10 Generl/Admirl 24,000 o-9 Lieutennt Generl/ 18,000 Vice Admirl O-8 Mjor Generl/Rer 14,500 Admirl (upper hlf} o-7 Brigdier Generl/Rer 13,500 Admirl (lower hlf) O-6 Colonel/Cptin (Nvy) 13,500 o-s Lieutennt Colonel/Commnder 13,000 o-4 Mjor/Lieutennt Commnder 12,000 o-3 Cptin (Army/Air Force)/ 11,000 Lieutennt O-2 First Lieutennt/ 10,000 Lieutennt (Junior Grde) o-1 Second Lieutennt/Ensign 9,500 18,000 18,000-6,000 16,000 1,500 15,000 1,500 14,500 14,000 13,000 12,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 11,000 1,000 10,000 500 Enlisted E-9 9,500 E-8 9,000 E-7 8,500 E-6 8,000 E-S 7,000 E-4 E-qb E-3 C E-2 C E-l C Appropritions ct ceiling: 13,500 E-4s with over 2 yers of service. 7,000 C 13,000 12,000 11,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 1,000 1,000 ;i d d d be-4s with 2 yers of service or less. c1,5oo pounds for overses moves: 225 pounds for moves within the continentl United Sttes. dincrese vries by duty loction of new PCS. 8
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I WEIGHT ALLOWANCE CHANGES PROPOSED IN DOD'S FISCAL YEAR 1986 BUDGET DOD's proposed chnges for fiscl yer 1986 would hve incresed 17 of the 20 py grde llownces. Most of the llownces would increse by t lest 1,000 pounds. In 1966, when the lst mjor increses were pproved, DOD pointed out the lrge number of members who exceeded the shipping llownces nd who were forced to py the excess from personl funds. It sid tht members hd received higher py, which led to the purchse of more household items, especilly hevy pplinces such s refrigertors, wshers, dryers, nd dishwshers, s well s television sets nd lwnmowers. In fiscl yer 1986 DOD nd service officils gin voiced their concern over the indequte llownces nd the need for members to py lrge prt of their moving expenses. They stted tht since 1966, py hd incresed nd lifestyles hd chnged, resulting in the ccumultion of more personl possessions. Agin, sttistics were not presented to support these sttements. DOD cited complints mde by members nd the results of service opinion surveys, which showed tht members felt the pproved llownces were indequte. Mny members rgued tht they were treted unfirly compred to federl civilin employees who cn ship up to 18,000 pounds of goods, regrdless of their py grde. Over the yers, the Air Force hs conducted opinion surveys which indicted PCS llownces, including those for household goods, were indequte. For exmple, its fiscl yer 1982 survey showed tht exclusive of nonreimbursed home ownership costs, members estimted tht for every $3 spent on PCS move, only $1 ws reimbursed by the government. The medin, nonreimbursed costs were $1,550 for junior officers, $2,230 for senior officers, $1,120 for mid-grde enlistees, nd $2,070 for senior enlistees. The survey showed tht mrried members reported the gretest loss nd tht over hlf of the members stted they hd to borrow money or withdrw funds from their svings to meet PCS costs. Mny members cited indequte PCS llownces s the most irritting spect of PCS moves. Fiscl yer 1984 surveys showed similr results. DOD's decision to mke the chnges it proposed in its fiscl yer 1986 budget ws the result of compromise of nerly dozen options. The individul services hd presented their views on the chnges to DOD. DOD officils looked t ech option, including the option of no chnge, nd selected the one they believed would benefit those needing the greter increses. The cost ws greter 9
APPENDIX I APPENDIX 'I., thn if no chnge hd been mde, but less thn tht for the more liberl plns. DOD's estimtes of the comprtive costs of the mjor options re shown in tble 1.3. Tble 1.3: Army Nvy Cost of Vrious Options O'ption 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4 Option 5 Option 6 ----------------------(millions)--------------------------- $ 482.2 $ 510.9 $ 577.3 $ 743.5 $ 772.9 $ 803.8 326.0 338.3 369.2 354.2 358.7 365.0 Air Force 459.5 484.2 548.0 620.3 620.7 683.8 Mrine Corps 81.3 87.5 96.9 144.8 173.3 239.9 Totl $1.349.0 $1,42&g $1,591.4 $1.862.8 $1.925.6 $?,osz.s Increse $ 71.9 $ 242.4 $ 513.8 $ 576.6 $ 743.5 Option 1: ~Mke no chnge. Option 2: Grduted increses in weight llownces for E-7s nd bove with no chnge for the other grdes. Option 3: Grduted increses for ll py grdes (18,000 mximum/5,000 pounds minimum). Option 4: Grduted increses for ll py grdes (18,000 mximum/lo,ooo pounds minimum). Option 5: 13,500 pounds for ll py grdes. Option '6: 18,000 pounds for ll py grdes. WEIGHT ALLOWANCE CHANGES PROPOSED IN MARCH 1986 In Mrch 1986 DOD proposed new set of household goods weight llownces, one set for members without dependents nd nother set for members with dependents. DOD sid such system would properly recognize the government's obligtion to move service members' household goods under limits which they felt re fir nd equitble from both the government's nd service members' stndpoint, nd IO
