[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 26, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S550-S552]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               HEROES ACT

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I am very pleased to be standing here 
today with my colleague and friend, Senator Joe Lieberman. We serve on 
the Armed Services Committee together. Much has been said in recent 
years about a lack of bipartisanship in the Senate, but there is an 
issue before us today that I believe all Members agree on, and 
certainly Senator Lieberman and I do. We need to be sure that we care 
adequately and generously for the brave men and women who have lost a 
loved one who served this country in combat. We have offered together 
the HEROES Act. We introduced it Monday as S. 77, along with 20 other 
cosponsors. This is an overdue and critical piece of legislation that 
contemplates the moral obligation we in the Senate owe to our Armed 
Forces.
  I am pleased Majority Leader Bill Frist has made this legislation a 
part of his package of priorities for the year and that Senator John 
Warner, who chairs the Armed Services Committee, said he will give us a 
prompt hearing on the issue. I also note that Senator DeWine and 
Senator George Allen of Virginia have also offered legislation relative 
to this issue.
  No amount of money, of course, can ever replace the loss a family 
feels when their husband, wife, son, or daughter dies defending our 
country, carrying out the policies of this Government as they are 
directed by the Congress and the President of the United States. But 
this is a wealthy Nation, and we can and must do more to ensure that 
all those who fall in defense of the United States know without a doubt 
that their loved ones will be well taken care of--generously taken care 
of.
  Earlier this month, on a trip to Iraq, I flew from Baghdad to Kuwait 
aboard a C-130 about 9:30 at night. It was a very somber trip because 
traveling with us were two flag-draped coffins, the remains of soldiers 
who had given their lives for their country. They are doing this too 
often. They are doing this true to the mission we ask of them and to 
the fellowship and the spirit and the courage of the units with which 
they serve. As those coffins were removed from the aircraft--and I saw 
all the service people who were at the airport that night spontaneously 
come out to be there to show their respect--it reminded me, once again, 
that this legislation is important. This grateful Nation needs to be 
generous to those who have served.
  The families are not coming to us. They are not asking and demanding 
more money and more benefits. They have always borne the cost and 
hardship of military service silently, proudly, and steadfastly. 
However, those of us with the power to enact change must ensure that we 
are adequately meeting our responsibilities as a people to those 
families who serve us. The HEROES Act will do that, and it should move 
through this Congress as expeditiously as possible to final passage.
  I am also pleased to announce this legislation has resonated with 
various organizations that work to ensure the best services and 
benefits for our veterans. They have read the HEROES Act and decided 
that this is the right thing to do for our Armed Forces. As of this 
afternoon, the 380,000 members of the Military Officers Association of 
America, the 2.4 million members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and 
the 2.8 million members strong of the American Legion and the National 
Military Families Association have all voiced their unqualified support 
for this legislation. I am proud to have their backing, and I ask 
unanimous consent that their letters be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:
                                          Veterans of Foreign Wars


                                         of the United States,

                                 Washington, DC, January 24, 2005.
     Hon. Jeff Sessions,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Sessions: On behalf of the 2.4 million members 
     of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and our 
     Ladies Auxiliary, I would like to offer our support for ``The 
     HEROES Act of 2005,'' legislation that would amend Title 10 
     and Title 38, United States Code, to improve benefits for the 
     families of deceased members of the Armed Forces.
       As the number of servicemen and women killed in the war on 
     terror continues, it is imperative that we recognize the need 
     to provide not only emotional support to their families, but 
     much-needed financial assistance during this troubling time.
       By increasing the current $12,000 military death gratuity 
     payment to $100,000, your legislation will stand by the 
     Federal government's promise to take care of those left 
     behind when a servicemember dies in the line of duty. We also 
     applaud the bill's proposal that would increase the 
     Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) maximum benefit 
     from $250,000 to $400,000. VFW resolution 642, passed at our 
     National Convention in August, calls for legislation to 
     improve the SGLI benefit; an increase we believe is long 
     overdue.
       Once again, thank you for introducing legislation that will 
     help ensure that those families that have lost a loved one in 
     the name of freedom receive the support and financial 
     assistance that truly demonstrates our appreciation for those 
     who sacrificed all.
       We look forward to working with you and your staff on this 
     legislation. As always, thank you for your continued support 
     of America's veterans.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Dennis Cullinan,
     National Legislative Service.
                                  ____



