[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 132 (Tuesday, September 16, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H7587-H7588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VETERANS' COMPENSATION COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2014
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
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.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is 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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) and the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs.
Kirkpatrick) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado.
{time} 1945
General Leave
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on
S. 2258.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Colorado?
There was no objection.
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may
consume.
As a senior member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I
rise today in favor of S. 2258, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-
Living Adjustment Act of 2014.
Mr. Speaker, it is timely that we consider this legislation today,
having just observed last week the 13th anniversary of the September 11
terrorist attacks on our homeland, the catalyst for our efforts to
fight terrorism.
Many of those who have sacrificed so much in recent and past
conflicts aimed to protect America from harm are in continued and
increased need. This is critical legislation that authorizes a cost-of-
living adjustment for disabled veterans receiving disability
compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs and other
compensation for survivors of veterans who have died as a result of
their services to our country.
The amount of the payment increases will be determined by the
Consumer Price Index, which controls the cost-of-living adjustment for
Social Security payments as well.
I would like to thank Congressman Runyan of New Jersey, the chairman
of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
within the Committee on Veterans Affairs, for introducing H.R. 4095, a
companion bill to this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting
this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. KIRKPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, last week the Senate passed S. 2258, the Veterans'
Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2014, which provides that
veterans receive a cost-of-living adjustment beginning in December.
Today, the House
[[Page H7588]]
can also act to ensure veterans continue to receive the support they
deserve.
This is a bill that we must pass every year in order to ensure that
the benefits we pay our veterans do not lose purchasing power because
of inflation. Today we have the opportunity to pass this measure and
send it to the President's desk.
This bill directs the VA to increase the rates of veterans'
disability compensation, provide additional compensation for disabled
veterans with dependents, ensure certain disabled veterans receive a
clothing allowance, and increase dependency and indemnity compensation
for surviving spouses and children. These adjustments would be made
effective December 1, 2014, and match the increase in Social Security
benefits.
S. 2258 will assist the estimated 4.5 million veterans and survivors
who receive these monthly benefits and often depend upon these payments
to make ends meet. For some, it is their only source of income.
Without this annual COLA increase, veterans, their families and
survivors, would see the value of their hard-earned benefits slowly
erode. Providing for this cost-of-living increase is another important
thing Congress can do to help veterans and their families that have
already sacrificed so much for us.
I urge my colleagues to support S. 2258, and I reserve the balance of
my time.
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. KIRKPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman
from Nevada (Ms. Titus).
Ms. TITUS. I thank the gentlewoman from Arizona for yielding to me
and for all her hard work on behalf of our veterans.
Mr. Speaker, as the ranking member of the Disability Assistance and
Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, I rise in support of S. 2258, the
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act.
Unlike Social Security COLA increases, Congress must act each year to
provide veterans with the COLA increase that they earned and deserved.
I was proud to introduce the corresponding legislation in the House
with our subcommittee chairman, Jon Runyan. Together, we also
introduced legislation to make this yearly adjustment automatic.
So today, the House will pass a number of bills that are designed to
meet the bipartisan goal of ensuring our Nation's heroes receive all
the benefits they have earned. But there is an important bill that has
been blocked from consideration in the House. That bill is H.R. 2529,
the Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act, which would provide all
married veterans and their families access to Federal benefits that
they deserve.
Last week in the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, only one
Republican had the courage to vote to provide access to VA benefits to
legally married, same-sex couples, regardless of where they live,
couples who received the benefits while they were in the military but
lost them upon becoming veterans if they reside in certain States.
We heard all types of pitiful excuses. We heard that it was
unconstitutional for Congress to force States to adopt Federal
directives. That is ridiculous and intellectually dishonest. In fact,
this House voted unanimously earlier this year to mandate that States
provide instate tuition for veterans, a bill authored by the very
Member who made the specious states' rights argument against H.R. 2529.
And if you can even believe it, we heard process arguments as an excuse
for not doing the right thing. I would remind my colleagues that they
are the ones who make the process.
So when we vote today to adjust the COLA, remember that this increase
is meaningless to thousands of our Nation's heroes in States like
Texas, Florida, and North Carolina. They will not be receiving the
benefits they earned and deserve. It is shameful and it is unfair.
So, Mr. Speaker, while I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2258, I
would remind them of these facts and implore the Republican leadership
to do the right thing and bring H.R. 2529 to the floor for a vote so
all veterans will get the benefits they earned and deserve.
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. KIRKPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 2258 and send this
important bill to the President today.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I too urge all Members to support S. 2258,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, thank you, Chairman Miller, for
your work to bring this legislation to the floor of the House that is
so important to so many veterans depending on VA compensation.
This legislation affects the benefits of all veterans, by raising the
compensation they receive to allow them to continue to buy the products
they need to live.
It is important to pass this clean bill to make sure that those who
have sacrificed to protect the freedoms we hold most dear do not suffer
in these tough economic times.
In the words of the first President of the United States, George
Washington:
``The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in
any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to
how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and
appreciated by their country.''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, S. 2258.
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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