[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 137 (Wednesday, October 1, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9090-H9096]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CALLING ON REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP TO BRING H.R. 303, A BILL TO END 
    CONCURRENT RECEIPT, TO THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 7, 2003, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I rise this afternoon to talk about an 
issue of fundamental unfairness which burdens many of our veterans: 
concurrent receipt. I organized this Special Order to focus attention 
on the unfairness of the concurrent receipt law and to give Members the 
opportunity to demand that the Republican leadership bring to the floor 
H.R. 303, the bill that would end concurrent receipt.
  Madam Speaker, today we will hear Democratic Members from districts 
throughout the Nation call for an end of concurrent receipt. Concurrent 
receipt is a Civil War-era law that prevents disabled veterans from 
receiving both military retirement and veterans disability benefits. 
Under the law, for every dollar that a veteran receives in disability 
pay, $1 is taken away from their retirement pay. The effect of the 
concurrent receipt law is to tax a veteran for being injured while 
serving in the military. This is an extremely unfair burden that we 
place on our wounded veterans.
  Madam Speaker, America's veterans have made huge sacrifices in order 
to protect our freedoms. We should not repay their sacrifice by denying 
them the benefits they have earned and deserve. Congress must repeal 
the concurrent receipt law.
  Over the past several years, there has been a strong bipartisan 
effort to repeal this law. In this Congress, the bill to repeal 
concurrent receipt, H.R. 303, has 370 cosponsors. The gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), a longtime Republican Member, is a sponsor of 
H.R. 303. Madam Speaker, 370 cosponsors is an extraordinary number of 
cosponsors for any bill. As all of us know, there are few bills 
introduced in this body that have 370 cosponsors. There are even fewer 
bills that do not come to the floor for action by Members of the House.
  Yet despite this tremendous bipartisan support, the House Republican 
leadership, as well as the White House, has refused to support this 
bill. In fact, the Secretary of Defense has said that he would 
recommend that the President veto any legislation that includes 
language which would eliminate concurrent receipt. The House Republican 
leadership continues to ignore the will of the Members, and our 
constituents, and refuses even to allow H.R. 303 to come to the floor 
for action.
  The opponents of this bill say that it will cost too much money. They 
cite a study from the Congressional Budget Office which estimates that 
it would cost the Federal Government $3 billion in fiscal year 2004 to 
cover the 400,000 eligible veterans. It is incredible that the 
opponents would offer such a poor excuse for why they refuse even to 
bring this bill to the floor.

                              {time}  1745

  Give me a break.
  Mr. Speaker and Members, the Bush administration has spent almost $80 
billion in Iraq and Afghanistan and is seeking a supplemental 
appropriation of $87 billion for the war in Iraq and Iraqi 
reconstruction. Yet, the administration will not seek the resources 
required to protect the retirement pay of veterans who had the 
misfortune of becoming disabled while serving their country. What a 
cruel, sick joke. These veterans earn their retirement pay, and they 
deserve both a full retirement benefit and their disability 
compensation.
  We must not walk away from our obligations. How can we put a price on 
the service that these men and women gave to our country? How can we 
put a price on going through life without a limb or without the ability 
to see or hear? They did their job with bravery and dedication. Now, we 
must do ours. The Federal Government should provide full benefits to 
veterans who protected our people. Simple fairness and decency requires 
it.
  Because of the opposition of the Republican leadership to this bill, 
Democrats have had to file a discharge petition in an attempt to bring 
H.R. 303 to the floor and force consideration of this bill. A 
successful discharge petition requires 218 signatures. To date, 
however, even though H.R. 303 has 370 cosponsors, there are only 203 
signatures on the discharge petition.
  Nearly every Democrat has signed the discharge petition, but only two 
Republicans have signed. Because of the opposition of the Republican 
leadership, not even Congressman Bilirakis, the sponsor of H.R. 303, 
has signed the discharge petition.
  Mr. Speaker, it is shameful that the Republican leadership has 
strong-armed their Members into not supporting the discharge petition 
on H.R. 303 and prevented the Congress from providing this essential 
relief to our veterans.
  The Republican leadership's unfair and outrageous refusal to bring 
H.R. 303 to the floor for action is harming our veterans and keeping 
many veterans from obtaining a decent quality of life. Unfortunately, 
there are hundreds of thousands of veterans suffering under the 
concurrent receipt law. Because the United States military is committed 
to missions throughout the world that will result in additional 
veterans becoming disabled, the number of veterans who will be 
subjected to this tax will only grow.
  Unfortunately, this is only one of the many policies that this 
administration and the Republican party have adopted which harms our 
veterans. For example, although it is not uncommon for a

[[Page H9091]]

