[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 158 (Thursday, November 15, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11871-S11872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     VETERANS BENEFITS ACT OF 2001

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Veterans' 
Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 
2540, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2540) to amend title 38, United States Code, 
     to make various improvements to veterans benefits programs 
     under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 
     and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I understand that Senators Rockefeller and 
Specter have a substitute amendment at the desk. I ask unanimous 
consent that the amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read 
a third time and passed, the amendment to the title be agreed to, the 
motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, any statements relating to 
the bill be printed in the Record, all with no intervening action or 
debate.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, the several requests 
are granted. It is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2149) was agreed to, as follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES 
                   CODE.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' 
     Compensation Rate Amendments of 2001''.
       (b) References to Title 38, United States Code.--Except as 
     otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an 
     amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, 
     or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference 
     shall be considered to be made to a section or other 
     provision of title 38, United States Code.

     SEC. 2. DISABILITY COMPENSATION.

       (a) Increase in Rates.--Section 1114 is amended--
       (1) by striking ``$98'' in subsection (a) and inserting 
     ``$103'';
       (2) by striking ``$188'' in subsection (b) and inserting 
     ``$199'';
       (3) by striking ``$288'' in subsection (c) and inserting 
     ``$306'';
       (4) by striking ``$413'' in subsection (d) and inserting 
     ``$439'';
       (5) by striking ``$589'' in subsection (e) and inserting 
     ``$625'';
       (6) by striking ``$743'' in subsection (f) and inserting 
     ``$790'';
       (7) by striking ``$937'' in subsection (g) and inserting 
     ``$995'';
       (8) by striking ``$1,087'' in subsection (h) and inserting 
     ``$1,155'';

[[Page S11872]]

       (9) by striking ``$1,224'' in subsection (i) and inserting 
     ``$1,299'';
       (10) by striking ``$2,036'' in subsection (j) and inserting 
     ``$2,163'';
       (11) in subsection (k)--
       (A) by striking ``$76'' both places it appears and 
     inserting ``$80''; and
       (B) by striking ``$2,533'' and ``$3,553'' and inserting 
     ``$2,691'' and ``$3,775'', respectively;
       (12) by striking ``$2,533'' in subsection (l) and inserting 
     ``$2,691'';
       (13) by striking ``$2,794'' in subsection (m) and inserting 
     ``$2,969'';
       (14) by striking ``$3,179'' in subsection (n) and inserting 
     ``$3,378'';
       (15) by striking ``$3,553'' each place it appears in 
     subsections (o) and (p) and inserting ``$3,775'';
       (16) by striking ``$1,525'' and ``$2,271'' in subsection 
     (r) and inserting ``$1,621'' and ``$2,413'', respectively; 
     and
       (17) by striking ``$2,280'' in subsection (s) and inserting 
     ``$2,422''.
       (b) Special Rule.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may 
     authorize administratively, consistent with the increases 
     authorized by this section, the rates of disability 
     compensation payable to persons within the purview of section 
     10 of Public Law 85-857 who are not in receipt of 
     compensation payable pursuant to chapter 11 of title 38, 
     United States Code.

     SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION FOR DEPENDENTS.

       Section 1115(1) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``$117'' in clause (A) and inserting 
     ``$124'';
       (2) by striking ``$201'' and ``$61'' in clause (B) and 
     inserting ``$213'' and ``$64'', respectively;
       (3) by striking ``$80'' and ``$61'' in clause (C) and 
     inserting ``$84'' and ``$64'', respectively;
       (4) by striking ``$95'' in clause (D) and inserting 
     ``$100'';
       (5) by striking ``$222'' in clause (E) and inserting 
     ``$234''; and
       (6) by striking ``$186'' in clause (F) and inserting 
     ``$196''.

     SEC. 4. CLOTHING ALLOWANCE FOR CERTAIN DISABLED VETERANS.

       Section 1162 is amended by striking ``$546'' and inserting 
     ``$580''.

     SEC. 5. DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION FOR SURVIVING 
                   SPOUSES.