                                          The American Legion,

                                 Washington, DC, January 25, 2005.
     Hon. Jeff Sessions,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Sessions: On behalf of the 2.8 million members 
     of The American Legion, I would like to express our full 
     support for the Honoring Every Requirement of Exemplary Act 
     of 2005/HEROES Act of 2005. The initiatives outlined in this 
     bill will greatly assist the families and loved ones of 
     servicemen and women who died in combat.
       The American Legion supports the augmentation of the lump-
     sum death benefit and the maximum payout from life insurance 
     to families of soldiers killed in combat. For those who have 
     made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our freedoms, this 
     act goes far to ease the hardships incurred by those 
     families. However, The American Legion believes the benefits 
     of this act should be extended to the families of all our 
     servicemen and women killed in the service of the nation.
       Once again, The American Legion fully supports Honoring 
     Every Requirement of Exemplary Act of 2005/HEROES Act of 
     2005. The American Legion appreciates your continued 
     leadership in addressing the issues that are important to 
     veterans, members of the Armed Forces and their families.
           Sincerely,

                                           Steve A. Robertson,

                                                         Director,
     National Legislative Commission.
                                  ____

                             National Military Family Association.
       The National Military Family Association thanks Senator 
     Jeff Sessions and Senator Joe Lieberman for their active 
     interest in the well being of our military families should 
     the unthinkable happen. NMFA is grateful for the recognition 
     in The HEROES Act of 2005 that the election of insurance is a 
     family decision and for including a provision to ensure that 
     spouses are included in that important decision.
       For the family members of a fallen servicemember, NMFA 
     knows that there is no way to compensate them for their loss, 
     only to help them prepare for their future. We strongly 
     believe that all servicemember's deaths should be treated 
     equally. Servicemembers are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a 
     week, 365 days a year. Through their oath, each 
     servicemember's commitment is the same. The survivor benefit 
     package should not create inequities by awarding different 
     benefits to families who lose a servicemember in a hostile 
     zone versus those who lose their loved one in a training 
     mission preparing for service in a hostile zone. To the 
     family, there is no difference. NMFA therefore supports 
     proposals for improvements to the survivor benefit package 
     that are consistent with our philosophy that all active duty 
     deaths be treated equally. We encourage Members of Congress 
     to examine the total package with the goal of recognizing the 
     service and sacrifice of the servicemember and family and 
     providing compensation that promotes the financial stability 
     of the family.
                                              Kathleen B. Moakler,
                            Deputy Director, Government Relations.


[[Page S551]]


