[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3397-3398]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    FIGHTING FOR AMERICA'S VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, some military retirees, individuals who 
are eligible for military retirement benefits as a result of a full-
service career, are also eligible for disability compensation from the 
VA based on a medical problem they incurred while in the service. Due 
to a 19th Century law, these service-disabled retirees must surrender a 
portion of their retired pay if they want to receive the disability 
compensation to which they are entitled.
  Nationwide more than 550,000 disabled military retirees have been 
required to give up their retired pay in order to receive their VA 
disability compensation. For nearly 2 decades, Madam Speaker, I have 
introduced legislation to correct this longstanding problem, commonly 
known as concurrent receipt, in the House of Representatives.
  Last year our Republican Congress and President George W. Bush 
reached an historic agreement that changes the 100-year-old practice of 
having disabled veterans pay for their VA disability out of their 
military retirement. The new law greatly expands the Combat-Related 
Special Compensation Program, which we refer to as CRSC, by repealing 
the 60 percent minimum disability requirement which was set forth in 
the 2003 Defense Authorization Act. Effective January 1, 2004, earlier 
this year, CRSC is payable to any military retiree, including personnel 
who qualify for reserve retirement, who has at least 20 years of 
service, a Purple Heart and/or injuries sustained while performing 
military duty in a combat situation or with military equipment or 
during military training. Retirees must apply to their military service 
for

[[Page 3398]]

CRSC payments, but there is no phase-in period for the CRSC benefit.
  The new law also phases in full concurrent receipt benefits over the 
next 10 years for those who have service-connected disabilities rated 
50 percent or higher. In addition, the law extends concurrent receipt 
and CRSC coverage to Reserve and National Guard retirees who were 
inadvertently excluded from the CRSC program when it was originally 
enacted. I am pleased to report that on February 1 approximately 
150,000 disabled retirees began receiving their new benefits.
  Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, the issue of concurrent receipt has 
become something of a ``political football.'' Some of my Democratic 
colleagues have been working hard to convince our Nation's veterans 
that they are truly dedicated to keeping America's promise to them. I 
find it highly ironic that these Members are now commending themselves 
for their recent leadership on an issue that I have been pursuing for 
18 years and I have a simple question for them: ``Where have you been 
all of these years?''
  For the 40 years that the Democrats had nearly exclusive control of 
Congress, they never sent a bill, never sent a bill, to end this unfair 
practice to either a Republican or Democratic President. Moreover, the 
House Democrats have never included one penny for concurrent receipt in 
any of their annual budget proposals. For the first 9 years that I 
worked on this issue, I was stymied at every turn by the party who 
controlled Congress. My 1993 Discharge Petition was signed by a small 
fraction of those who last year expressed a sudden interest in the 
issue by signing the Democrat Discharge Petition. Not a single disabled 
retiree, Madam Speaker, received any concurrent receipt benefits under 
the Democratically controlled Congress.
  However, Democrats are now shamelessly attempting to hijack this 
issue in an effort to portray themselves as friends of disabled 
military veterans. It was not until the Republican Party took control 
of Congress in 1995 that we have made significant progress, a step-by-
step advance towards full concurrent receipt. The Republican-controlled 
Congress has acted on five separate occasions to address the concurrent 
receipt issue.
  Republicans also fulfilled the pledge given to millions of military 
retirees that they would receive lifetime medical coverage in exchange 
for their selfless military service to the Nation with the enactment of 
the TRICARE-for-Life program. Moreover, spending for veterans' health 
care programs has grown by 49 percent over the past 5 years, grown by 
49 percent over the past 5 years. So I ask which political party has 
been the true, underline ``true,'' friend of our Nation's military 
retirees and veterans?
  Despite this breakthrough, full concurrent receipt does remain a 
priority goal for all of us who have been involved in the campaign to 
provide equity to America's disabled military retirees. In the interim, 
Madam Speaker, of reaching our ultimate goal, I would say that I am 
very proud of our accomplishments on behalf of the brave men and women 
who have sacrificed so much for our great Nation.

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