[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 101 (Monday, July 9, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H4663-H4664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VETERANS' COMPENSATION COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2012
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 4114) to increase, effective as of December 1,
2012, 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.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4114
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 the ``Veterans' Compensation Cost-
of-Living Adjustment Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. INCREASE IN RATES OF DISABILITY COMPENSATION AND
DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION.
(a) Rate Adjustment.--Effective on December 1, 2012, the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall increase, in accordance
with subsection (c), the dollar amounts in effect on November
30, 2012, for the payment of disability compensation and
dependency and indemnity compensation under the provisions
specified in subsection (b).
(b) Amounts To Be Increased.--The dollar amounts to be
increased pursuant to subsection (a) are the following:
(1) Wartime disability compensation.--Each of the dollar
amounts under section 1114 of title 38, United States Code.
(2) Additional compensation for dependents.--Each of the
dollar amounts under section 1115(1) of such title.
(3) Clothing allowance.--The dollar amount under section
1162 of such title.
(4) Dependency and indemnity compensation to surviving
spouse.--Each of the dollar amounts under subsections (a)
through (d) of section 1311 of such title.
(5) Dependency and indemnity compensation to children.--
Each of the dollar amounts under sections 1313(a) and 1314 of
such title.
(c) Determination of Increase.--
(1) Percentage.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), each
dollar amount described in subsection (b) 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, 2012,
as a result of a determination under section 215(i) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)).
(2) Rounding.--Each dollar amount increased under paragraph
(1), if not a whole dollar amount, shall be rounded to the
next lower whole dollar amount.
(d) Special Rule.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may
adjust administratively, consistent with the increases made
under subsection (a), the rates of disability compensation
payable to persons under section 10 of Public Law 85-857 (72
Stat. 1263) who have not received compensation under chapter
11 of title 38, United States Code.
SEC. 3. PUBLICATION OF ADJUSTED RATES.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall publish in the
Federal Register the amounts specified in section 2(b), as
increased under that section, not later than the date on
which 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 2013.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Miller) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
As chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I rise in
support of H.R. 4114, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living
Adjustment Act of 2012.
This critically important piece of legislation authorizes a cost-of-
living increase for disabled veterans in receipt of disability
compensation payments from VA, veterans clothing allowance payments,
and other compensation for survivors of veterans who die as a result of
their service to this country. The amount of the increase will be
determined by the Consumer Price Index, which also controls the cost-
of-living adjustment for Social Security beneficiaries.
I want to thank my colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Runyan), the
chairman of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial
Affairs, for introducing this important piece of legislation and for
working with me and the ranking member to move it forward.
I want to urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 4114, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I wholeheartedly support the Veterans' Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act
of 2012, H.R. 4114. While this committee does not control the amount of
the COLA, it is critical that we pass the bill so that it can be put in
place when the Social Security COLA is enacted. It is so important that
the payments that our veterans, their families, and survivors receive
keep pace with inflation and better enable them to put food on the
table and a roof over their heads.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that last year's veterans COLA increase was
3.6 percent for 2012 and that we can likely expect an increase for
2013. The exact figure will be tied directly to the Social Security
COLA, whose beneficiaries will also see the same increase in their
payments.
As it has since 1976, Congress, through the passage of the Veterans'
Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, directs the Secretary of the Department
of Veterans Affairs to increase the rates of basic compensation for
disabled veterans and the rates of dependency and indemnity
compensation to their survivors and dependents. This bill will benefit
disabled veterans, their families, and their survivors from the World
War I era through the current conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Many of the over 3.5 million veterans who receive disability
compensation benefits depend on these payments not only to provide for
their basic needs, but for those of their spouses, children, and
parents as well. Without an annual COLA increase, these veterans, their
families, and survivors will likely see the value of their hard-earned
benefits slowly eroding.
Mr. Speaker, I think we would be derelict in our duties if we fail to
guarantee that those who sacrifice so much for this country are able to
receive benefits and service that keep pace with their needs and
inflation.
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We fund the wars; let's fund the warriors. Let me repeat: we fund the
wars; let's fund the warriors.
I urge my colleagues to support the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-
Living Adjustment Act of 2012, H.R. 4114, without delay.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield as much time
as he might consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Runyan), the
subcommittee chairman of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and
Memorial Affairs, not only the author of this particular piece of
legislation, but since coming to this Congress, he has become one of
the most ardent supporters of our veterans.
Mr. RUNYAN. Chairman Miller, thank you for those kind words, and
thank you for your support in helping me move this piece of legislation
forward.
I rise today in support of H.R. 4114, the Veterans' Compensation
Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2012.
H.R. 4114, which I introduced in February, puts veterans on equal
footing with Social Security beneficiaries by increasing the amount
provided to several kinds of compensation by the amount of the Social
Security cost-of-living adjustment. These include disabled veterans
compensation, veterans' clothing allowance, and the DIC for veterans'
survivors.
This annual and noncontroversial bill, which has been scored by CBO
as having no budgetary impact, is a critical part of ensuring that
benefits for disabled veterans and their families are sufficient to
meet their needs.
I am proud that the first bill I introduced in Congress last year was
the veterans' COLA bill, which gave the first cost-of-living adjustment
to our
[[Page H4664]]
veterans that they had received in several years. I am equally proud
that we are doing right by our veterans by moving the COLA bill
increase this year in the form of H.R. 4114.