veteran to wait 6 months or more to see a doctor, the Republicans' 
budget did not provide enough funding to shorten these waiting periods.
  Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing to see the President constantly 
using our veterans for photo-ops, but when it comes to providing the 
necessary funding to give our veterans a good quality of life, the 
Republicans are nowhere to be found.
  We, Democrats, have another way. We appreciate the sacrifice that all 
veterans have made and believe that the government must provide the 
necessary funding for veterans to receive the medical, educational, and 
other benefits they need and deserve. We particularly appreciate the 
men and women who were injured while serving their country and believe 
we should provide them with their full retirement benefits, as well as 
their full disability compensation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge this body to pass H.R. 303 and help our disabled 
veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield time to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Woolsey).
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California 
(Ms. Waters) for calling this special order together because it is a 
very important subject.
  Today in Iraq, our Nation is creating more than 130,000 veterans. 
These future veterans are fulfilling their duty to America in a time of 
war. We must commit to fulfill our own responsibilities to them in 
times of peace.
  Three hundred and seventy Members of the House of Representatives are 
on record supporting a concurrent receipt bill to provide full health 
and retirement benefits for our Nation's veterans, but when the time 
came to actually bring this important legislation before the House of 
Representatives for a vote, 201 Democrats and only two Republicans 
signed their names to bring the bill to the floor of the House. It 
takes 218 names and signatures in order to force the majority party to 
bring this issue before us.
  Concurrent receipt should not be a Democrat issue, and it should not 
be a Republican issue. Instead, this is an issue of fulfilling our 
commitment to those who have proven their commitment to us, to our 
Nation's veterans. The White House has estimated the health and 
retirement benefits for our veterans will cost $58 billion over the 
next 10 years. That is $6 billion a year to support the troops who have 
sacrificed for this country.

  This is the same President that recently came to the Congress 
requesting $87 billion to pay for our war in Iraq that he announced 
many months ago had ended. The President's $87 billion supplemental 
request includes money for museums and memorials in Iraq, radios and 
phones for Iraqi businesses, and computer training and graduate school 
for Iraqi citizens. Certainly, we must invest in restoring the 
stability in a war-torn country, but these programs are not more 
important than health care for America's veterans.
  What kind of message does this sent to our veterans and our troops 
currently in the field when the President tells them that paying for 
Iraqis to go to graduate school is more important than paying for 
veteran's health care? We are talking about men and women who fought 
for America, who were wounded for America, who have lost friends who 
have died for America. But when the time comes to pay their health 
bills, America's purse is shot. This is worse than irresponsible. It is 
downright dishonorable.
  President Bush said last year that every country around the world, 
and I quote him, ``is either with us or against us,'' unquote. Our 
veterans deserve to ask the same question. ``Mr. President, are you 
with America's veterans or against them? Will you fight for them the 
way they are fighting for you?''
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Sandlin).
  Mr. SANDLIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask several questions. Why 
does the Republican leadership in this House want to put an additional 
tax on our veterans? Why does the Republican leadership in this House 
oppose eliminating the disabled veterans tax? Why is it okay to 
eliminate taxes for millionaires in this country, our most privileged, 
but not eliminate tax for our veterans? Why is that, Mr. Speaker? Why?
  Mr. Speaker, as you know, under current law, disabled American 
veterans who are entitled to military retirement benefits have their 
retirement benefits reduced dollar for dollar by the amount they 
receive in disability payments. Now, they earn their military 
retirement, and they earn disability pay. However, these amounts are 
all set against each other.
  Why does the Republican leadership and the administration support 
such a situation for our veterans in this country?
  Military retirees and veterans with service-connected disabilities 
are the only Federal employees subject to this offset and are 
essentially funding their own disability benefits. They are funding 
their disability with their own money that they earned serving this 
country. As a result, the disabled veterans tax, that is supported by 
the administration and the Republican leadership, subjects our Nation's 
veterans to worse treatment than any other class of Federal retirees, 
bar none.
  The Bush administration contends that allowing military veterans to 
draw their earned benefits is too costly, and it competes with funding 
that we need for other very important matters, such as tax cuts for 
millionaires.
  A dollar is a dollar. While the Republican leadership has concluded 
that devoting $58 billion over 10 years to relieve an unconscionable 
burden for nearly 700,000 of our Nation's veterans is a budget buster, 
they see absolutely no problem of giving away approximately $90 billion 
over that same period to 184,000 people in this country that are making 
$1 million or more per year. The hypocrisy of that is shocking. It is 
galling, and it is shameful.
  The other body is doing the right thing. In its version of the fiscal 
year 2004 Defense authorization legislation, the Senate has provided 
for full and immediate disability payments without any offset from the 
military retirement benefit to which they are entitled. That is doing 
the right thing.
  Mr. Speaker, we can do the right thing in this House. We can stand up 
for the veterans against the Republican leadership, Mr. Speaker, and 
against the administration, and say we are going to do the right thing. 
We are fighting to pass bipartisan legislation on this side, H.R. 303, 
the Retired Pay Restoration Act, to help the more than 700,000 disabled 
veterans who are military retirees.
  We believe on this side that it is important that our disabled 
military retirees receive both the disability pay and retirement pay 
that they have earned and that they deserve. It is critical for the 
administration to stop penalizing our disabled veterans at the very 
time we have our military in harm's way. We have to stop penalizing 
disabled veterans, if we are going to fulfill our commitment to those 
who served the country. Let us respect our veterans. Let us do the 
right thing and give our veterans what they have earned.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Dakota 
(Mr. Pomeroy).
  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California 
(Ms. Waters) and my colleagues for organizing this very important 
special order, because I believe the information brought forward in 
this debate will be of great surprise to most of the people that might 
happen to listen to this discussion. Certainly, the people I represent 
in North Dakota, I believe, are largely unaware of the fact that we, 
essentially, have a disabled veterans tax.
  This tax is imposed when you have someone that has earned a military 
retirement and on the other hand also had a disability payment from 
service in the military as a result of a service-connected injury 
resulting in permanent disability. The disabled veterans tax occurs 
when you have a 100 percent reduction of the retirement benefit by the 
disability payment receipt.
  So let me make it simple. The injured veteran receiving a disability 
payment would, upon retiring from the military, have their military 
retirement reduced 100 percent by the amount of the disability payment. 
Now, if that is not a disabled veterans tax, I do not know what is. And 
it is completely unacceptable. There is not another classification of 
Federal employee treated in this fashion. There is

