[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 21 (Friday, February 8, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S819]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. AKAKA (for himself, Mr. Burr, Mr. Rockefeller, Mrs. 
        Murray, Mr. Obama, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Brown, Mr. Webb, Mr. 
        Tester, Mr. Craig, and Mr. Isakson):
  S. 2617. A bill to increase, effective as of December 1, 2008, the 
rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities 
and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the 
survivors of certain disabled veterans; to the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President today, as Chairman of the Senate Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs, I introduce the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-
Living Adjustment Act of 2008. This measure would direct the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs to increase, effective December 1, 2008, the rates 
of veterans' compensation to keep pace with the rising cost-of-living 
in this country. The rate adjustment is equal to that provided on an 
annual basis to Social Security recipients and is based on the Consumer 
Price Index.
  Several of my colleagues on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 
including Ranking Member Burr, and Senators Rockefeller, Murray, Obama, 
Sanders, Brown, Webb, Tester, Craig, and Isakson join me in introducing 
this important legislation. I appreciate their continued support of our 
Nation's veterans.
  Congress regularly enacts an annual cost-of-living adjustment for 
veterans' compensation in order to ensure that inflation does not erode 
the purchasing power of the veterans and their families who depend upon 
this income to meet their daily needs. This past year Congress passed, 
and the President signed into law, Public Law 110-111, which resulted 
in a COLA increase of 2.3 percent for 2008. The 2009 projected COLA 
increase is 2.5 percent.
  The COLA affects, among other benefits, veterans' disability 
compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving 
spouses and children. Many of the more than 3 million recipients of 
those benefits depend upon these tax-free payments not only to provide 
for their own basic needs, but those of their spouses and children as 
well. Without an annual COLA increase, these veterans and their 
families would see the value of their hard-earned benefits slowly 
diminish, and we, as a Congress, would be neglecting our duty to ensure 
that those who sacrificed so much for this country receive the benefits 
and services to which they are entitled.
  It is important that we view veterans' compensation, including the 
annual COLA, and indeed all benefits earned by veterans, as a 
continuing cost of war. It is clear that the ongoing conflicts in Iraq 
and Afghanistan will continue to result in injuries and disabilities 
that will yield an increase in claims for compensation. Currently, 
there are more than 2.8 million veterans in receipt of VA disability 
compensation.
  Disbursement of disability compensation to our Nation's veterans 
constitutes one of the central missions of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs. It is a necessary measure of appreciation afforded to those 
veterans whose lives were forever altered by their service to this 
country.
  I urge our colleagues to support passage of this COLA increase. I 
also ask our colleagues for their continued support for our Nation's 
veterans.

                          ____________________