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I would llow members the opportunity to continue their lifestyles t ny loction ssigned. Accordingly, for fiscl yer 1987 DOD sked the Congress for uthority to estblish llownces by py grde for members with nd without dependents, but with the stipultion tht the with dependents llownces be set t the incresed levels requested in fiscl yer 1986. The House Committee on Armed Services sid tht lthough it supported the estblishment of llownces for members with nd without dependents, it could not support the specific llownces proposed becuse of the lck of dt nd nlysis supporting the proposl. It recommended denying the increses. The Sente Committee on Appropritions sid it believed dequte documenttion did not exist to justify the weight llownces proposed by DOD nd reduced the PCS request by $97 million, the mount requested for the incresed household goods weight llownces in the fiscl yer 1987 budget. The Sente Committee on Appropritions directed tht the proposed new weight llownces not be implemented. The Congress dopted this position. 11
' PROPOSED INCREASEmS IN WEIGHT ALLOWANCES NOT ADEQUATELY SUPPORTED In response to complints from its members nd members of Congress, DOD reviewed the history of the household llownces nd sked the services for proposls to remedy the reported problems. DOD nlyzed the costs of the vrious proposls nd decided on compromise tht generlly rised the py grde weight ceilings by bout 1,000 pounds. DOD believed tht the compromise, costing bout $242 million more thn the existing system, would provide prticulr relief for the more seriously deficient py grdes. We found tht the increses proposed by DOD in its fiscl yer 1986 budget request were not bsed on DOD-wide sttisticl dt showing how much use its members were lredy mking of the existing llownces or on ny other sttistics tht justified the increses. Moreover, DOD hd no specific PCS progrm gol to ensure tht the new weight llownces covered ll or ny prticulr percentge of PCS' of ny prticulr py grde. Its revised pln of Mrch 1986, providing for seprte with nd without dependents llownces, hd the sme deficiencies. PER DIEM COMMITTEE HOUSEHOLD GOODS WEIGHT ALLOWANCE STUDY One of the erliest studies, initited in 1970, ws done by DOD's Per Diem, Trvel nd Trnsporttion Allownce Committee nd ws used by DOD to estblish the proposed increses in weight llownces. The study recommended the elimintion of the py grde differences in PCS weight llownces. It recommended n increse in the weight llownces to the sttutory mximum of 13,500 pounds for ll members in py grdes O-5 nd below nd enlisted members. A key rgument in fvor of tht recommendtion ws tht ll civilin employees, regrdless of their py grdes, could ship up to mximum of 11,000 pounds. As prt of its study, the Committee directed the services to distribute questionnire to individuls who were bout to mke PCS move. The survey covered pproximtely 70,000 members shipping household goods incident to PCS during November nd December 1971. The survey sked members to respond to questions such s whether they disposed of some possessions to void overweight costs, the estimted mount of weight disposed of, other ctions tken to void overweight, nd their opinions bout the dequcy of the weight llownces nd whether they would ship more goods if there were no limits. The results showed tht mny members took some ction to void exceeding their weight llownces. For exmple, bout 16 percent 12
of the officers nd 21 percent of the enlisted members sid they disposed of some possessions to sty within the llownces. About 3.5 percent of ll members sid they disposed of t lest 500 pounds nd hlf of those sid they disposed of t lest 1,000 pounds. Also, more thn one-third of the respondents sid they mde decision to purchse certin types of furniture or chnged their buying hbits to void excess weight. Over 20 percent of those members responding in the O-5 nd O-6 py grdes believed they needed higher llownce on their lst PCS move. Over 50 percent of the members in the O-4, E-5, E-6, nd E-9 py grdes sid they would ship more goods if there hd been no ceiling. See tbles II.1 nd II.2 for summry of survey results. Tble 11.1: Results of Member Survey Bsed on 1971-1972 PCS Moves Action Reported Officers Enlisted --(percent)--- Disposed of some household goods 16.2 21.3 Stored some goods t own expense 3.2 5.8 Stored some goods t no expense 5.9 9.9 Personlly moved some household goods 5.0 9.3 Purchsed lighter weight furniture 18.8 23.3 Purchsed portble equipment 22.6 28.0 Rented rther thn bought furniture 12.8 15.7 Resisted buying newer furniture 32.2 40.4 13
Tble 11.2: Summry of Responses to Question of Need nd Mking Use of Higher Allownces Py grde Officers Need Would higher ship more llownce if llowed --(percent sying yes)-- O-6 29.3 39.0 o-5 21.9 26.8 o-4 2.8 51.2 o-3 9.6 22.8 o-2 9.1 20.1 o-1 3.1 12.2 Enlisted E-9 17.9 73.8 E-8 17.3 52.9 E-7 19.2 35.7 E-6 16.6 56.0 E-5 9.7 34.5 E-4 16.0 19.9 STUDIES ON NUMBERS OF EXCESS WEIGHT CASES Other dt which DOD relied on to support its increses in weight llownces relted to the number of excess weight cses some of the militry services nd commnds hve reported in the pst. The Army, Nvy, Mrine Corps, nd Militry Trffic Mngement Commnd, for exmple, conducted studies or developed sttistics in the lte 1970s nd erly 1980s to show the number of shipments or PCS moves involving excess weight. The results showed tht t some py grdes more thn qurter of the members shipped in excess of their llownces, indicting the possibility tht the weight llownces my hve been too low. We found little in the results of these studies, however, to indicte DOD-wide problem. The studies were often bsed on different universes of dt. For exmple, some studies were bsed on trnsporttion dt tht only coincidentlly relted to individul PCS moves. Few of the studies indicted whether the excess weights were mesured ginst the DOD-wide weight ceilings or the generlly lower, individul service's weight llownces. 14