I urge all Members to support this critical piece of legislation.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, last month we were honored with
the presence of over 400 Montford Point Marines in the Capitol to
receive the Congressional Gold Medal. From 1942 to 1949, almost 20,000
African American Marines experienced basic training at Camp Montford
Point near the New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
These heroes fought on two fronts, at home against discrimination,
and across the sea to defend our Nation. This highest civilian award in
the United States was first presented during the Revolutionary War to
George Washington. It is fitting that this latest award should go to
those men who, years before Jackie Robinson and Rosa Parks, joined the
Marines to defend their country.
During this week when we are going to be debating the Affordable Care
Act, we need to discuss a project that affects veterans health in my
State of Florida. On July 1, the VA paid an additional $500,000 to rent
a portable operating room for a project that is 95 percent complete in
the Miami VA Medical Center. When this renovation was first proposed,
two minor projects, each costing $10 million, were sponsored to fulfill
the requirements of the project.
I visited the medical center last month and heard directly from the
administrators of the facility about the project. The planners on the
ground soon realized that patients could have been put at risk due to
contamination of the operating rooms by the construction on the other
side of the room.
Veterans health care was being put at risk, and rather than let this
happen, it was decided by those who know the veterans health the best--
those at the health facilities--to combine the projects into one and
rent the portable operating rooms.
We need a procedure to give the Secretary the ability to correct
these kinds of projects and not waste taxpayers' money. I will soon be
introducing legislation to give the Secretary the help he needs to save
taxpayers money.
In the last Congress, our Democratic leadership in the House and the
Senate, with President Barack Obama, we were able to pass the largest
increase in the veterans budget in history. We also passed advanced
appropriations for the VA health care so that veterans would not be
subject to the deadline that Congress seems to miss every year to pass
a proper budget. It allows the VA to plan for the following year's
health care needs and reassure veterans that they will be able to get
the care that they need.
We also passed the caregivers law to help those who are taking care
of the members of the military, funded PTSD and TBI mental health
programs, homeless programs and rural health care in the veterans
homes. It is the least we can do for those who have given so much to
protect our freedom. We did not just talk the talk but walked the walk.
And since we're discussing repeal of the health care law tomorrow, I
would like to briefly discuss how, in fact, the Affordable Care Act
benefits our Nation's veterans and all Americans. Although not a
perfect bill--and no bill is since there are many compromises made--
this is a perfect start, and attempting to obtain universal health care
has been a primary goal of every single President and Congress since
the days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had fought for quality,
accessible health care insurance reform for all Americans. And now, 75
years later, after the Supreme Court ruling just over a week ago, our
Nation has finally attained that goal.
Millions of Americans have already come to rely on the wide-ranging
and lifesaving benefits of the Affordable Care Act.
And let me just say, I keep hearing ObamaCare. Let me just be clear.
Obama cares for the American health care.
Before Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, nearly one in five
citizens in the wealthiest country in the world had little or no hope
of affordable insurance and access to regular health care. When fully
implemented, the Affordable Care Act will cover an additional 30
million Americans and 3.8 million African Americans who otherwise would
remain uninsured.
Already under the Affordable Health Care Act, 17 million children
with preexisting conditions can no longer be denied coverage; 105
million Americans no longer have a lifetime limit on their coverage;
32.5 million seniors received free preventive service in 2011; 54
million Americans in private plans have received free preventive
services; 6.6 million young adults up to the age of 26 have obtained
insurance through their parents' plan; and 5.2 million seniors and
disabled people save an average of $704 each on their prescription
drugs; 360,000 small businesses received tax credits to help them
afford coverage for 2 million workers; 13 million families will receive
insurance premium rebates averaging $151 in 2012.
However, instead of debating a health care repeal, we should be
debating a construction reauthorization bill to deal with the waste of
taxpayer dollars, like I indicated in Miami--$500,000 this month for a
portable operating room.
In closing, let's get to work.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I think it's rather interesting
that my colleague would talk about the supposed great things that are
in the ObamaCare bill and not talk about how it's going to be paid
for--in fact, the largest tax increase on the American people that this
Congress has ever placed on their backs.
They would make you believe that it was all free, but it's not. It's
going to cost somebody, and that's going to be the American citizens.
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I also want to talk about the Miami project very quickly. I had to go
down and actually visit and then pressure the VA Secretary to make sure
that the director of the Miami Medical Center left her job because she
was not doing what she was supposed to do. In fact, this was, in a way,
a skirting of the rules and of the laws by splitting a project into
two, thus costing the taxpayers of the United States considerably more
money, including the cost of the rental of the trailers that are being
used as temporary operating rooms.
We continue to wait for the Department of Veterans Affairs to
actually make an official request for us to come forward and take care
of this problem that exists in Miami, specifically because of, I think,
poor administrative oversight not only at the administrative level in
Miami but with the VISN Director in VISN 8 as well.
General Leave
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, at this point, I ask unanimous
consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend
their remarks and to include any extraneous materials that they may
have on H.R. 4114.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the Senate itself hasn't been
able to pass a budget for almost 4 years, and they cannot pass an
appropriations bill on time, so I do support the advanced appropriation
that this House supported and that ultimately was signed into law. With
that, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 4114.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 4114.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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