[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 558 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 558

  To amend title 10, United States Code, to permit certain additional 
   retired members of the Armed Forces who have a service-connected 
disability to receive both disability compensation from the Department 
  of Veterans Affairs for their disability and either retired pay by 
  reason of their years of military service or Combat-Related Special 
  Compensation and to eliminate the phase-in period under current law 
                with respect to such concurrent receipt.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2005

Mr. Reid (for himself, Mr. Biden, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson 
  of Florida, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Bingaman, Ms. 
 Landrieu, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Lincoln, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. 
  Lieberman, and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following bill; which was 
       read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 10, United States Code, to permit certain additional 
   retired members of the Armed Forces who have a service-connected 
disability to receive both disability compensation from the Department 
  of Veterans Affairs for their disability and either retired pay by 
  reason of their years of military service or Combat-Related Special 
  Compensation and to eliminate the phase-in period under current law 
                with respect to such concurrent receipt.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Retired Pay Restoration Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) For more than 100 years before 1999, all disabled 
        military retirees were required to fund their own veterans' 
        disability compensation by forfeiting one dollar of earned 
        retired pay for each dollar received in veterans' disability 
        compensation.
            (2) Since 1999, Congress has enacted legislation every year 
        to progressively expand eligibility criteria for relief of the 
        retired pay disability offset and further reduce the burden of 
        financial sacrifice on disabled military retirees.
            (3) Absent adequate funding to eliminate the sacrifice for 
        all disabled retirees, Congress has given initial priority to 
        easing financial inequities for the most severely disabled and 
        for combat-disabled retirees.
            (4) In the interest of maximizing eligibility within cost 
        constraints, Congress effectively has authorized full 
        concurrent receipt for all qualifying retirees with 100-percent 
        disability ratings and all with combat-related disability 
        ratings, while phasing out the disability offset to retired pay 
        over 10 years for retired members with noncombat-related, 
        service-connected disability ratings of 50 percent to 90 
        percent.
            (5) In pursuing these good-faith efforts, Congress 
        acknowledges the regrettable necessity of creating new 
        thresholds of eligibility that understandably are disappointing 
        to disabled retirees who fall short of meeting those new 
        thresholds.
            (6) Congress is not content with the status quo.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that military 
retired pay earned by service and sacrifice in defending the Nation 
should not be reduced because a military retiree is also eligible for 
veterans' disability compensation awarded for service-connected 
disability.

SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENT OF BOTH RETIRED PAY AND VETERANS' 
              DISABILITY COMPENSATION FOR CERTAIN ADDITIONAL MILITARY 
              RETIREES WITH COMPENSABLE SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES.

    (a) Extension of Concurrent Receipt Authority to Retirees With 
Service-Connected Disabilities Rated Less Than 50 Percent.--Section 
1414 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph 
(2) of subsection (a).
    (b) Repeal of Phase-In of Concurrent Receipt of Retired Pay and 
Veterans' Disability Compensation.--Such section is further amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking the final sentence of 
        paragraph (1);
            (2) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating 
        subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (c) and (d), 
        respectively; and
            (3) in subsection (d) (as so redesignated), by striking 
        subparagraph (4).
    (c) Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) The heading for section 1414 of such title is amended 
        to read as follows:
``Sec. 1414. Members eligible for retired pay who are also eligible for 
              veterans' disability compensation: concurrent payment of 
              retired pay and disability compensation''.
            (2) The item relating to such section in the table of 
        sections at the beginning of chapter 71 of such title is 
        amended to read as follows:

``1414. Members eligible for retired pay who are also eligible for 
                            veterans' disability compensation: 
                            concurrent payment of retired pay and 
                            disability compensation.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect as of January 1, 2006, and shall apply to payments for months 
beginning on or after that date.

SEC. 4. COORDINATION OF SERVICE ELIGIBILITY FOR COMBAT-RELATED SPECIAL 
              COMPENSATION AND CONCURRENT RECEIPT.

    (a) Eligibility for Tera Retirees.--Subsection (c) of section 1413a 
of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking ``entitled to 
retired pay who--'' and all that follows and inserting ``who--
            ``(1) is entitled to retired pay, other than a member 
        retired under chapter 61 of this title with less than 20 years 
        of service creditable under section 1405 of this title and less 
        than 20 years of service computed under section 12732 of this 
        title; and
            ``(2) has a combat-related disability''.
    (b) Amendments to Standardize Similar Provisions.--
            (1) Clerical amendment.--The heading for paragraph (3) of 
        section 1413a(b) of such title is amended by striking ``rules'' 
        and inserting ``rule''.
            (2) Specification of qualified retirees for concurrent 
        receipt purposes.--Subsection (a) of section 1414 of such 
        title, as amended by section 2(a), is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``a member or'' and all that 
                follows through ``retiree')'' and inserting ``an 
                individual who is a qualified retiree for any month'';
                    (B) by inserting ``retired pay and veterans' 
                disability compensation'' after ``both''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(2) Qualified retirees.--For purposes of this section, a 
        qualified retiree, with respect to any month, is a member or 
        former member of the uniformed services who--
                    ``(A) is entitled to retired pay, other than in the 
                case of a member retired under chapter 61 of this title 
                with less than 20 years of service creditable under 
                section 1405 of this title and less than 20 years of 
                service computed under section 12732 of this title; and
                    ``(B) is also entitled for that month to veterans' 
                disability compensation.''.
            (3) Standardization with crsc rule for chapter 61 
        retirees.--Subsection (b) of section 1414 of such title is 
        amended--
                    (A) by striking ``Special rules'' in the subsection 
                heading and all that follows through ``is subject to'' 
                in paragraph (1) and inserting ``Special rule for 
                chapter 61 disability retirees.--In the case of a 
                qualified retiree who is retired under chapter 61 of 
                this title, the retired pay of the member is subject 
                to''; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (2).
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect as of January 1, 2006, and shall apply to payments for months 
beginning on or after that date.
                                 <all>