3 DEVELOPMENT OF ACTUAL PCS WEIGHT DATA Since DOD hd not developed historicl PCS weight dt in support of its proposed weight llownce increses, the Chirmn of the House Committee on Armed Services sked DOD to reserch its records to determine verge weights per RCS for ech py grde. DOD provided its preliminry dt in Februry 1986 nd its finl dt in Mrch. The Februry 1986 dt ws intended to show, for fixed period of time, the verge weight shipped or stored for PCS moves in ech py grde. DOD chose the time frme of July 1984 through June 1985 nd provided sttistics for over 500,000 PCS moves. The Army, Air Force, nd Mrine Corps dt were developed from pid trnsporttion documents nd other documenttion tht ws used to ensure tht members pid for excess weight. The Nvy dt, on the other hnd, ws bsed on preliminry funding dt tht showed wht the Nvy used to estblish PCS shipment obligtions. This dt did not necessrily correspond with wht ws ctully shipped; therefore, we hve not used the Nvy dt in our nlysis of how the verge household goods shipment compred to the weight llownce. A summry of the dt is shown in tbles II.3 through 11.5. Tble II.3 shows tht, on the verge, individul py grdes were using from 26 to 90 percent of their existing llownces. Most were in the 50 to 80 percent rnge. Generlly, the higher the py grde, the greter the percentge of the llownce used. Tbles II.4 nd II.5 show the verge weights, by py grde, for members with nd without dependents. At one py grde, the O-8 level, PCS moves of members with dependents verged 98 percent of the llownce uthorized. Others rnged from 39 to 80 percent. The verge PCS moves for members without dependents ws less thn 50 percent of the llownce, with the exception of the O-6 level, which ws t 52 percent. The O-l through O-4 Army dt includes wrrnt officers. 15
APPENDIX Ii Tble 11.3: Averge Weight Shipped or Stored Per PCS Averge for ll Use mde of Py Weight Air Mrine PCS mximum grde llownce Army Force Corps moves llownce Officers -----------------(pounds)------------------ (percent) O-10 13,500 5,276 o-9 13,500 9,433 O-8 13,500 11,283 o-7 13,500 8,409 O-6 13,500 8,569 o-5 13,000 8,159 o-4 12,000 6,747 o-3 11,000 4,548 o-2 10,000 3,123 o-1 9,500 2,209 Enlisted 11,543 14,805 12,683 11,911 10,802 9,702 6,766 4,552 2,656 2,015 3,645 27 4,681 9,339 69 9,256 12,100 90 10,558 10,549 78 9,429 10,508 78 9,158 9,569 74 8,266 8,188 68 6,369 5,626 51 4,548 3,979 40 2,531 2,436 26 E-9 9,500 E-8 9,000 E-7 8,500 E-6 8,000 E-5 7,000 E-4 7,000 E-qb 1,500 E-4c 225 E-3b 1,500 E-3C 225 E-2b 1,500 E-2c 225 E-lb 1,500 E-IC 225 4,712 7,475 6,779 6,202 4,268 6,709 6,503 5,300 3,870 5,823 5,748 4,654 3,085 4,827 4,570 3,760 2,066 3,500 3,120 2,705 1,166 2,198 1,839 1,578 541 522 541 621 808 623 326 281 693 715 486 365 65 59 55 47 39 7,000 pounds uthorized for b1,500 pounds uthorized for overses moves. senior E-4s on ll moves. junior E-4s nd below on c225 pounds uthorized for junior E-4s nd below on moves within the continentl United Sttes. 16
Tble 11.4: Averge Weight Shipped or Stored Per PCS For Members With Dependents Averge for PCS Use mde of Py Weight Air Mrine moves mximum grde llownce Army Force Corps shown llownce Officers -----------------(pounds)------------------ (percent) O-IO 13,500 9,195 o-9 13,500 9,433 O-8 13,500 11,283 o-7 13,500 8,514 O-6 13,500 8,757 o-5 13,000 8,393 o-4 12,000 7,087 o-3 11,000 5,255 o-2 10,000 4,124 O-l 9,500 3,311 Enlisted 11,543 14,805 12,782 12,047 11,017 10,059 7,555 5,743 4,103 9,195 68 10,337 77 13,198 98 10,648 79 10,795 80 9,862 76 8,578 71 6,384 58 4,976 50 3,685 39 E-9 9,500 E-8 9,000 E-7 8,500 E-6 8,000 E-5 7,000 E-lb 7,000 E-qc 1,500 E-4d 225 E-3c 1,500 E-3d 225 E-2C 1,500 E-2d 225 E-lc 1,500 E-Id 225 4,818 7,584 4,414 6,791 4,110 5,968 3,448 5,068 2,567 3,969 1,896 2,860 6,226 5,312 4,837 4,139 3,357 2,418 1,050 1,085 1,074 934 681 838 897 625 704 66 59 57 52 48 The Mrine Corps ws unble to differentite between members with nd without dependents. b7,000 pounds uthorized for senior E-4s on ll moves. c1,5oo pounds uthorized for junior E-4s nd below on overses moves. d225 pounds uthorized for junior E-4s nd below on moves within the continentl United Sttes. 17
