[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 2, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H1832]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE MILITARY SURVIVORS EQUITY ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I would bring my colleagues down to Earth 
after the last speaker.
  I rise today to speak about a bill to restore equity, equity, Mr. 
Speaker, to the survivors of our Nation's veterans. I call that bill 
the Military Survivors Equity Act, H.R. 1232.
  It is hard to believe that we continue to condone a system that 
penalizes the aging survivors, mostly widows, of the veterans of our 
Nation. But that is exactly what the Military Survivors Benefit Plan 
does. When a member of the military retires, he or she may join the 
Survivors Benefit Plan, known as SBP. After paying a premium for many, 
many years, the retiree expects that his or her spouse will receive, as 
is claimed in the literature, 55 percent of the retired military pay 
when that veteran dies.
  But it turns out, in a very painful realization, that this is not the 
case. Most of the survivors who receive SBP benefits are military 
widows. We may not realize it, but when these widows who are receiving 
SBP benefits turn 62, what is called a Social Security offset causes 
their benefits to be reduced from the 55 percent they thought they were 
getting to 35 percent of their husband's military retired pay. That is 
quite a shock for widows.
  This occurs even when the Social Security comes from the wife's 
employment. That is, they were entitled to the Social Security, the 
premium was paid for for their retirement, and yet, they offset one 
another.
  Let me tell Members what this means to a military widow. I have 
received a lot of letters on this topic from my constituents and from 
around the country. Here is what one of them says:

       My husband, who served in the Army for 20 years, was on 
     Social Security disability because of heart problems and 
     could no longer work. He died when I was 61. I received 
     Social Security income plus my SBP. With those two incomes I 
     was doing fine, paying my monthly bills and having enough 
     left for groceries. But when I turned 62, I was notified that 
     my SBP was reduced from $476 to $302. What a shock. That was 
     my grocery money that they took away from me.

  Another letter said:

       While my husband was alive, we worked out a budget for me 
     in case he died. I felt secure in the knowledge that he had 
     provided for me by joining the Survivors Benefit Plan. I 
     could not believe it when I learned I was not going to get 
     the amount we were promised. I cannot believe that our 
     government would do this to the widow of a veteran.

  Mr. Speaker, it is past time to change this misleading and unfair 
law. We must provide some equity to the survivor spouses of our 
military retirees. My bill would fix this problem by eliminating the 
callous and absurd reduction of benefits and give what is expected and 
what is deserved, 55 percent of the military retired pay. To put it 
simply: no offset; a simple solution to a difficult problem, but an 
equitable solution to a mean-spirited practice.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in cosponsoring H.R. 
1232, the Military Survivors Equity Act. Let us do this for our 
veterans and for their widows, their surviving spouses. We are causing 
them great pain and anguish.

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