[[Page H9092]]

not a civil service employee upon getting their Federal retirement that 
would have their Federal retirement reduced by their military 
disability. Only those who have made a career of distinction and honor 
in serving our military have their retirement reduced 100 percent in 
the value of the disability benefit received.
  We have to change this bill. This is a law that is on the books that 
is having a pernicious and unfair effect on our veterans. We need to 
act and we need to act now.
  I commend the Republican sponsor of the legislation that wants to 
address this for bringing this before the Chamber. I am certainly 
pleased to participate. It ought to be bipartisan, if anything before 
us should be bipartisan.

                              {time}  1800

  Unfortunately, we have seen majority leadership refuse to bring this 
matter up for a vote. In fact, notwithstanding the very strong support 
reflected by the number of cosponsors, as reflected by the number of 
signatures on the discharge petition, we have seen them refuse to allow 
us for a vote.
  Is it not ironic that as we seek to advance this very important 
relief for our veterans, we are not even allowed a vote on this matter? 
Our veterans are fighting, have fought, for democracy; our soldiers 
today are fighting for democracy, and yet when it comes to this 
important question, the majority leadership is not allowing democracy 
in this House because they are not allowing us to vote on this 
proposition.
  In order to bust through this deadlock imposed by the majority 
leadership, we have brought forward a discharge petition which has now 
been signed by 203 Members of the House, including two Republican 
Members, all of the Democratic Members and two Republican Members.
  I would ask the majority leadership if at least you will not allow us 
a vote, for goodness sake, discharge your members. Let them vote their 
conscience by signing a discharge petition and bringing it to the floor 
over your expressed wishes to the contrary. Let them serve their 
constituents on this one, not the majority leadership. Let them 
represent the veterans in their districts that are having their 
benefits unfairly taxed by the Federal Government.
  Finally, if that is too much to ask, if it is too much to ask to 
bring this to a vote, if it is too much to ask to allow majority 
leadership to discharge their Members, to sign a discharge petition, 
then I would say to my friends in the majority, on this one you have to 
stand with your people irrespective of your leadership. Come up to the 
well. Sign the discharge petition. You have veterans who are having 
their retirement benefits reduced and reduced unfairly, reduced for 
suffering a service-connected disability. This must end.
  If your leadership cannot see that, surely you can. And if you have 
questions about it, all you have to do is ask the veterans 
organizations so capably representing the veterans in your district. 
Ask your American Legion commander what he thinks of this matter. Ask 
the Veterans of Foreign Wars commander what they think of this matter. 
Ask the Disabled Veterans of America in your district what they think 
of this matter. That will quickly bring you to the conclusion that it 
is time for this tax to end. It is time for this House to have some 
democracy on this question. It is time for us to vote on getting the 
veterans the relief they need and they so richly deserve.
  I thank the gentlewoman for letting me participate in this 
discussion.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California 
(Mrs. Davis).
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge this body 
to seriously consider our treatment of those who sacrificed nearly 
everything for our country. I am referring to America's disabled 
veterans and the archaic law that prevents them from receiving both 
their retirement pension and disability compensation, two payments that 
they earned.
  Unfortunately, across our Nation, hundreds of thousands of veterans 
are denied their full retirement pay because we have yet to correct a 
senseless law passed 112 years ago. In California's 53rd Congressional 
District, a district that I am very proud to represent, 2,659 disabled 
veterans collectively lose out on $13 million in VA benefits each year.
  Since coming to Congress, I have heard from my veterans and I can 
tell you many of them struggle to get by each month because our 
government withholds so much from their pensions. Please understand, 
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about the brave men and women who sustained 
the most severe injuries to defend this Nation and to protect our 
liberties.
  Take, for example, a 69-year-old Air Force lieutenant colonel from 
San Diego who has a 100 percent disability rating from exposure to 
Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. After 28 years of dedication, he 
retired only to learn that it was true. His hard-earned retirement pay 
would be offset dollar for dollar from his disability compensation. 
This proud veteran wrote me just recently and told me that he has 
finally given up on this government. He has communicated with his 
elected leaders about this inequity ever since he retired, and 
unfortunately, he has been told the same thing over and over again. Do 
not worry. Legislation is pending. We will pass concurrent receipt soon 
and take care of this for you.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, it has been 17 years since he retired and nothing 
has been done. It is time to show our disabled veterans that we value 
the incredible sacrifice they made and are making for us. It is time to 
repeal the disabled veterans tax and end this mistreatment once and for 
all.