APPENDIX IiE, Tble II.5: Averge Weight Shipned I* or Stored Per PCS For Members Without Dependents- - Averge for PCS Use mde of Py Weight Air Mrine moves mximum grde llownce Army Force Corps shown llownce Officers O-10 13,500 O-9 13,500 O-8 13,500 o-7 13,500 O-6 13,500 o-5 13,000 o-4 12,000 o-3 11,000 o-2 10,000 o-1 9,500 Enlisted 1,358 2,770 7,290 6,021 8,271 5,830 6,718 4,903 6,394 3,103 4,009 1,998 2,520 1,143 1,361 (percent) 1,358 10 5,030 37 7,034 52 6,185 48 5,456 46 3,430 31 2,219 22 1,250 13 E-9 9,500 E-8 9,000 E-7 8,500 E-6 8,000 E-5 7,000 E-4b 7,000 E-4c 1,500 E-4d 225 E-3c 1,500 E-3d 225 E-2c 1,500 E-2d 225 E-Ic 1,500 E-Id 225 3,754 4,204 3,538 3,813 3,148 3,030 2,539 2,414 1,701 1,655 827 940 405 384 343 149 337 125 3,860 3,560 3,137 2,526 1,692 853 394 275 177 41 40 37 32 24 The Mrine Corps ws unble to differentite between members with nd without dependents. b7,000 pounds uthorized for senior E-4s on ll moves. c1,5oo pounds uthorized for junior E-4s nd below on overses moves. d225 pounds uthorized for junior E-4s nd below on moves within the continentl United Sttes. 18
DOD nd service officils cutioned tht the sttisticl verges shown in the previous tbles "'smooth over" the extremes t either end of the scle, thereby msking the fct tht mny PCS moves in the dt smple involved the shipment of only smll mounts of household goods, which lowered the verges for ech py grde. The officils believed tht the dt could hve been incomplete or not truly representtive of the PCS moves involving the shipment of household goods. Neither DOD nor the services, however, could sy with certinty how incomplete the dt ws, why so mny PCS moves with miniml household goods showed up in the sttistics, or how the verges my hve been chnged hd the dt been more complete or hd it not included wht they believe to be nonrepresenttive PCS moves. The Army nd Air Force sttistics showed, in prt, the number of PCS moves fell into individul weight brckets. These sttistics showed high incidence of cses in the 1,000 pounds or less brcket. For exmple, t the Army E-5 through E-9 level, bout one-qurter of ll PCS moves involved shipment of 1,000 pounds or less, only frction of the members' llownce. The dt for Army nd Air Force PCS moves re shown in tble 11.6. 19
APPENDIX I'1 Tble 1X.6: Percentge of PCS Moves in Which Members Shipped or Stored 1,000 Pounds or Less Py grde Members Members with dependents without dependents Army Air Force Army Air Force Officers O-10 o-9 O-8 o-7 O-6 O-5 o-4 o-3 o-2 O-l Enlisted 37.5 11.5 22.2 16.4 14.8 14.9 13.4 13.8 29.8 50.0 ::: 6.9 16.7 5.1 8.4 13.3 9.4 0.4 15.0 8.6 6.2 18.2 14.0 7.6 33.8 21.6 10.2 73.7 48.0 E-9 28.7 13.5 23.0 14.8 E-8 28.3 15.9 27.6 27.0 E-7 25.1 16.2 29.6 29.3 E-6 22.7 16.6 32.3 38.6 E-5 25.8 17.3 45.0 48.3 Service officils believe n explntion for the high incidence of PCS moves in the 1,000 pounds or less ctegory could be tht the PCS dt bse included mny PCS moves tht historiclly involved smll shipments for ccession nd seprtion moves. Sttistics show tht ccession nd seprtion PCS moves mke up over hlf of ll PCS moves but little more thn 15 percent of the totl cost of shipping household goods. Other types of PCS moves--rottion, opertionl, trining, nd unit moves --mke up smller number of moves but constitute the bulk of the household goods shipping costs. The service officils, however, could not provide ny dt to show wht percentge of PCS moves were ccession or seprtion. Tble II.7 provides detils on the number of PCS moves by type nd the costs for shipping household goods during fiscl yer 1985. 20
!.. # Tble 11.7: Numbers nd Costs for Different Types of PCS Moves (Fiscl Yer 1985 Actul Budget Dt) Averge Type PCS Mumber of PCS moves Household shippinq goods costs cost per PCS (thousnds) Accession 361,319 $ 63,519 $ 175.80 Rottionl 346,850 692,901 1,997.70 Seprtion 329,020 163,920 498.21 Opertionl 135,193 240,999 1,782.63 Trining 71,605 98,048 1,369.29 Unit 10,260 20,443 1,992.50 Totl 1,254,247 $1,279.830 DOD lso pointed out tht some PCS moves re unccompnied tours (the member leves the dependents behind) where the mount of goods uthorized for shipment is less thn 1,000 pounds. Members must either store the rest of their goods or leve them in plce. In mny cses, ccording to DOD, the goods re left in plce. Consequently, the llownce is not used in its entirety. Such PCS moves, nevertheless, re included in the dt bse for the verges shown in tbles II.3 through II.5 nd in the percentges shown in tble 11.6. On the opposite end of the spectrum, some members shipped excess weight which tended to inflte the verge weight figures. The Army nd the Air Force dt show high incidence of PCS moves exceeding the pproved llownces. In some py grdes, one-third or more of the cses involved excess weight. Tble II.8 shows the percentges of PCS moves, bsed on the dt provided us in Februry 1986 tht exceeded the uthorized weight llownce for ech py grde. 21