  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I thank them for their service to the 
Nation over the years, for their concern for our men and women in 
uniform, and for their support of this legislation. The loss of a 
family member in combat is, indeed, a terrible tragedy for the 
survivors. I have had the responsibility to call numerous families in 
Alabama since the war on terrorism began and talk to family members and 
attend funerals and wakes for those who have been lost. So many things 
occur to these families all at once. In the midst of their grieving, 
plans must be made for funerals, transportation of loved ones, and 
families must bear all the expenses and arrangements. To the survivors, 
it will feel like everything in the world has come to a shattering 
standstill. Indeed, there may be requirements that a family move, 
relocate, or either sell or purchase a house. There are great numbers 
of expenses that can occur for them at that time. The enhanced benefit 
package we have offered will ensure that our military families do not 
have to worry about these day-to-day realities as they are having to go 
through the painful exercise of burying a loved one.
  Senator Lieberman is here. He has cosponsored and worked with us on 
this legislation. I note that it raises the $12,000 death benefit to 
$100,000. It raises the Servicemen's Group Life Insurance from $250,000 
to $400,000. Those increases will keep these payments up to date with 
current reality and be an expression of national support for those 
families.
  It is an honor to work with Senator Lieberman on the committee on a 
lot of different issues. We thank him for his leadership in the Senate 
and for his support of our men and women in uniform.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I thank my friend and colleague from 
Alabama for his kind words. I thank him for his leadership on this 
issue and so many other matters to our Nation's security and for those 
who fight and serve in uniform to protect us.
  Senator Sessions and I have worked together as members of the Armed 
Services Committee. He was chair, and I was ranking Democrat on the 
Airland Subcommittee. In some ways, the public, after listening to the 
chatter and the noise, would be surprised to hear we work so often in 
these committees with total nonpartisanship in the national interest, 
which is the way it ought to be.
  I forgot the moment, but we were considering the question of what 
kinds of benefits there are for our men and women in uniform, and we 
came to death benefits. We were both, frankly, shocked and embarrassed 
and ultimately outraged that it had been $6,000, just raised to 
$12,000. When you think of death benefits generally and the impact on a 
family, the loss of a loved one, it just cried out for some kind of 
change. That is what this proposal, the HEROES Act, is all about and 
why I am so proud to join with Senator Sessions and the other 
cosponsors in introducing it and why I am grateful Senator Frist 
included this as one of his priority items on his leadership list of 
measures introduced.
  I had one of those moments we all have--I guess all Members of the 
Senate do this--where I got word today of a loss of another Connecticut 
soldier, SGT Thomas Vitagliano. If I am not in the State because we are 
in session, I always reach out to call the family.
  I spoke with his mother earlier today. These are extraordinary 
people. She spoke with a strength that I must say was inspiring. I 
said: There is nothing I can say to fill the gap that is there because 
of the loss of a loved one in service of country. All I can say to you 
is, thank you on behalf of myself and a grateful nation and please know 
that your son is a hero.
  She said to me: He loved his service in the military. He was a big 
guy and he had a great sense of humor, but he was really serious about 
his service in the military.
  I know that he was killed by an improvised explosive device, IED, 
basically a bomb. She said to me: I know that he died in service of his 
country, he died doing what gave his life meaning.
  She also said to me: Senator, I am really thinking now in just the 
words you said, as the mother of a hero. There will be a time after his 
burial when I will think as a mother, and it will be a very hard time. 
But today I am thinking as the mother of a hero.
  That is what this HEROES Act is all about, Honoring Every Requirement 
of Exemplary Service Act, the HEROES Act of 2005. We could not come up 
with any sum of money to reimburse a family for the loss of a loved 
one, but the fact is that these folks put their lives on the line for 
us. They are there, more specifically, as a result of our decision and 
the President's as Commander in Chief. The least we can do for them is 
$100,000 in a death benefit.
  I am very pleased, also, as I believe Senator Sessions said, that 
under this HEROES Act we are going to increase the Servicemen's Group 
Life Insurance, or SGLI as it is called. That is a benefit that is now 
at $250,000. It is basically term insurance. It is a pretty good plan. 
It is not a typical death benefit that we are offering for those who 
are killed in action, but it certainly, obviously, goes to the 
survivors of those killed in action. By the HEROES Act, we are adding 
$150,000 of life insurance for troops serving in a combat zone, and the 
premium for that $150,000 will be paid by the U.S. Government.
  So we have a circumstance where if a soldier has bought the SGLI, the 
Servicemen's Group Life Insurance, their family will receive the 
$250,000, for which the soldier pays, $150,000 which we pay, and 
$100,000 that will now be the death benefit, and that will be a half 
million dollars, which in these days is not a lot of money for families 
left without a parent, a spouse, children who are going to have to be 
sent through college and all the expenses related thereto.
  The $12,000 that is the existing death benefit is so shockingly 
paltry, but all the more so when you focus on the fact--and this 
earlier $6,000 goes way back when it was first set--that the military 
has changed. Our military, as all of us know who serve on the service 
committees or visit our military or just see our Guard and Reserve at 
home, is no longer primarily a group of 18-, 19-, and 20-year-old 
single men. More than 60 percent of our service men and women on Active 
Duty have a family.
  If my colleagues have visited, they know in Iraq about 40 percent of 
the Americans there in uniform are Guard and Reserve. Those folks are 
in their thirties, forties, and during my visit at the end of December 
I saw a few who were in pretty good shape but looked as though they 
were in their fifties.
  So these are people who have families, and if killed, it will leave a 
terrible void in the life of those families. And in some small way we 
hope to fill that void monetarily by providing this increase in 
support.
  Incidentally, the HEROES Act will also direct the military to discuss 
the level of insurance selected with a spouse or other beneficiary to 
ensure that family members are informed and fully participating in 
these important decisions.
  The great President Theodore Roosevelt once said: A man who is good 
enough to shed blood for his country is good enough to be given a 
square deal afterward. I would attempt to update the great TR's wisdom 
and words by saying that a man or a woman who is good enough to shed 
blood and risk life for our country should know when doing so that 
their families will be taken care of no matter what happens. That is 
the purpose of the HEROES Act.
  I do not think I have ever introduced legislation that I have felt 
better about or, frankly, felt more optimistic about. I cannot believe 
this is not going to pass overwhelmingly and be supported 
overwhelmingly. When we think of all we are spending--incidentally, it 
is retroactive so anyone who has been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan 
will receive these full death benefits. What it will amount to in total 
is a fraction of one percentage point of what we are spending every 
month, probably every day, in Iraq. It is the least we can do.
  I am proud to be part of it with Senator Sessions. I thank him again 
for his leadership. He and I and all the others are going to stick with 
it until we get this done and the checks start to go out to those who 
have given their all to protect our security and advance the cause of 
freedom.
  I yield the floor.