  Right now, this Congress is faced with the ability to finally deliver 
meaningful concurrent receipt legislation to the President. We need 
only a few more signatures on the discharge petition to bring the 
Retired Pay Restoration Act to the House floor. I urge my colleagues to 
sign this petition and take us a step closer to overturning this 
inequity.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for bringing this forward.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Filner).
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Waters) for taking the leadership on this, as she has done on so many 
issues in this Congress.
  I want to add my voice to urge all of our colleagues to listen to the 
voice of our veterans. Find it in your hearts once and for all, this 
unjust disabled veterans tax.
  A resident of my congressional district, the 51st in California, in 
San Diego, named Miguel Gonzalez, was wounded in service and declared 
eligible for VA disability compensation. After retiring from the 
military, he was also entitled to his retired pay, as every American is 
entitled to their retired pay. But unlike every other Federal employee, 
Mr. Speaker, for every dollar that he receives in his disability 
compensation, he gives back to the government a dollar from his 
retirement. What an unfair and demoralizing tax on the brief bravest 
and best in our Nation.
  Today this tax is especially galling as we ask and expect our young 
men and women to fight the threats of terrorism. There has recently 
been an uproar, justifiably, about the charge that wounded 
servicemembers were billed for their hospital bills as they lay 
recovering from their wounds. They got a bill for the food while they 
were in the hospital.
  I cannot see any difference between that case and the case we are 
talking about this evening, except that the disabled veterans tax costs 
our servicemembers much more than the hospital bill that we were so 
upset by. Why were we expecting the young men and women who spent the 
better part of their lives in service to their country to pay for their 
own retirement? It does not make sense, and it is an insult to these 
veterans.
  Last year we passed this concurrent receipt in the House and in the 
Senate, and in a secret conference committee backed by the President of 
the United States it was removed. The will of the Congress, the will of 
the American people was frustrated by a secret meeting of a few people 
in concert with the White House.
  Now we are trying a new process: 200 of our colleagues have signed 
the discharge petition, a process to get this to the floor in spite of 
the leadership's unwillingness to do so. We can get, with 218 
signatures, we can move this bill

[[Page H9093]]

from the committee where it is stalled, to the full House of 
Representatives for a vote. We know it will pass, 370 members of this 
body have already signed on to it. A lot of them do not seem to have 
the courage to sign the discharge petition and that should not even be 
necessary.
  It is shameful that we must resort to such a means to get a vote on 
this bill which would end this disabled veterans tax.
  We are told that this bill will cost money. What does not? But it is 
a matter of priorities. We are willing to give our troops everything 
for their fighting in Iraq, now it is $87 billion for the next few 
months, but why are we not willing to give them all they need when they 
return home? What is our highest priority if not caring for our 
Nation's veterans? It seems to be tax cuts for the wealthiest of us 
all.
  We must send a message to the men and women who right this moment are 
fighting in Iraq. They did not hesitate when called to duty. Many are 
serving much longer than anticipated. Some are returning home with 
disabilities that they will have to live with for the rest of their 
life.
  What kind of nation are we? We must tell them that we value their 
service and that we value them. We must let them know that their Nation 
will honor them, not just in word, but in deed. Service-connected 
military retirees, I think we all know, have earned their retirement 
pay. They deserve their disability compensation. Let us not make them 
wait any longer for justice to prevail. We must end the disabled 
veterans tax.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. 
Berkley).
  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California 
(Ms. Waters) for organizing this special order.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss an issue that is very important 
to the veterans that I represent. In my district, Las Vegas, Nevada, I 
hear from veterans every day regarding the disabled veterans tax.
  Las Vegas has one of the fastest growing veterans populations in the 
country, and about 2,500 of these brave veterans lose military 
retirement benefits due to this unjust tax. Each of these individuals 
who was disabled due to service to our Nation loses thousands of 
dollars every year. That is thousands of dollars that can cover their 
health care costs, enable them to support their families, pay their 
rents, buy food and improve the quality of their lives.
  Under this unfair tax, disabled veterans who retire from the military 
lose $1 from their military retirement pay for every dollar they 
receive for a service-connected disability. When a retired Marine Corps 
major from Nevada was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, he lost more 
than $2,000 in monthly retirement pay because of the disabled veterans 
tax. To make up for that loss of income, his wife, instead of being 
able to cut back on her hours so that she could care for him, instead 
she had to work overtime just to make ends meet at home.
  But as unfair as this tax is to our disabled military retirees, what 
is more shocking, what is more unconscionable is the Republican 
leadership that will not let us vote on this legislation that would 
correct this long-standing inequity.
  There are over 300 cosponsors of H.R. 303 which would eliminate the 
disabled veterans tax. And more than 200 members of Congress have 
signed the discharge petition to force H.R. 303 onto the floor for a 
vote.
  Mr. Speaker, the Republican leadership says they support veterans and 
they say they support ending the disabled veterans tax, yet they refuse 
to do what is right for veterans and bring H.R. 303 to the floor for a 
vote.
  I invite my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to stand up and 
take care of the folks back home. The Republican leadership must put 
this bill on the floor for a vote. We should honor the commitments that 
we made to those who fought and are currently fighting around the world 
for our great Nation.
  Support for our veterans is more than rousing rhetoric. It is more 
than a photo op. It is doing what is fair and moral to fulfill our 
duties and promises to them. We owe it to our veterans to keep our 
word, and Congress must take action to end this unfair tax on our 
veterans. We must take action now.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Strickland).
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend from 
California (Ms. Waters) for yielding to me.
  We are talking about ending the disabled veterans tax. Now, there may 
be people listening or watching who do not fully understand what we 
mean when we say disabled veterans tax. Well, let me just explain it 
briefly.
  We know that disabled military retirees are the only Federal 
employees forced to pay for their own disability. Dollar for dollar 
they have got to give up their pension benefits in order to collect 
their disability benefits. We know that over 600,000, maybe some of 
them are watching today, 600,000 disabled veterans across this country, 
10,000 disabled veterans in my State of Ohio, are paying millions of 
dollars every year because of this tax that we are trying to eliminate.
  We know that the administration and the President himself, the 
President cannot escape this issue.