APPENDIX Tble 11.8: Percentge of PCS Moves Where Members Shipped Or Stored in Excess of the Allownces Py grde Officers Members with dependents Army Air Force -----------------(percent)---------------- Members without dependents Army Air Force O-10 50.0 o-9 62.5 O-8 38.5 o-7 20.4 O-6 17.0 o-5 12.1 o-4 8.4 o-3 2.9 o-2 1.5 o-1 0.4 Enlisted 50.0 71.0 61.1 44.7 4.2 37.0 5.1 34.0 2.2 14.4 0.7 7.5 0.2 3.2 0.1 17.0 7.1 8.5 2.5 0.8 0.1 E-9 8.7 32.3 3.4 11.1 E-8 6.8 30.4 4.2 7.9 E-7 4.9 25.0 2.3 4.3 E-6 3.4 17.2 1.3 3.3 E-5 2.3 11.2 0.7 1.6 DOD'S PROPOSED WEIGHT ALLOWANCES WOULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF EXCESS WEIGHT CASES The revised weight llownces for fiscl yer 1986 nd those DOD offered in Mrch 1986 would hve generlly decresed the number of excess weight cses tht occurred in the smple 1984 nd 1985 PCS moves. The following three tbles show the percentges of PCS moves, by officers nd enlisted members, with nd without dependents, where the weight shipped nd/or stored exceeded the existing nd the proposed llownces. For exmple, tble II.9 shows tht under the existing llownce, 12 percent of the Army 0-5s with dependents nd 5 percent of those without dependents exceeded the llownces. Under the proposed revisions shown in the fiscl yer 1986 budget, the percentges exceeding the llownce would hve been 6 percent nd 2 percent, respectively. Under the Mrch 1986 proposed revision, the percentges would hve been 6 percent nd 5 percent, respectively. For other py grdes, the percentges exceeding their llownces re higher for some cses nd lower for others. 22
APPENDIX IX 1 s The percentges for Air Force PCS moves re shown in tble 11.10. The percentges for c?olmbined Army nd Air Force PCS moves re shown in tble 11.11. 23
Tble 11.9: Comprison of Army PCS Moves in the Excess Weight Ctegory Under Existing nd Proposed Allownce Levels Py grde Dependents Allownce Current Proposed Revised proposed Officers ----------(percent)--------- o-7 with 20 9 b without O-6 with without 17 10 10 4 4 4 o-5 with 12 6 6 without 5 2 5 o-4 with 8 4 4 without 2 1 2 o-3 with 3 1 1 without o-2 with 1 1 1 without. o-1 Enlisted with without E-9 with 9 b b without 3 3 E-8 E-7 with 7 b b without 4 b 4 with 5 b b without 2 b 2 E-6 with 3 2 2 without 1 1 1 E-5 with 2 1 1 without Less thn l/2 percent. bbecuse of incomplete dt, we were unble to clculte the chnge. 24
I Tble 11.10: Comprison of Air Force PCS Moves in the Excess Weight Ctegory Under Existing nd Proposed Allownce Levels Py grde Dependents Allownce Revised Current Proposed proposed Officers o-7 with without ---------(percent)---------- 61 39 39 O-6 o-5 o-4 o-3 o-2 O-l Enlisted with 45 34 34 without 17 14 17 with 37 26 26 without 7 7 7 with 34 24 24 without 8 6 8 with 14 8 8 without 2 2 2 with 8 5 5 without 1 1 with 3 2 2 without E-9 with 32 5 5 without 11 4 11 E-8 with 30 5 without 8 3 E-7 with 25 5 5 without 4 1 4 E-6 with 17 9 9 without 3 1 3 E-5 with 11 5 5 without 2 1 2 Less thn l/2 percent. 25
Tble 11.11: Comprison of Army nd Air Force PCS Moves in the Excess Weight Ctegory Under Existing nd Proposed Allownce Levels Py qrde Officers o-7 Dependents with without Allownce Current Proposed Revised proposed ----------(percent)--------- 41 25 b O-6 with 34 25 25 without 10 8 10 o-5 with 26 17 17 without 6 4 6 o-4 with without 22 5 15 3 15 5 o-3 with 9 without 1 o-2 with 5 without o-1 with 2 without Enlisted 5 1 3 2 5 1 3 2 E-9 with 21 b b without 5 b 5 E-8 E-7 with 16 b b without 4 b 4 with 13 b b without 3 b 3 E-6 with 9 without 1 5 1 5 1 E-5 with 7 without 1 Less thn l/2 percent. bbecuse of incomplete dt, we were unble to clculte the chnge. 26 3 3 1
Under the current llownce of 13,000 pounds for O-5 py grde Air Force personnel with dependents, 37 percent of the PCS moves involved excess weight. At the fiscl yer 1986 budget-proposed level of 14,000 poundsc 26 percent still would hve been excess. DOD would hve hd to set the weight llownce t 18,000 pounds to cover 95 percent of the PCS moves, nd t 25,000 pounds if it hd wnted to cover ll the cses. Tble II.12 shows the percentge of July 1984 through June 1985 PCS moves tht would hve been within the weight llownces proposed in Mrch 1986. Tble 11.12: PCS Moves Which Would Be Within Allownces Under the Revised Proposl of Mrch 1986 Members Members with dependents without dependents Py Air Air qrde Army Force Combined Army Force Combined Officers --------------------(percent)------------------- o-7 61 100 100 100 O-6 90 66 75 96 83 90 o-5 94 74 83 95 93 94 o-4 96 76 85 98 92 95 o-3 99 92 95 99 98 99 o-2 99 95 97 100 99 100 O-l 100 98 98 100 100 100 Enlisted E-9 95 97 89 95 E-8 95 96 92 96 E-7 95 98 96 97 E-6 98 x: 95 99 97 99 E-5 99 97 99 99 99 Dt incomplete. Tbles 11.13 nd 11.14 show where, bsed on our nlysis, the llownces would hve to be set to ensure tht given percentge of PCS moves would be covered. 27
. Tble 11.13: Where Army Weight Allownce Levels would Hve to be Set to Cover Specific Percentges of PCS Moves Where llownce would hve to be set to Revised cover selected percent of PCS Moves Py proposed grde Dependents llownce 80% 85% 90% 95% 100% Off,icers ---------------(pounds in thousnds)-------------- o-7 with 15.0 14.0 14.5 15.5 without 13.5 11.5 11.5 11.5 O-6 with 14.5 13.5 14.0 14.5 without 13.5 11.5 11.5 12.5 11.5 13.5 o-5 with 14.0 12.5 13.0 13.5 15.5 without 13.0 11.0 11.0 12.0 13.5 o-4 with without o-3 with without 13.0 12.0 12.0 11.0 11.0 10.0 9.0 9.0 11.5 10.0 9.0 9.0 12.0 10.0 10.0 9.0 13.0 11.0 10.5 9.0 O-2 with Il.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 9.0 without 10.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 O-l with 10.0 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 without 9.5 1.5 2.0 7.5 7.5 Enlisted E-9 with 13.0 8.5 9.0 9.5 10.5 without 9.5 7.5 7.5 8.5 9.0 E-8 with 12.0 8.0 8.0 8.5 10.0 without 9.0 7.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 E-7 with 11.o 7.5 7.5 8.0 8.5 without 8.5 6.5 6.5 7.5 8.0 E-6 with without 9.0 6.0 6.0 7.0 7.5 8.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 7.0 E-5 with 8.0 5.0 5.0 6.0 6.5 without 7.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 Dt lcks sufficient detil for necessry computtion. 11.5 11.5 28
