[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 112 (Wednesday, September 20, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S8814]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      ARMED FORCES CONCURRENT RETIREMENT AND DISABILITY PROVISION

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, as the defense authorization conference is 
meeting, I rise today to urge my colleagues to stand behind the Senate 
version of the bill with respect to Section 666 of H.R. 4205. This 
provision permits retired members of the Armed Forces who have a 
service connected disability to receive military retired pay 
concurrently with veterans' disability compensation.
  Veterans from Nevada and all over the country care about this 
legislation.
  Career military retired veterans are the only group of federal 
retirees who are required to waive their retirement pay in order to 
receive VA disability. Simply put, the law discriminates against career 
military men and women. All other federal employees receive both their 
civil service retirement and VA disability with no offset.
  This inequity is absurd. How do we explain this inequity to these men 
and women who scarified their own safety to protect this great nation? 
How do we explain this inequity to Edward Lynk from Virginia who 
answered the call of duty to defend our nation? Mr. Lynk served for 
over 30 years in the Marine Corps and participated in three wars, where 
he was severely injured during combat in two of them.
  Or George Blahun from Connecticut who entered the military in 1940 to 
serve his country because of the impending war. He served over 35 years 
during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He is 100% 
disabled because of injuries incurred while performing military 
service. He asks that Congress stop giving veterans the ``arbitrary 
bureaucratic rhetorical nonsense'' and truly support this legislation. 
We must demonstrate to these veterans that we are thankful for their 
dedicated service. As such, we must fight for the amendment in the 
Senate version of the national defense authorization bill for FY 2001.
  This is an absolute injustice to our career military retired 
veterans. Federal employees, for example a member of Congress or a 
staffer here on Capital Hill or an employee from the Department of 
Engery, are not penalized if they receive disability benefits. While 
career military men and women that have incurred injuries while in the 
line of duty are prohibited from doing so because of an archaic, out-
dated 109-year-old law.
  The amendment in the Senate bill represents an honest attempt to 
correct this inequity that has existed for far too long. Allowing 
disabled veterans to receive military retired pay and veterans 
disability compensation concurrently will restore fairness to the 
entire Federal retirement policy.
  It is unfair for our veterans not to receive both of these payments 
concurrently. We must ensure that our veterans who are facing serious 
disabilities as a result of injuries sustained during their service do 
not have to choose between retirement pay and losing a portion of their 
disability benefits.
  We have an opportunity to show our gratitude to these remarkable 
437,000 disabled military men and women who have scarified so much for 
this great country of ours.
  We are currently losing over one thousand WWII veterans each day. 
Every day we delay acting on this inequity means that we have denied 
fundamental fairness to thousands of men and women.
  The Senate passed this provision by unanimous consent and the House 
companion bill, H.R. 303 from Congressman Bilirakis has 314 cosponsors. 
Our veterans have earned this and now it is our chance to honor their 
service to our nation. Freedom isn't free--and this is a small cost to 
the Federal government given the immeasurable sacrifices made by these 
dedicated Americans.

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