[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19888]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 MILITARY RETIREE SURVIVOR COMFORT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. WALTER B. JONES

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 25, 2003

  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce 
the Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act. This legislation is a simple 
provision aimed to provide a small amount of relief to surviving 
beneficiaries of military retirees.
  As my colleagues may be aware, federal regulations require the 
Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS) to terminate payment of the 
retired pay upon notification of the retiree's death. Once the 
surviving spouse or beneficiary notifies the finance center, DFAS then 
electronically withdraws the entirety of the last payment from the 
deceased retiree's checking account. Then several weeks later, the 
retiree's beneficiary will receive a check in the mail containing a 
pro-rated portion of the military pay for the days for which the 
retiree was still living.
  The current process rightfully and sensibly seeks to only pay 
military retirees for when they are alive, but it can and often does 
have an adverse impact on the retiree's beneficiary. Many of these 
surviving spouses or caregivers are living on fixed incomes. When the 
retirement pay is deposited, they use those funds to pay things like 
rent, medical expenses, or other living expenses. Automatically 
withdrawing those funds can inadvertently cause rent checks to bounce 
and place great additional financial strain on a beneficiary when they 
are already faced with great loss and the prospect of additional costs 
associated with the military retiree's death.
  In many respects, a military spouse has provided equal service and 
sacrifices as the military members themselves. While they may not face 
the perils of combat, they often raise families alone, endure long 
separations, and provide a mutual safety net for other military 
families. This legislation seeks to recognize that sacrifice by 
forgiving the overpayment made to the surviving beneficiary if that 
beneficiary has a joint bank account with the military retiree. In 
order to offset some of the minimal cost, the recipient receiving the 
overpayment would forgo the first month of Survivor Benefit Plan 
payments. The individual amounts will be small, but they will provide 
great comfort to those who are already losing much.
  In closing, I would like to thank the Fleet Reserve Association for 
their great assistance in working with me on this legislation. They are 
dedicated advocates for military personnel and their families, and this 
is just one more example of their efforts. I look forward to working 
with the Fleet Reserve Association and many other colleagues in seeing 
enactment of this legislation.

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