,111 ;,I!,i Tble 11.14: Where Air Force Weight Allownce Levels Would Hve to be Set to Cover Specific Percentges of PCS Moves Revised Where llownce would hve to be set to Py proposed cover selected percent of PCS moves grde Dependents llownce 80% 85% - 90% - 95% - 100% Officers ----------------(pounds in thousnds)------------- o-7 with 15.0 16.5 17.0 18.0 18.5 without 13.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 O-6 with 14.5 16.0 16.5 17.5 19.5 without 13.5 11.0 14.0 15.5 16.0 O-5 with 14.0 15.0 15.5 16.5 18.5 without 13.0 10.5 11.5 12.5 15.0 o-4 with 13.0 13.5 14.5 15.5 18.0 without 12.0 9.5 10.5 11.5 14.0 o-3 with 12.0 10.5 11.0 12.0 13.0 without 11 l o 6.5 7.0 8.0 9.5 o-2 with without o-1 with without Enlisted 11.0 10.0 10.0 9.5 8.5 9.0 9.5 11.0 4.0 4.5 5.0 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 9.0 2.5 2.5 3.0 4.0 E-9 with 13.0 10.5 11.0 12.0 13.0 without 9.5 7.0 7.0 11.0 12.0 16.0 E-8 with 12.0 10.0 10.5 11.o 12.0 without 9.0 6.0 7.5 9.0 11.0 13.5 E-7 with 11.0 9.0 9.5 10.0 11.5 25.0 without 8.5 5.5 6.0 7.5 8.5 16.0 E-6 with 9.0 8.0 8.5 9.0 10.0 25.0 without 8.0 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 17.5 E-5 with 8.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 8.5 without 7.0 3.0 3.5 4.0 5.5 19.0 Dt lcks sufficient detil for necessry computtion. 19.0 7.5 20.0 25.0 25.0 13.0 19.5 11.5 29
AVAILABLE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA DOES NOT CLEARLY SUPPORT DOD'S PROPOSED CHANGES DOD suggested tht the uniformed members' demogrphics (e.g., member ge, mritl sttus, nd fmily size) nd lifestyles hve chnged over the yers, prticulrly since the lst mjor revision to the llownces ws mde in 1966. It expressed the view tht its members hve more personl possessions thn ever before nd consequently, n djustment to the llownces is justified. DOD did not provide the House Committee on Armed Services with specifics bout how much the demogrphics hve chnged. DOD did not hve demogrphic dt for 1966. We were, however, ble to obtin certin dt from the Defense Mnpower Dt Center which showed some chnges hve occurred since 1972, the dte of the erliest vilble dt. Wht could be key fctor to incresed shipment weight nd overweight--verge fmily size--hs decresed demogrphics in nerly ll grde levels. Avilble dt show tht generlly, the chnges in uniformed members' demogrphics hve not been substntil over the yers. Tble II.15 shows the chnges in the members' verge ge by py grde nd brnch of service, between 1972 nd 1985. The verge ge of most py grdes hs incresed. DOD-wide, the verge ge of officers hs incresed 1 yer, nd enlisted members, 4.3 yers. 30
Tble 11.15: Chnges in Averge Age of Members Between 1972 nd 1985 Air Mrine DOD-. Py grde Army Force Nvy Corps wide Officers ----------------(yers)---------------- O-10-0.4 0.6 o-9-1.o -0.7 O-8-0.4-0.5 o-7 0.6-0.3 O-6-0.5-1.5 o-5 1.4-0.7 o-4 2.5 1.o o-3 2.3 2.5 o-2 1.6 1.9 O-l 1.0 1.l 0.8-2.2 0.6 -d.l 0.5 0.3 1.4 2.4 1.5 2.0 1.0 0.3 0.5-0.8-0.3 0.8 0.3 1.4 0.1 All Officers 1.0 Enlisted E-9 16.0 14.9 17.9 16.5 E-8 14.8 14.6 17.3 15.9 E-7 13.5 15.0 15.3 14.2 E-6 10.2 13.1 11.8 10.6 E-5 6.3 8.6 6.5 7.0 E-4 3.2 4.2 4.1 3.5 E-3 1.7-1.7 3.2 2.0 E-2 1.0-6.1-1.5 2.4 E-l 0.1-0.8-0.8-0.4 All Enlisted 4.3 Summry of Chnges from 1972 to 1985: Service Number of Py Grdes Where Averge Age Incresed Decresed Styed the sme AmY 15 4 Air Force 11 8 Nvy 14 4 1 Mrine Corps - 16 2. Totl Tble 11.16 shows the percentge of members with dependents in 1972 nd 1985 by service nd py grde. In the Army nd the Mrine c
Corps, more py grdes show n increse in the percentge of members with dependents; the reverse is true in the Air Force nd the Nvy. Overll, more py grdes show decrese in the percentge of members with dependents. Tble 11.16: Members With Dependents in 1972 nd 1985 Py grde Officers Air Mrine Army Force Nvy Corps 1972-1985 - 1972-1985 - 1972 -- 1985 1972 1985 ---------------------(percent) -------------------------- O-10 92.9 92.3 100.0 100.0 88.9 100.0 50.0 100.0 o-9 98.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 O-8 94.0 98.6 99.4 99.2 100.0 96.8 96.2 100.0 o-7 91.2 98.0 98.1 98.8 98.9 96.5 92.1 94.1 O-6 96.0 96.4 98.1 96.6 97.0 94.3 95.8 97.1 o-5 93.8 94.6 97.0 94.8 94.3 91.8 95.1 96.7 o-4 91.o 89.9 94.1 89.8 90.6 84.1 94.0 93.9 o-3 76.6 73.4 81.5 73.6 79.3 65.7 81.6 81.2 o-2 55.8 50.3 64.5 54.3 59.9 48.7 55.6 57.2 O-l 33.7 32.2 51.1 39.8 34.7 25.7 28.2 31.9 Enlisted E-9 95.6 96.6 98.3 97.6 96.5 96.9 90.7 96.9 E-8 94.2 95.4 98.2 96.9 96.5 95.6 90.6 97.1 E-7 92.5 93.4 97.7 94.7 94.7 92.9 90.7 95.1 E-6 86.7 87.7 96.0 89.8 90.0 83.6 86.8 88.8 E-5 59.9 70.7 85.3 76.8 68.3 59.6 59.6 72.5 E-4 28.0 42.0 48.9 55.1 46.3 37.6 28.9 46.0 E-3 18.6 20.9 28.6 33.3 34.2 22.0 19.8 25.1 E-2 15.7 18.1 21.6 18.6 25.5 12.8 14.1 11.6 E-l 14.1 10.8 16.6 9.4 22.4 6.0 10.6 4.3 Summry of Chnges from 1972 to 1985: Number of Py Grdes Where Percentge Service Incresed Decresed Styed the sme Army 13 6 Air Force 3 14 2 Nvy 2 16 1 Mrine Corps - 14-4 1 Totl 32 & 4 = 32