       (a) New Law Rates.--Section 1311(a) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``$881'' in paragraph (1) and inserting 
     ``$935''; and
       (2) by striking ``$191'' in paragraph (2) and inserting 
     ``$202''.
       (b) Old Law Rates.--The table in section 1311(a)(3) is 
     amended to read as follows:

       

                                   Monthly                       Monthly
``Pay grade                           rate  Pay grade               rate
    E-1......................         $935    W-4..........       $1,119
    E-2......................          935    O-1..........          988
    E-3......................          935    O-2..........        1,021
    E-4......................          935    O-3..........        1,092
    E-5......................          935    O-4..........        1,155
    E-6......................          935    O-5..........        1,272
    E-7......................          967    O-6..........        1,433
    E-8......................        1,021    O-7..........        1,549
    E-9......................    \1\ 1,066    O-8..........        1,699
    W-1......................          988    O-9..........        1,818
    W-2......................        1,028    O-10.........    \2\ 1,994
    W-3......................        1,058
 
``\1\ If the veteran served as Sergeant Major of the Army, Senior
  Enlisted Advisor of the Navy, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force,
  Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, or Master Chief Petty Officer of
  the Coast Guard, at the applicable time designated by section 1302 of
  this title, the surviving spouse's rate shall be $1,149.
``\2\ If the veteran served as Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Joint
  Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Staff of the Army, Chief of Naval
  Operations, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Commandant of the Marine
  Corps, or Commandant of the Coast Guard, at the applicable time
  designated by section 1302 of this title, the surviving spouse's rate
  shall be $2,139.''.

       (c) Additional DIC for Children.--Section 1311(b) is 
     amended by striking ``$222'' and inserting ``$234''.
       (d) Aid and Attendance Allowance.--Section 1311(c) is 
     amended by striking ``$222'' and inserting ``$234''.
       (e) Housebound Rate.--Section 1311(d) is amended by 
     striking ``$107'' and inserting ``$112''.

     SEC. 6. DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION FOR CHILDREN.

       (a) DIC for Orphan Children.--Section 1313(a) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``$373'' in paragraph (1) and inserting 
     ``$397'';
       (2) by striking ``$538'' in paragraph (2) and inserting 
     ``$571'';
       (3) by striking ``$699'' in paragraph (3) and inserting 
     ``$742''; and
       (4) by striking ``$699'' and ``$136'' in paragraph (4) and 
     inserting ``$742'' and ``$143'', respectively.
       (b) Supplemental DIC for Disabled Adult Children.--Section 
     1314 is amended--
       (1) by striking ``$222'' in subsection (a) and inserting 
     ``$234'';
       (2) by striking ``$373'' in subsection (b) and inserting 
     ``$397''; and
       (3) by striking ``$188'' in subsection (c) and inserting 
     ``$199''.

     SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on 
     December 1, 2001.

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, as chairman of the committee on 
Veterans' Affairs, I am tremendously pleased to urge prompt, favorable 
Senate action on the pending measure, legislation that will provide a 
cost-of-living adjustment to veterans' compensation for next year. This 
measure includes the actual adjusted amounts as calculated, based on 
the increase in the Consumer Price Index. I thank my colleague on the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee, Ranking Minority Member Senator Arlen 
Specter, for his diligence and commitment to providing this important 
increase to well deserving veterans.
  The Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2001 
directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, as of December 
1, 2001, the rates of veterans' disability compensation, as well as 
compensation for eligible dependents and surviving spouses. The 
legislation raises compensation by 2.6 percent, the same percentage as 
the increase provided to Social Security recipients.
  It is particularly timely that we move this legislation during the 
week of Veterans Day. Veterans and their families depend on the cost-
of-living increase to ensure that their well-deserved benefits not be 
eroded by inflation. Veterans' disability compensation rates must keep 
pace with the increasing cost of living.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support passage of this bill.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a summary of the 
legislation be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                           Summary of S. 1088

       This bill contains the annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment 
     (COLA) to veterans disability compensation. The manager's 
     amendment strikes the text of the House bill and inserts the 
     actual amount of the increased rates. The percentage of the 
     increase will be the same percentage--2.6 percent--as Social 
     Security recipients will receive. There are no other 
     provisions contained in the bill as amended.

  The bill (H. R. 2540), as amended, was read the third time and 
passed.
  The title amendment (No. 2150) was agreed to, as follows:

       Amend the title so as to read ``An Act to amend title 38, 
     United States Code, to provide a cost-of-living adjustment in 
     the rates of disability compensation for veterans with 
     service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency 
     and indemnity compensation for survivors of such veterans.''.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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