[[Page S552]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. TALENT. Mr. President, has the Senator from Alabama finished?
  Mr. SESSIONS. I would like a few minutes to finish up if the Senator 
will yield.
  Mr. TALENT. I will yield.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SESSIONS. I thank Senator Talent for his courtesy which is well-
known in this body.
  Mr. President, Senator Lieberman is correct. The families I talk to 
so often say to me about their son or daughter or spouse who lost their 
life that they loved their work, they were doing what they wanted to 
do, they believed in what they were doing, and that gives them comfort. 
I have heard that over and over again. It is very similar to what the 
Senator heard today.
  I know the Senator's call was very comforting to the family because I 
know the Senator has the sensitivity and judgment to reach out to them 
in the proper way. It is not an easy thing to do, for sure.
  I have, indeed, valued the Senator's partnership on the Airland 
Subcommittee. We have never had a harsh word nor even a serious 
disagreement. It does show that those of us who are from different 
parties love America, we want to see our military using the money 
wisely and doing the right things with it.
  It has been a pleasure for me to work with the Senator from 
Connecticut. I have learned so much from him.
  I will not go over the benefits of the program, which Senator 
Lieberman has already mentioned. I think that this legislation is a 
step in the right direction. I would note that it is retroactive to the 
beginning of the war in Afghanistan. I would also note that the Defense 
Department has studied this legislation. I asked them to do that last 
year as part of our Defense bill. They support it. It will have an 
initial cost estimated at $459 million, and it should drop to half of 
that in the future and hopefully much less than that. I think these 
costs are clearly justified.
  Our service members are assigned all over the globe in dangerous 
parts of the world. As an editorial in the San Diego Union Tribune 
said:

       The costs are beside the point. This is a case in which 
     lawmakers have a moral obligation to do the right thing, 
     regardless of cost.

  I think this legislation is the right thing. I do believe we have 
great support so far and I look forward to seeing it become law. I also 
thank the Chair for his cosponsorship of this legislation.
  I thank Senator Talent for his courtesy, and I yield the floor.
  Mr. TALENT. Mr. President, I was happy to yield to my friend. I 
thought he was finished or I would not have sought the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri is recognized.

                          ____________________