f!~ Tble II.17 shows the verge number of members per household in 1972 nd 1985 by service nd py grde. In most cses, the household size hs decresed. Tble 11.17: Number of People Per Household in 1972 nd 1985 Py grde Officers Air Force 1972 1985 -- Nvy 1972 1985 - P Mrine corps 1972 1985 - P O-10 o-9 O-8 o-7 O-6 o-5 o-4 o-3 o-2 o-1 3.43 2.62 2.93 2.85 3.11 3.13 2.50 2.00 4.00 3.12 3.47 3.06 3.75 3.39 3.00 2.63 2.37 3.43 3.59 3.13 3.52 3.47 3.62 2.73 2.47 3.82 3.92 3.35 4.11 3.63 3.79 2.97 3.58 4.05 4.16 3.82 4.42 3.94 4.62 3.77 3.80 3.94 4.62 3.88 4.61 3.67 5.05 3.96 3.35 3.60 4.36 3.62 3.99 3.22 4.49 3.79 2.53 2.68 2.89 2.79 2.86 2.40 3.22 2.95 1.85 1.87 2.01 2.05 2.02 1.93 1.94 2.06 1.46 1.50 1.75 1.73 1.49 1.45 1.40 1.44 Enlisted E-9 E-8 E-7 E-6 E-5 E-4 E-3 E-2 E-l 4.32 3.95 4.25 3.74 4.49 3.82 4.28 3.90 4.41 4.00 4.55 3.90 4.57 3.88 4.53 4.16 4.22 3.84 4.61 3.88 4.42 3.71 4.32 3.98 3.56 3.37 4.39 3.58 3.87 3.14 3.59 3.43 2.20 2.54 3.35 2.85 2.53 2.18 2.12 2.55 1.43 1.75 1.77 1.99 1.78 1.62 1.44 1.77 1.29 1.34 1.40 1.48 1.52 1.32 1.29 1.35 1.25 1.29 1.32 1.25 1.37 1.18 1.21 1.15 1.21 1.17 1.24 1.13 1.33 1.09 1.16 1.06 Summry of Chnges from 1972 to 1985: Number of Py Grdes Where Household Size Service Incresed Decresed Styed the sme Army 12 7 Air Force 3 16 Nvy 1 18 Mrine Corps - 5-14 33
I APPENDIX'111 SHIPMENT OF NONESSENTIAL ITEMS The House Committee on Armed Services, in its report on the fiscl yer 1986 DOD Authoriztion Act, expressed concern tht the current household goods weight llownce system provides n incentive to ship unnecessry items s long s the member does not exceed the weight ceiling. The House Committee on Appropritions, in herings on the fiscl yer 1986 DOD Appropritions Act, sked DOD why the txpyers should hve to py for bchelor service member to ship the sme mount of household goods s member with four dependents. ESSENTIALITY OF MEMBER'S HOUSEHOLD GOODS NOT PART OF THE WEIGHT ALLOWANCE SYSTEM The uthorizing sttute for shipment of household goods (37 U.S.C. 406(b)) provides tht in connection with PCS, member is entitled to trnsporttion of bggge nd household effects. In vrious legl opinions, we hve sid tht bggge nd household effects re generl terms, not lending themselves to precise definition. The terms vry in scope depending upon how they re used. In the ordinry usge, the term refers to prticulr kinds of personl property ssocited with the home nd person. We hve issued decisions tht items such s bots, irplnes, nd house trilers do not come within the scope of the definition of household goods. DOD's implementing regultions define household goods s: "All personl property ssocited with the home nd ll personl effects belonging to the member nd the members' dependents on the effective dte of the member's permnent or temporry chnge-of-sttion orders which cn be leglly ccepted nd trnsported s household goods by n uthorized commercil crrier in ccordnce with the rules nd regultions estblished or pproved by n pproprite Federl or Stte regultory uthority, except the items listed...." Items not included in the definition of household goods re such things s bots, frming vehicles, cordwood, nd building mterils. Whether n item is or is not essentil to the member t the next duty sttion is not mteril within the definition of household goods. 34
I I MEMBERS WITHOUT DEPENDENTS SHIP ABOUT HALF AS MUCH AS MEMBERS WITH DEPENDENTS The concern tht DOD's weight llownce system encourges the shipment of nonessentil goods is bsed, in prt, on the fct tht members without dependents cn ship the sme weight s those with dependents. While members without dependents re uthorized the sme llownce s members with dependents, it is likely tht members without dependents usully own fewer personl effects nd therefore, re not likely to discrd items to sty within their llownces. The House Committee on Appropritions, in its fiscl yer 1986 herings on the DOD Appropritions Act, sid tht, lthough it understood tht the llowble weights should be determined by grde, with the higher grde members being ble to ship more household goods, the size of member's fmily is eqully importnt nd should lso be considered in determining the llowble weights. It sid militry personnel with no dependents or only spouse do not hve the shipping requirements of fmily of four. DOD officils responded tht they felt bchelor service members should be uthorized to ship furnishings commensurte with their rnks nd income levels. They sid tht under the current system ech individul grde level ceiling serves s n "umbrell" to cover both single members nd those with dependents. The officils disputed the ide tht the system subsidizes members who do not hve fmilies. After these herings, the Army nd Air Force provided some ctul verge weight dt from which some comprisons cn be mde. The comprison, covering officers, is shown in tble III.1 nd, for enlisted members, in tble 111.2. The dt shows tht, on the verge, members without dependents shipped only slightly more thn hlf s much s those with dependents. 35