                              {time}  1815

  The Bush administration has told Congress that if we pass legislation 
to eliminate this unfair disabled veterans' tax, that the President 
will veto the legislation.
  So what is Congress going to do? What are we going to do? Most of my 
Democratic colleagues have signed what we call a discharge petition. 
When the leadership of this House refuses to bring a bill to the floor, 
we have a mechanism called the discharge petition, and if we can get 
218 Members of this House to sign that petition, that bill comes to the 
floor automatically.
  How many have signed this discharge petition? Two hundred and three 
Members have signed this petition. We need 218 signatures to bring the 
bill to the floor. How many Republicans have signed this petition? Only 
two. Two hundred and one Democrats have signed the petition, only two 
Members of the Republican party. I am proud to say that every Democrat 
from the State of Ohio has signed this petition, and I am disappointed 
that not a single Republican from the State of Ohio has signed the 
discharge petition.
  Why are they not signing the petition? I suspect it is because their 
leadership is telling them that they better had not, they better had 
not buck the leadership, there is a price to pay if they go against the 
leadership. Who are we here to represent, the leadership of the 
Republican party or the men and women, especially the disabled 
veterans, who have voted for us and sent us to represent them in this 
Chamber?
  People listening may think, well, this is just a Democrat harangue 
against the Republicans, this is just a partisan issue, but I have, 
here in my hands, a news release that was sent out by the national 
veterans' groups. I will tell my colleagues who they are: The AMVETS, 
the Disabled American Veterans, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, 
the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Vietnam Veterans of America. 
They put a heading on their press release that is pretty strong. They 
say, Congress declares war against disabled veterans, and I would like 
to share with my colleagues just some of the things these national 
representatives of the veterans have said in their press release.
  They begin by saying, The House majority leadership has shown callous 
contempt for the sacrifices of America's defenders by attempting to 
impose overly restrictive conditions that would limit benefits for 
disabilities from military service. That is what these organizations 
say.
  They continue, An untold number of men and women will return from 
Iraq and the war on terror with disabilities. The military and 
veterans' organizations worry that many of them will not be able to 
directly identify or prove the origin of their ailments, but that 
certainly does not mean that they should be ignored. Any suggestion to 
the contrary is outrageous and shameful, they say.
  Then they conclude their press release by saying, Our Nation is 
engaged in a war with a hostile enemy that would willingly kill 
innocent civilians. Yet it seems that some members of our government 
would shortchange those who protect us.

[[Page H9094]]

  They continue, Disabled veterans should not have to fight their own 
government for the benefits they have earned. In a callous effort to 
limit government's obligations to our former, current and future 
defenders, authors of the provision in the Defense authorization bill 
took it upon themselves to rewrite the law regarding benefits for 
disabled veterans.
  That is what the national veterans' organizations are saying. This is 
not just a Democratic attack upon the Republican leadership or upon the 
President. We can solve this problem quickly. If we just had a few more 
Republicans who would walk down here to the well of the House and put 
their signatures on this discharge petition, within a matter of hours 
that bill would be brought to this floor, and we could end the disabled 
veterans' tax.
  Probably a lot of veterans are watching today or families of veterans 
or just simply Americans who care about veterans. I think it is fair 
for me to point out that President Bush is willing to spend millions in 
Iraq to develop a ZIP code system, but he is not willing to spend for 
America's veterans. He is willing to spend millions building roads in 
Iraq, but he is neglecting to provide for our veterans. He is willing 
to spend millions to build hospitals and clinics in Iraq, but he is 
unwilling to support eliminating this disabled veterans' tax.
  We need to get our priorities right, and I hope the people in this 
country start letting the Members of this House who are unwilling to 
sign this discharge petition know how they feel about it. Every Member 
of this House who goes back to their Districts this weekend should be 
confronted with veterans saying, sir or ma'am, have you signed the 
discharge petition, and if you have not, why not?

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Ruppersberger).
  Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding 
to me.
  Mr. Speaker, this issue goes beyond politics. I sincerely respect and 
honor the active and retired members of our Armed Forces, as well as 
their families. I believe they deserve the respect of all Americans, 
and that respect should be demonstrated through words and actions.
  The concurrent receipts issue was new to me when I first took Federal 
office. Learning about a policy that is tantamount to taxing veterans 
for being disabled infuriates me, and ending it simply makes sense. 
That is why I chose to cosponsor H.R. 303 and look forward to its 
passage in the House.
  I am obviously not the only Member of this Chamber to feel this way. 
H.R. 303 has 366 cosponsors which is about as bipartisan as legislation 
can get these days. The idea of ending this disability tax appears to 
make sense to a supermajority, and we should have passed it months ago.
  Here we are again, in yet another Congress, with concurrent receipts 
locked up in committee since January of this year, a full nine months 
ago. Our actions are not matching our words. Veterans' groups and 
individuals across the country and in my home district, the 2nd 
Congressional District of Maryland, have told me that passing H.R. 303 
is one of their top priorities. They want it sooner rather than later, 
and frankly, they deserve it.
  We seem to understand this on this side of the aisle, but we do not 
have the power to report it out of committee. We do not have the power 
to bring it to the floor, and we do not have the majority to pass it, 
but with 366 cosponsors, that should not matter.
  So my Democratic colleague from Georgia filed a motion to discharge 
the bill to bring it to the floor. The entire Democratic Caucus has 
signed that petition, and as of today, two Republicans have signed on. 
Could someone please explain to me 366 cosponsors and only 203 
signatures to discharge? What is going on?
  I have heard that the majority leadership in the House and Senate are 
considering offering some version of concurrent receipts in the 
Department of Defense authorization. Some would prefer to wait for that 
option. I ask them, how much longer must we make our veterans wait when 
the language the veterans support, the bill they want, has already been 
introduced, has already been referred to committee and is ready for a 
vote and that is H.R. 303?
  The veterans' disability tax or concurrent receipts, whatever one 
likes to call it, has been a partisan football in the political game 
for a while now. I cannot comment on that, I am a freshman, and this is 
my first try for the end zone on this bill. Whether Democrats or 
Republicans win or lose in this game, the veterans do need our help. 
Our citizens, who served and sacrificed for freedom we enjoy every day, 
deserve better. If the majority leadership is serious about that issue, 
then let us just bring H.R. 303 to the floor and vote on it. They 
control the agenda, and they can bring it to the floor today, right 
now.
  Are words of respect enough? Should we not show the veterans how much 
we truly do respect them and their action and their sacrifices, 
including their families? Our side of the aisle has. We have done 
everything within our power. We have cosponsored the bill. We have 
signed the discharge petition. We have come to the floor today to speak 
on behalf of this bill, and we have vowed to vote for it when it 
reaches the floor. Our actions have matched our words.

