[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 84 (Monday, June 26, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H4528-H4530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VETERANS' COMPENSATION COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2006
Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 4843) to increase, effective as of December 1, 2006, the rates of
disability compensation for veterans with service-connected
disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for
survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans, and for other
purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 4843
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as ``Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-
Living Adjustment Act of 2006''.
SEC. 2. INCREASE IN RATES OF DISABILITY COMPENSATION AND
DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION.
(a) Rate Adjustment.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall, effective on December 1, 2006, increase the dollar
amounts in effect for the payment of disability compensation
and dependency and indemnity compensation by the Secretary,
as specified in subsection (b).
(b) Amounts To Be Increased.--The dollar amounts to be
increased pursuant to subsection (a) are the following:
(1) Compensation.--Each of the dollar amounts in effect
under section 1114 of title 38, United States Code.
(2) Additional compensation for dependents.--Each of the
dollar amounts in effect under section 1115(1) of such title.
(3) Clothing allowance.--The dollar amount in effect under
section 1162 of such title.
(4) New dic rates.--The dollar amounts in effect under
paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 1311(a) of such title.
(5) Old dic rates.--Each of the dollar amounts in effect
under section 1311(a)(3) of such title.
(6) Additional dic for surviving spouses with minor
children.--The dollar amounts in effect under section 1311(b)
of such title and paragraph (1) of section 1311(f) of such
title (as redesignated by subsection (e) of this section).
(7) Additional dic for disability.--The dollar amounts in
effect under sections 1311(c) and 1311(d) of such title.
(8) DIC for dependent children.--The dollar amounts in
effect under sections 1313(a) and 1314 of such title.
(c) Determination of Increase.--
(1) Base for increase.--The increase under subsection (a)
shall be made in the dollar amounts specified in subsection
(b) as in effect on November 30, 2006.
(2) Percentage of increase.--Except as provided in
paragraph (3), each such amount shall be increased by the
same percentage as the percentage by which benefit amounts
payable under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
401 et seq.) are increased effective December 1, 2006, as a
result of a determination under section 215(i) of such Act
(42 U.S.C. 415(i)).
(3) Rounding.--Each dollar amount increased pursuant to
paragraph (2) shall, if not a whole dollar amount, be rounded
down to the next lower whole dollar amount.
(d) Special Rule.--The Secretary may adjust
administratively, consistent with the increases made under
subsection (a), the rates of disability compensation payable
to persons within the purview of section 10 of Public Law 85-
857 (72 Stat. 1263) who are not in receipt of compensation
payable pursuant to chapter 11 of title 38, United States
Code.
(e) Designation Correction.--Section 1311 of title 38,
United States Code, is amended by redesignating the second
subsection (e) (added by section 301(a) of the Veterans
Benefits Improvement Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-454; 118
Stat. 3610)) as subsection (f).
SEC. 3. PUBLICATION OF ADJUSTED RATES.
At the same time as the matters specified in section
215(i)(2)(D) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
415(i)(2)(D)) are required to be published by reason of a
determination made under section 215(i) of such Act during
fiscal year 2006, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
publish in the Federal Register the amounts specified in
subsection (b) of section 2, as increased pursuant to that
section.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Indiana (Mr. Buyer) and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana.
Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4843, as amended, is one of the more important
bills the committee brings to the floor each year.
On April 6 of this year, the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance
and Memorial Affairs, chaired by Mr. Miller of Florida, took testimony
on H.R. 4843. The subcommittee then marked this bill on June 8 and
reported the bill favorably to the full committee by unanimous voice
vote. The full committee reported the bill, as amended, on June 22.
H.R. 4843, as amended, would provide a cost-of-living adjustment, a
COLA, to disabled veterans and certain survivors in the same amount
given to Social Security recipients. All veterans who receive
disability compensation and qualified survivors would receive the
adjustment beginning December 1 of this year. Congress has acted on
COLA legislation every fiscal year since 1976.
More than 2.6 million veterans receive service-connected disability
compensation. These benefits are paid monthly and range from $112 for a
10 percent disability to $2,393 for a 100 percent disability.
Additional monetary benefits are available for our most severely
disabled veterans, as well as those with dependents.
Spouses of veterans who died on active duty or as a result of a
service-connected disability may also be entitled to monetary
compensation. The amount of the dependency and indemnity compensation
is $1,033.
Additional amounts are paid to survivors who are housebound or in
need of aid and attendants or have minor children. Currently, about
340,000 surviving spouses and children are receiving survivors'
benefits.
The amendment to the bill by Ms. Berkley would also provide a COLA to
the dependency and indemnity compensation transitional benefit.
Established in Public Law 108-454, transitional DIC is a 2-year
benefit; and it is intended to ease the family's transition following
the death of a service member or veteran.
The Congressional Budget Office is projecting a 2.2 percent COLA
increase, but it may be higher or lower depending upon the changes in
the Consumer Price Index. The exact percentage will be calculated as of
September 30, 2006.
The cost of providing a COLA is assumed in the administration's
budget baseline; therefore, it will be budget neutral. Additionally,
H.R. 5385, the Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs and
Related Agencies Appropriations Bill of 2007 fully funds a veterans'
COLA effective December 1, 2006.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
[[Page H4529]]
I would like to thank Chairman Buyer, Ranking Member Lane Evans,
subcommittee Chairman Jeff Miller and our subcommittee Ranking Member,
Ms. Berkley, for their work on this bill. In particular, I want to
thank Ms. Berkley for her amendment, which was offered during our
markup and which received unanimous bipartisan support.