I APPENDIX, III Tble III.l: Summry of Officers' PCS Weights Officers by Py grde Dependents Averge weight shipped nd/or stored per PCS Air Army Force Comprtive percentqe Air Army Force ------(pounds)---- O-10 without with o-9 without with O-8 without with o-7 without with O-6 without with o-5 without with o-4 without with 1,358 9,195 9,433 11,543 11,283 14,805 2,770 7,290 8,514 12,782 6,021 8,271,757 12,047 5,830 6,718,393 11,017 4,903 6,394 7,087 10,059 14.8 32.5 57.0 68.8 68.7 69.5 61.0 69.2 63.6 o-3 without with 3,103 4,009 5,255 7,555 59.1 53.1 o-2 without with 1,998 2,520 4,124 5,743 48.5 43.9 o-1 without with 1,143 1,361 3,311 4,103 34.5 33.2 36
APPEN,DIX III I Tble 111.2: Summry of Enlisted Members' PCS Weights Enlisted by py grde Dependents Averge weight Averge weight shipped ndr/or stored per PCS Air Army Fo'rce Comprtive percentge Air Army Force ------(pounds)-------- E-9 without 3,754 4,204 with 4,818 7,584 E-8 without 3,538 3,813 with 4,414 6,791 E-7 without 3,148 3,030 with 4,110 5,968 E-6 without 2,539 2,414 with 3,448 5,068 E-5 without 1,701 1,655 with 2,567 3,969 E-4 without 827 940 with 1,896 2,860 E-3 without 405 384 with 1,050 1,085 E-2 without 343 149 with 934 681 E-l without 337 125 with 897 625 77.9 80.2 76.6 73.6 66.3 43.6 38.6 36.7 37.6 55.4 56.2 50.8 47.6 41.7 32.9 35.4 21.9 20.0 37
APPENDIX IV APPENDI,X IV COST AlWD BENEFITS OF ALTERNATE SYSTEMS DOD hs considered severl lterntive household goods systems to replce the present system, including (1) single llownce for ll py grdes, s currently vilble for civilin federl employees, (2) set of llownces bsed on members' fmily size, nd (3) vrious systems tht provide members the incentive to ship goods t lesser expense to the government or to store goods t lesser cost thn would otherwise be incurred for shipping. SINGLE WEIGHT ALLOWANCE SYSTEM FOR ALL MEMBERS DOD's present household goods weight llownce system is bsed on py grdes; generlly, the higher the py grde, the greter the llownce. The civilin federl employee llownce system mkes no such distinction--ll employees, regrdless of py, receive the sme 18,000 pounds llownce. DOD hs strongly opposed single llownce for ll uniformed members. In herings before congressionl committees, DOD hs stted tht its llownces re bsed on grde to recognize ech member's reltive position nd responsibility within the orgniztion nd to recognize tht with incresed rnk nd income, there is corresponding increse in the mount of personl property owned by the member. In deciding on proposed chnges for fiscl yer 1986, DOD sked the services to estimte the costs of two single weight llownce systems: one using the civilin federl llownce of 18,000 pounds nd the other using the fiscl yer 1985 DOD Appropritions Act limittion of 13,500 pounds. Both showed costs greter thn tht for the system of llownces eventully proposed. Tble IV.1 shows DOD's estimte of the comprtive costs of single weight llownce lterntives. 38
APPENDIX IV APPENDIX IV Tble IV.l: Comprtive Costs of Single Weight Allownce Alterntives Service DOD's All py grdes proposed Existing 13,500 18,000 grduted ystem pounds pounds scle ----------------(millions)----------------- Army $ 482.2 $ 772.9 $ 803.8 $ 577.3 Air Force 459.5 620.7 683.8 548.0 Nvy 326.0 358.7 365.0 369.2 Mrine Corps 81.3 173.3 239.9 96.9 Totl $1,349.0 $1.925.6 $2,092.5 $1,591.4 Amount of increse over existing system $ 576.6 ' $ 743.5 $ 242.4 In submitting the fiscl yer 1986 PCS budget, the Army, Air Force, nd Mrine Corps used their fiscl yer 1984 ctul shipping costs for the entire PCS progrm s strting point. These costs were djusted ccording to DOD's prescribed infltion guidelines to project the cost for 1986 t the existing weight llownce levels. The resulting cost figure ws then divided by py grde, bsed on the weighted verge of the mximum weight tht the prticulr py grde could ship t the existing llownce level. The costs t ech py grde level were incresed to reflect ny chnges in the number of members tht would be t tht grde in 1986 nd ny significnt chnges in the number of PCS moves plnned for tht py grde. The costs t ech py grde level were then djusted to how much the new weight llownce system provided for chnge in the mount of weight tht could be shipped by tht py grde. Ech of these services' budgets reflected n ssumption tht members, given n increse in weight llownce, would tke dvntge of it in direct proportion to the increse. For exmple, the O-2 llownce under the new proposl ws projected to increse from 10,000 pounds to 11,000 pounds, n increse of 10 percent. The Army budgeted for lo-percent increse on ll plnned O-2 moves in 1986 nd ssumed tht ll members would use it. The Nvy, on the other hnd, used combintion of ctul nd obligtion dt to construct its budget. Adjustments were mde using vrious percentge increses/decreses reflecting chnges in lnd, ocen, nd ir trnsporttion nd port hndling costs. When it compred the vrious lterntive weight llownce systems, it 39