  We challenge our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to do the 
same.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York 
(Mrs. McCarthy).
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
organizing this for tonight.
  I rise to ask why? Why are we not giving our veterans what they 
deserve? Time and time again we are reminded of the great sacrifices 
made by this Nation's veterans. These are people who sacrificed their 
lives for our lives, for our country, for our rights and freedoms.
  I am honored to represent a large amount of veterans, and now they 
need our help, but unfortunately, the House Republican leadership is 
turning its back on our veterans.
  Currently, there is an outmoded and unfair system dating back to the 
Civil War of compensation for disabled veterans who are retired from 
the military. Under current law, veterans who are entitled to both a 
retirement benefit for the military service and service-connected 
disability compensation are not able to receive both retirement and 
disability payments. This is an outrage. I do not understand. Here we 
are Representatives in this House, we are talking about spending $87 
billion on a war and our young men and women are over in Iraq fighting 
for our freedoms, and yet we will not take care of the great veterans 
that have already preserved this for us.
  H.R. 303, the concurrent receipt bill and/or ending disability 
veterans' tax, has over 370 Members. I know down here in Washington I 
have learned an awful lot. Usually, one would think if we had 370 
people on a bill, it is going to fly through. That means 370 people, 
Representatives from across the country, agree bipartisanly this is 
something that we should be doing. Yet, we cannot bring it up on the 
House floor. The Republican leadership refuses to bring it onto the 
floor.
  There is a discharge petition, which a lot of people that are 
listening to this might not understand. If we cannot get a bill through 
committee to be talked about and onto the floor, we have a right to try 
and get Members to sign a discharge petition so that we are forced to 
bring it onto the floor. We have 203 signatures; we need more. And our 
veterans out there, please write their Congressman, e-mail them, tell 
them this is what they need.
  The Republican leadership does not want to bring the bill to the 
floor for a vote. The Republican-led Senate passed this provision in 
the Defense authorization bill. Yet, the House Republican leadership 
refuses to bring it to the floor of the House. Veterans' policy should 
be nonpartisan, but unfortunately, at the cost of the veterans, it has 
become a partisan issue.
  Mr. Speaker, we should all be standing together for our veterans. I 
implore the House Republican leadership to bring it on to the floor. 
Let there be an up and down vote. Very easily, who is supporting our 
veterans and who is not, and let us give our veterans what they rightly 
deserve. After all, they have done so much for us. This is the least we 
can do for them.
  The last couple of weekends I have been meeting with so many 
veterans'

[[Page H9095]]

groups, and this is the only thing they are talking about. Last Friday, 
I was at Northport Hospital and talking to so many prisoners of war 
that have survived from the Korean War, and they are saying why? Are 
you waiting for us all to die? Is that what you are doing, to save some 
money? I do not understand it. We have our young men and women that are 
going to be our future veterans. If we do not keep our promise, why 
should they care about defending this country? We have to make a 
difference.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York 
(Mrs. Maloney).

