[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2083-S2084]
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. Sanders, Mr. Brown, Mr. Webb, Mr. Tester, Mr. 
        Begich, Mr. Burris, Mr. Specter, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Wicker, Mr. 
        Johanns, and Mr. Graham):
  S. 407. A bill to increase, effective as of December 1, 2009, 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, and for other purposes; 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 2009. This measure would direct the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs to increase, effective December 1, 2009, 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.
  All of my colleagues on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, including 
Senators Burr, Rockefeller, Murray, Sanders, Brown, Webb, Tester, 
Begich, Burris, Specter, Isakson, Wicker, Johanns, and Graham 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 110-324, which resulted 
in a COLA increase of 5.8 percent for 2009. The 2010 COLA has not yet 
been determined.
  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 nearly 3 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.
  Mr. BURR. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about the Veterans' 
Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009. As the Ranking 
Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I am pleased to 
join the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Akaka, and all of the 
Committee's members in introducing this important bill.
  As part of its mission to ``care for him who shall have borne the 
battle, and for his widow, and his orphan,'' the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, VA, provides a range of benefits to veterans and their 
families. These benefits include disability compensation for veterans 
who suffer from disabilities incurred in or aggravated by their 
military service and dependency and indemnity compensation for the 
spouses or children of disabled or deceased veterans. Although we can 
never fully repay them for their service or sacrifices, these payments 
may help ease their financial burdens and improve the quality of their 
lives.
  The bill we are introducing today will ensure that more than 3 
million veterans and their family members--including more than 130,000 
in my home state of North Carolina--will receive a cost-of-living 
increase in their VA benefits this year. These annual increases help 
ensure that the value of the benefits provided by a grateful nation 
will not decline over time as a result of inflation.

[[Page S2084]]

  Last year, I was proud to support the enactment of the Veterans' 
Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008, which resulted in a 
5.8 percent increase in VA benefits. Under this bill, the amount of the 
increase for 2009 would be the same as that provided to Social Security 
recipients, which will be announced later this year.
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