[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 130 (Thursday, September 11, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5570-S5571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VETERANS' COMPENSATION COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2014
Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Veterans' Affairs
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 2258 and the
Senate proceed to its consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the bill by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 2258) to provide for an increase, effective
December 1, 2014, in 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.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, today, as chairman of the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs, I applaud my colleagues for their support and Senate
passage of S. 2258, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living
Adjustment Act of 2014.
All of my colleagues on the committee, including Ranking Member Burr
and Senators Rockefeller, Murray, Brown, Tester, Blumenthal, Hirono,
Isakson, Johanns, Moran, Boozman, and Heller, joined me in supporting
this important legislation, introduced by Senator Begich. I look
forward to continuing our bipartisan efforts to improve the lives of
our Nation's veterans.
This important measure directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to
increase the rates of veterans' compensation to keep pace with the
increasing 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. Last year's cost-of-living
adjustment of 1.5 percent affected so many important benefits,
including veterans' disability compensation and dependency and
indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. VA has
projected that more than 4.5
[[Page S5571]]
million veterans and survivors will receive these benefits in fiscal
year 2015.
I have been chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee for
nearly 2 years, but during that period I have learned several very
important lessons. First and foremost, the cost of war is much greater
than most Americans realize, and the cost of war does not end when the
last shots are fired or the last missiles are launched. The cost of war
continues until the last veteran receives all of the care and all of
the benefits that he or she has earned. With this in mind, for those
who claim that taking care of veterans is too expensive, if you are not
prepared to properly provide the health care and other benefits that
veterans have earned, then do not send them to war in the first place.
Taking care of veterans is a cost of war.
As part of Congress's important responsibility of ensuring veterans
and survivors receive all of the benefits to which they are entitled,
we take steps to prevent these benefits from being diminished by the
effects of inflation. Over the last several years there has been a lot
of discussion about so-called entitlement reform. When people talk
about entitlement reform what they really mean, in English, is cutting
Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The cuts to Social Security
benefits were going to come in the form of a so-called chained CPI,
which would have meant significant cuts in the cost-of-living
adjustments that seniors received, that people with disabilities
received, and, if you can believe it, that disabled veterans received.
The bottom line is that at a time when the wealthiest people in this
country and the largest corporations are doing phenomenally well and
enjoy many, many tax breaks, we should not balance the budget on the
backs of some of the most vulnerable people in this country--including
disabled veterans. I will continue to strongly oppose any proposal to
adopt the chained CPI. Moving to a chained CPI would cut the benefits
of more than 4 million disabled veterans and surviving spouses.
Congress's responsibility to ensure veterans and survivors receive
all of the benefits to which they are entitled also requires that we
ensure they receive their complete cost-of-living adjustment. For a
number of years, VA rounded down cost-of-living adjustments. The
negative impacts of the round-down were just one of the issues that
were brought to my attention by the veterans service organizations. I
am proud to say that passage of last year's cost-of-living adjustment
ended this practice. This year's bill, sponsored by Senator Begich,
would continue to ensure veterans receive the full adjustment to which
they are entitled. To some, this is mere pennies, but I know these
small amounts of money add up over time and make a significant
contribution to the financial stability of millions of veterans and
their survivors.
We have an obligation to ensure the benefits we provide veterans and
their survivors do not erode over time. As the debate over spending and
the national debt continues, we cannot forget the debt we owe to
veterans and their families--after sacrificing for our well-being, the
least we can do is ensure theirs. I commend the Senate's passage of S.
2258, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2014.
It is another important step as we continue to work to honor our
obligation to America's veterans and their surviving family members.
Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time
and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid
upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 2258) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading,
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:
S. 2258
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 2014''.
SEC. 2. INCREASE IN RATES OF DISABILITY COMPENSATION AND
DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION.
(a) Rate Adjustment.--Effective on December 1, 2014, the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall increase, in accordance
with subsection (c), the dollar amounts in effect on November
30, 2014, 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.--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, 2014, as a result
of a determination under section 215(i) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 415(i)).
(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.
(e) Publication of Adjusted Rates.--The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall publish in the Federal Register the
amounts specified in subsection (b), as increased under
subsection (a), 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 2015.
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