                              {time}  1830

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding to me, 
for organizing this Special Order, and really for her outstanding 
leadership not only on behalf of veterans, but in so many areas of deep 
concern and importance to our Nation.
  I join her and many of my colleagues, well over 366 colleagues, to be 
specific, in calling for an end to the disabled veterans tax. The 
government decided many years ago, in 1891, to take disability benefits 
from retirees, to take it away from our veterans when they retired. It 
was wrong then, it is wrong now, and we need to change it.
  Common sense tells us that there is a tremendous difference between 
what you receive for retirement and what you receive for a disability. 
If you are disabled, you have an injury. You may live in pain for the 
rest of your life, and you are entitled to that disability benefit. 
Veterans are likewise entitled to their retirement.
  To show how outrageous this policy is, you could have a veteran who 
was injured and they decide to retire because of that injury. They then 
get disability benefits. But if another veteran who is injured decides 
to serve 20 years before he retires, when he or she retires, they only 
get their retirement. They do not get the disability benefit. In the 
private sector, if you have a disability, you get a disability benefit. 
If you retire, you get your retirement.
  So this is a tremendously unfair policy, particularly when there are 
so many men and women risking their lives for our security. As we stand 
on this floor, they are in harm's way in Afghanistan and in Iraq, and 
we should change this unfair policy.
  I must say that like many Americans I had a yellow ribbon in front of 
my apartment building for Ryan Dixon, my neighbor, who, in my opinion, 
is a great hero. He was part of the Special Forces. He served in Iraq. 
Thank God, he came back safe and he was not injured. But there are many 
other men and women who are injured, in Afghanistan and in Iraq, and 
they are entitled to their disability benefits.
  Our Nation's veterans deserve nothing less than the benefits which 
they are entitled to, and we owe them an enormous debt of gratitude for 
their service to the Nation. It is time that we showed them our thanks 
by correcting this unjust and very unfair law. So I urge the majority, 
finally, to show its commitment to providing relief to the veterans 
across the country who rely on these critical benefits to live.
  I really feel that it is a disincentive for people to stay in the 
military, to know that they will not receive their just retirement and 
disability benefits. So I call upon my colleagues, and particularly the 
leadership on the other side of the aisle, to bring this bill to the 
floor so that we can correct this injustice to our veterans.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time left on the 
hour.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kline). The gentlewoman from California 
has 8 minutes remaining.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to yield to the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Marshall), who has truly been a leader on 
this issue all over the country, and he is the Member who filed the 
discharge petition.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) for organizing this, and I 
want to thank all of my Democrat colleagues who have spoken here today 
about a subject that is very important for our country, and actually is 
a national disgrace.
  I visited a soldier who was wounded in Walter Reed not too long ago. 
He had come back from Iraq. He had an injury that is very similar to 
the injury that General Shinseki suffered earlier in his career. He had 
lost part of his foot. General Shinseki chose to stay in the military. 
He had a full career. He had a wonderful career and just retired as 
chief of staff of the Army.
  This young man and I talked a little bit. I had been wounded in 
Vietnam, and I felt like maybe I could give him some solace by saying, 
look, they are going to be able to repair your foot; you are going to 
be able to stay in the military and have a career like General Shinseki 
had; somebody that everybody in the Army is very proud of. And he 
replied, sir, they tell me it is a better deal to get out.
  Now, a lot of Americans do not know what I am talking about. For 
years, it has been referred to as concurrent receipt. It is a 
prohibition on receiving retirement benefits and disability benefits. 
Because that young man was injured in Iraq, lost part of his foot, he 
is going to be entitled to receive disability benefits. I was injured 
in Vietnam. I have shrapnel in my left leg. I get disability benefits. 
I have been getting disability benefits for 30-some-odd years. I get 
those benefits despite the fact that I only served my country 2 years. 
Had I stayed in the service and served my country for 20 years or more 
and been entitled to military retirement benefits, I would not get any 
disability benefits. Serve more, get less. It makes no sense.
  And that is what that young man was referring to as he lay in his bed 
in Walter Reed. It is a better deal for me to get out of the Army 
because I will get my disability benefits. If I stay in the Army, serve 
my country more, I will not get my disability benefits; they will be 
taken away from me.
  Well, we are calling this problem the disabled veterans tax, and many 
Members of Congress want to end the disabled veterans tax. 
Unfortunately, we have not been able to do that. The gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi), our leader, gave me an opportunity to file a 
discharge petition, which I did. The discharge petition is designed to 
force a vote on this issue. I know if we get a vote we will pass it and 
we will end this tax on disabled veterans. The question is whether or 
not we will get a vote.
  Now, I have had the honor and the pleasure over the last month or two 
to speak to many veterans groups. I spoke to the National Convention of 
the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American 
Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America, and many, many others. The key 
to whether or not we are going to be successful in ending what is a 
national disgrace is those of you who are watching this program today 
and others.
  Veterans need to continue to put the pressure on. Those of you who do 
not know much about this issue and want to learn more about it can go 
to the Web site of any of the veterans organizations. You will find it 
either under the name of concurrent receipt or disabled veterans tax. 
You can go to my Web site, and you will get an awful lot of information 
about it. It is the congressional Web site for Jim Marshall.
  We will not get this done by ourselves. Democrats can push as hard as 
they want to. They will not be successful. It is going to require the 
involvement of folks who are watching this show and all of the veterans 
who are interested in ending what is a national disgrace. We have 366 
Members of Congress who have signed on to the legislation that would 
end the disabled veterans tax. We just cannot get a vote on it. We keep 
the pressure up, we can get the vote. At the very least, if we keep the 
pressure up, what we will do is get a giant step in the right direction 
proposed by the administration. I hope one or the other happens.
  There needs to be some relief given to veterans. There is no excuse 
in this country for somebody like me, who served for a lesser period of 
time, to receive more than somebody who served more. With that, Mr. 
Speaker, I want to once again thank the gentlewoman from California 
(Ms. Waters) for having led us today.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I certainly thank the gentlewoman from 
Georgia.

