[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 144 (Wednesday, October 15, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2039-E2040]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      VETERANS BENEFIT ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MAX SANDLIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 8, 2003

  Mr. SANDLIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2297, the 
Veterans Benefits Act of 2003; however, I cannot in good conscience 
cast my vote for this measure without expressing my serious 
disappointment in the leadership of this House and its continuing 
refusal to fulfill the promises this Nation has made to its bravest and 
most loyal citizens--our veterans. As a result of the War on Terror, we 
have troops deployed at points all over the world. In the name of 
freedom and liberty, we are in the process of creating more veterans, 
yet we cannot do justice by our Nation's current veterans.
  I refuse to remain silent while Congress puts forth a bill that does 
not go nearly far enough to help the men and women who risked life and 
limb at our government's request. H.R. 2297 does not fulfill the 
promises that our Nation made to provide for health care, education, 
housing and burial rights for the brave soldiers who fought our 
battles. This Republican Congress has paid lip-service to veterans' 
issues, but they follow up their patriotic rhetoric with legislation 
that can only be described as an insult. I am disappointed that the 
President and the Republican leadership of the House have on more than 
one occasion characterized funding for veterans benefits as a drain on 
our economy. The so-called Republican leadership refuses to live up to 
its obligations, including the elimination of the profoundly unfair 
disabled veterans' tax, also known as Concurrent Receipt.
  The Disabled Veterans Tax is shorthand for a practice whereby the 
retirement pay earned by veterans with service connected disabilities 
is reduced dollar for dollar by the amount those veterans receive in 
disability payments. To put it more bluntly, our Nation's veterans--the 
men and women who fought to preserve the freedoms we all enjoy--are 
forced to pay their own disability compensation. Veterans with service-
connected disabilities are the only Federal employees subject to this 
offset and are essentially given no additional pay for their sacrifice.

[[Page E2040]]

  The perpetuation of the Disabled Veterans Tax is just one example of 
how we have let our veterans down. It is unconscionable that those who 
have fought for this country are relegated to second class status. The 
fact of the matter remains that when America makes a promise to those 
who wear the uniform, that promise should be kept. Military retirement 
pay is just compensation for a career of honorable service. By 
contrast, compensation for service-connected disability is designed to 
assuage the veterans' suffering, pain, and lost future earning power.

  I am confident that this bill will get overwhelming support from the 
Members of this House, because it gives veterans some relief; however, 
it is not the best that we can do. I will support this bill, because it 
is right that we provide for the men and women who so valiantly fought 
for us.
  That said, I cannot help but ask why those who so often wrap 
themselves in the American flag and the language and symbolism of 
patriotism for political gain refuse to be real patriots and stand up 
to the President's threat to veto a repeal of the Disabled Veterans 
Tax.
  Why is it that we can spend our country deep into debt by giving tax 
cuts to the richest one-percent and building infrastructure in foreign 
lands--while at the same time creating new veterans--but we still can't 
find sufficient money for education, veterans' health care and an 
elimination of the Disabled Veterans Tax? There is too much left 
undone. Sadly, despite its noble goals, this bill leaves many promises 
unmet and that is just plain wrong. It is time to fulfill our 
commitment to the Nation's veterans. We can do better than this, and I 
hope that in the future we will do better than this.
  How can America hope to retain its military might if we continually 
refuse to fulfill our promises to the servicemen and women who came 
before; the men and women who bravely served our country in its darkest 
hours, our Nation's veterans? Who will carry the banner of the American 
ideals and protect this great land, if this government lets fighting 
men and women fall by the wayside?
  Those who fought in two World Wars, in Korea, in Vietnam, in Iraq and 
every conflict before and in between kept their promise to this great 
Nation. They served us in the name of freedom, and they served us well. 
The next time the opportunity to do right by our veterans presents 
itself, I hope that the Administration and my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle will not diminish the greatness of these United 
States but rather will ensure that their deeds match their rhetoric in 
helping us keep America's promise to its veterans.

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