[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 25, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1557-S1558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. THURMOND:
  S. 350. A bill to authorize payment of special annuities to surviving 
spouses of deceased members of the uniformed services who are 
ineligible for a survivor annuity under transition laws relating to the 
establishment of the Survivor Benefit Plan under chapter 73 of title 
10, United States Code; to the Committee on Armed Services.


                          annuity legislation

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill that 
would authorize a modest annuity of $165 a month for a group of 
surviving spouses of former service members who died before March 21, 
1974, and were retired from active duty. The bill would also apply to 
surviving spouses of service members retired from the Reserves between 
September 21, 1972 and October 1, 1978.
  At the time these service members retired from the military, there 
was no plan to take care of these widows as we have today. The same 
concerns that moved the Congress to authorize the current survivor 
benefit plan are true for this group of forgotten widows. The 
beneficiaries of this plan are all seniors now. For some, this small 
annuity will make the difference between a life of dependency and a 
life of dignity and independence. Let us correct this situation and 
take care of the service members spouses who had the courage to serve 
their Nation in the troubling time periods of the Korean and Vietnam 
wars.
  I have tried to get this legislation passed in previous Congresses 
only to be frustrated by budget rules and CBO scoring.
  Mr. President, we must not allow bureaucratic rules to stand in our 
way because, one fact remains true. The

[[Page S1558]]

longer we delay, the fewer of these widows there are to benefit from 
the legislation. I do not want to be remembered as one who forgot this 
group who have become known as the Forgotten Widows. I urge my 
colleagues to join me and support this important legislation.
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