  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank not only the gentleman from 
Georgia but all of my colleagues who spoke this evening. We are 
spending so much time

[[Page H9096]]

on this issue because our veterans should be special and should be very 
important to all of the Members of Congress and to public policymakers 
in general.
  Our veterans have been so loyal, not just to our country because of 
their service but they are always loyal to the Commander in Chief. They 
have allowed themselves to be misused, to be ignored, and to be 
marginalized too much, and particularly by this administration. We find 
ourselves fighting and the veterans are scratching and clawing trying 
to just get the kind of benefits that they deserve.
  They are in these veterans hospitals across the Nation waiting in 
line for service, cannot get appointments. We do not have enough beds 
for them in nursing care homes. And now we hear about this particular 
issue on the floor tonight, and it seems to me that the President of 
the United States would put an end to this. This is a Commander in 
Chief that is now saying that he needs $87 billion more to continue the 
war in Iraq? We are going to have more veterans who will be disabled, 
who will come home, who will have to suffer this great injustice.
  This is the President who has already spent $79 billion and who is 
coming back for more. And this is the President, along with others in 
the administration, who is talking about we all have to make 
sacrifices. Our soldiers are dying, our soldiers are being crippled and 
disabled. They are losing their limbs. How long do we have to beg? How 
long do we have to plead with this President?
  I am here tonight, along with my colleagues, to ask my colleagues on 
the other side of the aisle to please sign that discharge petition. 
Please send a message to the veterans that during this time when we are 
at war, at a time when many of those who watch us on television who are 
fighting in Iraq, who may be the victim of some sniper's bullet any 
time, any day, let them know that should something happen, should they 
be crippled, should they lose a limb that they can depend on their 
government to see to it that they get both their retirement and the 
disability benefits that they deserve. I do not think that is too much 
to ask, Mr. Speaker.
  I certainly feel a little bit ashamed this evening that we have to 
carry this debate this far. I served on the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs when I first came to the Congress of the United States. I 
interacted with all of the service organizations. I made a lot of 
friends, and I discovered at that time that there are many in the 
Congress who will wave the red, white, and blue flag and they will talk 
the talk; but they will not walk the walk. They will not stand up and 
ask for the dollars. They will not defend the services. They will not 
even take the time to help the veterans fight through the bureaucracy 
of veterans affairs to get the benefits that are coming to them.
  My office makes this its number one priority. Not only do we work for 
the veterans, we have had to organize a whole chapter of the Vietnam-
era veterans in my district because they were being ignored and they 
were not being serviced. We think that that is the least that a Member 
of Congress can do, to service the veterans, to fight for them, to make 
sure that they get justice. And on this issue, this should be the 
highest priority of our veterans agenda.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of eliminating the tax on 
disabled veterans, and thank my colleague Maxine Waters for organizing 
the time to discuss this important matter.
  Those who spend their career serving our nation in the military 
deserve our respect and gratitude; yet, military retirees remain the 
only group of federal employees who must waive retirement pay in order 
to receive VA disability compensation. Our nation is stronger and more 
secure because of their service and dedication, and fulfilling our 
obligations to those who fought for our freedom must always be a 
national priority.
  It is time to stop penalizing the more than 700,000 disabled veterans 
who are military retirees. Attempts to redefine who qualifies as a 
disabled veteran are unnecessary, and achieve nothing more than 
providing benefits to one group of veterans at the expense of others.
  The solution is obvious, yet resolution has been difficult, I was 
disappointed last year when a threatened presidential veto caused the 
elimination of the veterans tax to be scaled back in the Defense 
Authorization bill and, again this year when the House Defense 
Authorization failed to include language to repeal the tax.
  At a time when our Nation is asking more men and women to risk their 
lives and security on behalf of our country, we should make every 
effort to fulfill our promise to them upon their return. The strength 
of a nation is measured not only in the might of its military, but also 
the compassion shown by and to its members.
  It is time to put a permanent end to the disabled veterans tax; their 
commitment to excellence in service to our country should not be 
answered with deficient services from that country.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, the gentlewoman from 
California, Ms. Waters and the gentleman from Illinois, Ranking Member 
Evans for their work on this important issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today outraged by the Majority Leadership's 
continual short-changing of American veterans. I appreciate Members' 
from both sides of the aisle, who work to support our retired soldiers. 
I find great irony in the support that this body gives in creating 
veterans in Afghanistan and Iraq, but the lack of assistance in 
sustaining these and previous veterans upon their return.
  Mr. Speaker, I would appreciate the Republicans and this 
Administration responding to an outraged constituent who asked me 
earlier this year if, ``We are just going to reward our fighting men 
with medals and praise, then let them fend for themselves after they 
have suffered the insults and injuries of war?''. How do I respond to 
this person and others, when I know that I voted against the VA-HUD 
appropriations bill which under-funded the Department of Veteran 
Affairs by an embarrassing $1.8 billion.
  I know that I co-sponsored H.R. 2569, which would authorize 
concurrent receipt of military retirement pay and VA compensation 
benefits, make health care for veterans more accessible and affordable, 
allow veterans' surviving spouses to receive adequate benefits, and 
expand educational opportunities for reservists. H.R. 2569 further 
enhances benefits for the families of those killed while on active 
duty, and gives an essential ``thank you'' to our troops now returning 
from Iraq and Afghanistan.
  Mr. Speaker, I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 303. This legislation would 
permit retired members of the armed forces with service-connected 
disabilities to be paid both military retired pay and veterans' 
disability compensation. H.R. 303 would rectify the injustice which has 
penalized those who sacrifice to serve our country for over 100 years. 
Additionally, I joined my colleagues to sign the discharge petition to 
bring this legislation to the floor.
  As a veteran's daughter, I, along with 365 Members of this body, am 
frustrated by our constant attempts to support those who sacrificed for 
this nation. I find it morally reprehensible that this President 
continues his reckless policy of cutting taxes for the richest 1 
percent of this country, yet refuses to guarantee our veterans basic 
benefits. And I ask: how much longer is this body willing to punish 
those who sacrifice and suffer for serving and defending this nation?

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