[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 148 (Friday, November 15, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FIGHTING FOR DISABLED MILITARY RETIREES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 14, 2002

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, for more than 17 years, I have introduced 
legislation to repeal a 100 year old law that unfairly penalizes 
disabled military retirees. Some military retirees--individuals who are 
eligible for military retirement benefits as a result of a fall service 
career are also eligible for disability compensation from the VA based 
on a medical problem they incurred while in the service. Under present 
law, these service-disabled retirees must surrender a portion of their 
retired pay if they want to receive the disability compensation to 
which they are entitled. This issue is commonly referred to as 
``concurrent receipt.'' Congress enacted this unjust law in 1891.
  My legislation to completely eliminate the offset between military 
retired pay and VA disability compensation has received strong 
bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. In fact, more than 90 
percent of Members of the House of Representatives and more than 80 
percent of the Senate have cosponsored legislation to repeal the 
current offset.
  The 106th Congress took the first steps toward addressing this 
inequity by authorizing the military to pay a monthly allowance to 
military retirees with severe service-connected disabilities rated by 
the Department of Veterans Affairs at 70 percent or greater. These 
provisions were expanded to include retirees with ratings of 60 
percent.
  For years, I have been told that I had to get the money included in 
the budget resolution before action would be taken on my legislation. 
So earlier this year, I worked very hard with Chairman Nussle and other 
members of the Budget Committee, like Representative Charlie Bass, to 
secure funding for a partial repeal of the offset in its Fiscal Year 
2003 budget resolution. While the money in the budget resolution fell 
short of the funding needed to completely eliminate the current offset, 
it would have provided for a substantial concurrent receipt benefit.
  For that reason, I was particularly pleased that the House Armed 
Services Committee incorporated the budget resolution proposal into its 
authorization bill. As initially approved by the House, H.R. 4546 
included a provision to authorize military retirees who are 60 percent 
or greater disabled to receive their full retired pay and VA disability 
compensation benefit by Fiscal Year 2007. During its consideration of 
the authorization bill, the Senate approved an amendment to authorize 
full concurrent receipt immediately.
  Given the overwhelming support that repeal of the current offset has 
received in both bodies of Congress and the fact that the money was 
included in the Fiscal Year 2003 budget resolution, I am extremely 
disappointed that the conference report for the Bob Stump National 
Defense Authorization Act does not contain at least the House-passed 
concurrent receipt language. While I appreciate the efforts of Chairman 
Duncan Hunter and others to include a benefit for some disabled 
retirees in the final bill, I am frustrated that we have once again 
failed to address this issue for the majority of retirees who have been 
forced to fund their own retirement for years. I have already started 
to hear from disabled retirees who are angry that we did not do more on 
this issue in the defense bill.
  At a time when our nation is calling upon our Armed Forces to defend 
democracy and freedom, I am afraid we are sending the wrong message to 
our men and women in uniform. I want to remind my colleagues of a quote 
by our first Commander-in-Chief George Washington: ``The willingness 
with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter 
how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the 
veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their 
nation.''
  I will continue my efforts to eliminate the unjust offset that 
penalizes disabled military retirees in the 108th Congress. I hope my 
colleagues will join me in the fight to restore military retired pay to 
the men and women who earn it by serving in our Nation's Armed Forces.

                          ____________________