[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 44 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 44

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide limited authority for 
concurrent payment of retired pay and veterans' disability compensation 
                     for certain disabled veterans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 1997

Mr. Bilirakis introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on National Security, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide limited authority for 
concurrent payment of retired pay and veterans' disability compensation 
                     for certain disabled veterans.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. LIMITED AUTHORITY FOR CONCURRENT PAYMENT OF RETIRED PAY AND 
              VETERANS' DISABILITY COMPENSATION FOR CERTAIN DISABLED 
              VETERANS.

    (a) Limitation on Duplication of Benefits.--(1) Chapter 71 of title 
10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new section:
``Sec. 1413. Concurrent payment of retired pay and veterans' disability 
              compensation
    ``(a) The prohibition on concurrent award of veterans' disability 
compensation and retired pay set forth in section 5304(a)(1) of title 
38 does not apply to a person who has a service-connected disability 
if--
            ``(1) the person has completed at least 20 years of service 
        in the uniformed services that is creditable for purposes of 
        computing the amount of retired pay to which the member is 
        entitled;
            ``(2) the disability was incurred or aggravated in the 
        performance of duty as a member of a uniformed service, as 
        determined by the Secretary concerned; and
            ``(3) the disability is rated as not less than 70 percent--
                    ``(A) by the Secretary concerned as of the date on 
                which the person is retired from the uniformed 
                services; or
                    ``(B) by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs within 
                four years following the date on which the person is 
                retired from the uniformed services.
    ``(b) The amount of retired pay paid in accordance with subsection 
(a) concurrently with the payment of disability compensation to any 
person for any month shall be the following amount (which shall be in 
addition to any amount of retired pay to which that person is otherwise 
entitled under any other provision of law):
            ``(1) In the case of a person who for that month has a 
        disability rated as total, $300.
            ``(2) In the case of a person who for that month has a 
        disability rated as 90 percent, $200.
            ``(3) In the case of a person who for that month has a 
        disability rated as 80 percent or 70 percent, $100.
    ``(c) Notwithstanding section 1463(a) of this title, the amount of 
retired pay paid in accordance with subsection (a) concurrently with 
the payment of disability compensation to the recipients of such 
retired pay shall be paid out of funds appropriated for the Department 
of Defense for any fiscal year.
    ``(d) Subsection (a) is not applicable to a person for any period 
for which the disability of such person is not a disability rated as 
not less than 70 percent disabling as described in paragraph (3) of 
such subsection.
    ``(e) In this section:
            ``(1) The terms `compensation' and `service-connected' have 
        the meanings given those terms in section 101 of title 38.
            ``(2) The term `disability rated as total' means--
                    ``(A) a disability that is rated as total under the 
                standard schedule of rating disabilities in use by the 
                Department of Veterans Affairs; or
                    ``(B) a disability for which the schedular rating 
                is less than total but for which a rating of total is 
                assigned by reason of inability of the disabled person 
                concerned to secure or follow a substantially gainful 
                occupation as a result of service-connected 
                disabilities.
            ``(3) The term `retired pay' includes retainer pay, 
        emergency officers' retirement pay, and naval pension.
    ``(f) This section shall take effect on October 1, 1997, and shall 
apply to months that begin on or after that date.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``1413. Concurrent payment of retired pay and veterans' disability 
                            compensation.''.
    (b) Retroactive Benefits.--No benefits shall be paid to any person 
by reason of section 1413 of title 10, United States Code, for any 
period before the effective date of that section.
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