H.R. 4843, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act
of 2006, will help our service-disabled veterans and their survivors
maintain the purchasing power of their benefits in 2007. Ms. Berkley's
amendment assures our Gold Star Wives with young children that the
value of their benefit will not continue to erode as it did during this
current year.
Unfortunately, many do not fully recognize that the benefits we pay
to men and women who have borne the battle, their widows, widowers, and
children are a continuing cost of war. Indeed, the VA is currently
paying benefits to survivors of Civil War veterans. We have a moral
obligation to the men and women who put on the uniform and are harmed
in the service of the Nation that we will compensate them for the harm
which occurs. We have many examples where this is not being done,
because, although costs increase, the benefit has remained static. The
least we can do for the young families of our deceased veterans is to
provide them the full value of the 2-year transitional benefit they
receive.
Although we will not know the exact percentage by which the benefit
is to be increased until the Consumer Price Index is calculated in
October, I expect this bill will help VA beneficiaries maintain the
value of their benefits.
{time} 1430
No amount of money can ever compensate our veterans for the loss of
their health or the families for the loss of a loved one. Nonetheless,
it is critical that the monetary value of these benefits, which
partially compensate for such losses, is not reduced merely by the
passage of time.
In 2004, over 28,000 veterans in New Mexico received disability
compensation or pension payments from the VA. Many New Mexico family
members of veterans and their survivors also receive VA cash benefits.
The action we are taking here today will help the veterans in my
congressional district who depend on these VA benefits.
H.R. 4843, as amended, will receive my full support; and it deserves
the support of all Members of the House.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers.
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown), a member of the Veterans'
Affairs Committee who has been a fighter for our Nation's veterans.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support
this bill to increase the veterans compensation, or COLA. It is
important to pass this legislation to support those who have put their
lives on the line to protect the freedom this country holds so dear.
This money is very important to veterans living on fixed incomes and
very little outside support. The COLA increase is tied to the Social
Security COLA, which could change depending on the Consumer Price
Index.
While many of the beneficiaries of the increase are veterans of past
wars, the disabled from the current war, Operation Enduring Freedom and
Operation Iraqi Freedom, will benefit also.
Those injured in the current war are surviving once fatal injuries at
greater numbers than anytime in the past. The rates of disability
compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation affected by the
COLA will help those recovering to have a better quality of life and
help them to become contributing members of society.
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
General Leave
Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend
my remarks and that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to
revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R.
4843, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Indiana?
There was no objection.
Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I would also like the Members to note that
last year when we came to the floor, we thought that the COLA was going
to be about 2.7 percent. Once they did the adjustment on the CPI, it
ended up being about 4.1 percent. I don't know what it is going to be
this year. That was a huge change. Even though we are saying
approximately 2.2, I don't know what it is going to be.
I would like to thank Lane Evans and Bob Filner for their work. I
would also like to thank Mr. Miller and Ms. Berkley. I would like to
thank Mr. Udall and Ms. Brown. Also, I thank them in appreciation for
the timely fashion in which they moved this bill through the committee
and now onto the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Veterans'
Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2006.
Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R.
4843, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2006.
This is a good bipartisan bill.
It will help to ensure that the real value of the benefits earned by
our veterans does not decrease as prices rise.
These benefits are critical for many veterans and their families to
help make ends meet.
Veterans and their families need to know that the purchasing power of
their earned benefits will not decrease over time.
This legislation also includes a provision similar to my bill, H.R.
1573.
Last Congress, in response to a VA evaluation, we passed legislation
to provide an increase of $250 to the monthly DIC, Dependency and
Indemnity Compensation, benefit for surviving spouses with children
under 18 for the first 2 years of eligibility.
While I believe that we should make this benefit permanent,
especially in light of the brave men and women giving their lives in
Iraq and Afghanistan; the provision in today's bill is extremely
important and will ensure that this benefit maintains its value over
time.
I want to thank Ms. Berkley for her amendment in Committee to include
this provision.
This is a good bill that will help veterans and their families across
the country and I urge my colleagues to support it.
I hope that this is the first of many bills that we will now move
forward to improve the benefits and quality of care provided to our
veterans and their families.
I congratulate Chairman Miller of Florida for introducing this
important bill, and I thank full committee Chairman Steve Buyer and
full committee Ranking Member Lane Evans for moving this legislation
forward.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R.
4843, as amended, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment
Act of 2006.
On March 2, 2006, as Chairman on the Subcommittee on Disability
Assistance and Memorial Affairs, I introduced H.R. 4843 with Shelley
Berkley, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, and Steve Buyer and Lane
Evans, Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs. On June 22, 2006, the full Committee adopted an
amendment offered by Ms. Berkley to provide the annual adjustment to a
two year transitional benefit offered under the dependency and
indemnity compensation program.
Each year since 1976, Congress has provided a cost-of-living
adjustment (COLA) to the benefits provided to our Nation's disabled
veterans and their survivors. The purpose of the annual COLA is to
ensure that Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) cash benefits retain
their purchasing power and are not eroded by inflation.
The Committee is following its longstanding practice of setting the
COLA by reference to the yet-to-be-determined Social Security increase.
In February 2006, the Administration projected a 2.6 percent increase;
as of May 2006, the Congressional Budget Office is projecting the COLA
to be 2.2 percent. However, it may be higher or lower depending on
changes in the Consumer Price Index. The exact percentage will be
calculated as of September 30, 2006, and the COLA will go into effect
on December 1, 2006.
As Chairman Buyer indicated, this is one of the more important pieces
of legislation the Veterans' Affairs Committee brings to the floor each
year, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
Mr. BUYER. I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 4843, as amended.
[[Page H4530]]
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will
be postponed.
____________________