{"id":53976,"date":"2020-02-14T01:39:07","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T01:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/02\/14\/could-your-military-commissary-surcharge-disappear\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:37:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:37:36","slug":"could-your-military-commissary-surcharge-disappear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/2020\/02\/14\/could-your-military-commissary-surcharge-disappear\/","title":{"rendered":"Could your military commissary surcharge disappear?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Commissary customers would no longer be paying that 5 percent surcharge at the checkout, according to a draft Pentagon proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean the extra cost would disappear. Commissary officials would build the extra 5 percent \u2014 or some other amount \u2014 into the shelf prices, and advocates are questioning how this could affect customers<\/a> and ultimately, the commissary benefit<\/a>. The proposal is part of draft legislation being considered to submit to Congress, because the law would have to be changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under current law, the commissary surcharge money paid by customers must be used for construction, renovation, maintenance and equipment such as coolers and refrigerators for meat and milk and other perishables. This draft legislative proposal would put that into a pot of money used to operate the stores. Defense officials have for years been trying to decrease the amount of taxpayer dollars, currently around $1.1 billion annually, used to operate 236 commissaries around the world. Depending on the amount of sales, between $200 million and $300 million go into the Defense Commissary Agency\u2019s surcharge fund each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commissary\u2019s discounted groceries are designed to be a benefit for service members, retirees, service-connected disabled veterans<\/a>, and certain others and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates are questioning how this proposal will affect the benefit for commissary customers. \u201cI have a lot of questions. I still don\u2019t understand how the variable pricing will be adjusted to make up for loss of surcharge,\u201d said Kelly Hruska, director of government relations for the National Military Family Association. \u201cI\u2019d like to understand where the proposal came from, and the purpose of the proposal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how this would help the customer,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ll be raising shelf prices that won\u2019t benefit customers. Since customers compare prices \u2014 if the commissary price is higher, they\u2019ll shop elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s also concerned about the future of the commissary facilities \u2014 facility improvements are funded by the surcharge. \u201cWhat happens if there\u2019s a problem with a commissary? Will they allow it to crumble? Where is [the commissary agency] going to find the funds to remodel and build new commissaries?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information was not immediately available from defense officials about the origin of the proposal, or how much is currently in the surcharge fund. The proposal would also move all the money currently in that surcharge fund into the pot of money used to operate the stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to an analysis of the proposal included with the internal DoD document, all of the costs currently paid for by surcharge money would be paid for out of the commissary agency\u2019s operating funds. It wouldn\u2019t affect the customer\u2019s baseline of savings, according to the analysis, nor would it require additional taxpayer funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Defense Commissary Agency takes into account the 5 percent surcharge at the cash register when doing price comparisons with items at commercial grocery stores outside the gate, to determine how much customers are saving at commissaries. The sales tax at those commercial grocery stores is also factored into the comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposal doesn\u2019t specify that exactly 5 percent would be added to each item; the DoD analysis states that the commissary agency would be allowed to continue to include \u201can additional cost in the price of goods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some sources interpreted the DoD analysis to mean the addition to the price could be more or less than 5 percent, and factored into the commissary agency\u2019s whole pricing process. For about three years, the agency has had the flexibility to raise or lower prices on items. Previously, commissary goods were priced at whatever the cost was from the vendor. This \u201cvariable pricing,\u201d more like what commercial grocery stores use, has allowed them to generate profit from customers\u2019 purchases, in an attempt to reduce operating costs paid for by taxpayers. It also allows them to be more competitive by lowering prices on some popular items. But commissaries must maintain a baseline of average savings for commissary customers that was measured before this variable pricing started.<\/p>\n\n\n\t