[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 79 (Friday, June 14, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE MILITARY RETIREE DISLOCATION ASSISTANCE ACT

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                          HON. WALTER B. JONES

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 13, 2002

  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a 
common sense piece of legislation to help our military retirees. As my 
colleagues know, service members and their families will move many 
times in a typical military career. These permanent changes of station 
or PCS often involve considerable additional expense, including the 
loss of rental deposits, connecting and disconnecting utilities, and 
wear and tear on household goods.
  To help defray these additional costs, Congress in 1955 adopted the 
payment of a special allowance--a dislocation allowance. This was done 
to recognize that duty station changes and resultant household 
relocations are due to the personnel management decisions of the armed 
forces and not the individual service members. This amount was 
increased in 1986 and again in recent years. This is an important 
benefit for our military members.
  However, as important as this benefit is, there is a category of 
service members who are not eligible to receive the dislocation 
allowance--the military retiree. This is despite the fact a vast number 
are subject to the same expenses as their active duty counterpart. In 
August 2000, the Marine Corps Sergeant Major Symposium recommended the 
payment of dislocation allowances to retiring members, who in the 
opinion of the Sergeants Major, bear the same financial consequences on 
relocating as those still on active service.
  Military retirees must often seek employment not knowing what 
opportunities exist in the civilian world, where those opportunities 
are located, what the pay will be, or what possibilities are available 
for spousal employment. Retirees are sometimes faced with the 
prospective employers who offer less wages knowing they are in receipt 
of retirement pay, and falsely believing that retirees don't need the 
same salary as civilians for the same position. Additionally, the 
military retiree will have to meet the same financial demands for 
mortgages, insurance, taxes, and food on a smaller income.
  For those reasons, I am introducing the Military Retiree Dislocation 
Assistance Act. This legislation would help ease the transition into 
retirement by amending 37 USC Sec. 407 to authorize the payment of a 
dislocation allowance to all members of the armed forces retiring or 
transferring to an inactive duty status such as the Fleet Reserve or 
Fleet Marine Reserve. The vast majority of these retirees have given 
our Nation over 20 years of dedicated service. They have helped protect 
the very freedoms we all hold dear. Rather than simply pushing them out 
the door upon retirement, we should reward their service by providing 
modest assistance for their final change of station move. That is 
exactly what Military Retiree Dislocation Assistance Act does.

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