[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 19, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               LEGISLATION TO BENEFIT REEMPLOYED VETERANS

                                 ______


                       HON. BARBARA F. VUCANOVICH

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 19, 1996

  Mrs. VUCANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, the Uniformed Services Employment and 
Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 [USERRA] increased the protections 
afforded our service men and women who leave a civilian job for 
qualified military service. In addition to assuring these returning 
veterans that their jobs would be waiting for them when they return, 
under USERRA a returning veteran is also eligible to have his or her 
pension, profit-sharing and other related benefits restored. These are 
the benefits that would have accrued, but for the employee's absence 
due to qualified military service.
  The problem is, under the Internal Revenue Code [IRC], overall limits 
are placed on contributions and benefits under certain retirement 
plans. Thus the employer-sponsored pension and savings plan rights 
given to returning veterans by USERRA are taken away by existing rules 
in the IRC. If the conflicts between USERRA and the IRC are not 
corrected, aggrieved veterans will have to bring suit against employers 
to enforce their rights under USERRA. Relying on litigation to resolve 
this situation would benefit no one--not the courts, not employers, and 
certainly not veterans.
  Today I am introducing the Veterans Reemployment Benefits Protection 
Act to allow veterans to received the benefits Congress intended to 
give them when it enacted USERRA. This legislation makes technical 
amendments to the IRC to allow returning veterans and their employers 
to make make-up contributions as authorized by USERRA.
  Language similar to this legislation was included in the Balanced 
Budget Act of 1995, H.R. 2491, as passed by the House. I have added 
minor technical changes to the language in H.R. 2491 at the suggestion 
of the Treasury Department.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will agree that this much-needed 
technical correction to the IRC should be passed expeditiously, either 
as part of a larger bill or even on its own. The dedicated young men 
and women who leave their jobs and families to serve in the U.S. 
military deserve nothing less.

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