[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 19]
[House]
[Pages 26395-26398]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      VETERANS' COMPENSATION COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2005

  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 1234) to increase, effective as of 
December 1, 2005, 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 ask 
for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Indiana?

                              {time}  1745

  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I do not 
plan to object, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana for an 
explanation of the bill.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Nevada for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1234 is the Veterans' Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act 
of 2005.

[[Page 26396]]

It is one of the more important pieces of legislation that the Veterans 
Committee brings to the floor each year. Similar language was included 
in H.R. 1220, which passed the House on July 13, 2005, by voice vote.
  Briefly, S. 1234 would authorize a 4.1 percent cost-of-living 
increase effective December 1, 2005, for veterans with service-
connected disabilities and their survivors. The Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs concurs with the language in S. 1234, and I ask my colleagues 
to support the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank Ranking Member Evans for his 
work and cooperation on this legislation. I would also commend the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) and the gentlewoman from Nevada 
(Ms. Berkley), the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on 
Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, for their work to ensure 
that disabled veterans and their survivors receive a cost-of-living 
increase, as well as the subcommittee staff on both sides of the aisle: 
Paige McManus, Chris McNamee, and Mary Ellen McCarthy. I also want to 
thank my colleagues in the Senate.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that all Members will support this bill.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on S. 1234.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Indiana?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
would like to thank Chairman Buyer, Ranking Member Evans and 
Subcommittee Chairman Miller, as well as Senator Craig and Senator 
Akaka for moving forward on this bill.
  As a result of their cooperation, the men and women currently 
receiving benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs will receive 
a well-deserved increase in benefits as of January 1, 2006.
  We must not allow the compensation received by veterans, disabled in 
service to our Nation, to erode in value as the cost of living rises. 
S. 1234, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 
2005, will help our service-disabled veterans and their survivors 
maintain the purchasing power of their benefits in 2006 by providing a 
4.1 percent increase in benefits.
  Single veterans rated at 100 percent disabled will see their benefits 
rise from $2,299 a month to $2,393 a month. Veterans who are married or 
have other dependents will see their benefits increased 
proportionately. This bill will help VA beneficiaries maintain the 
value of their benefits.
  No amount of money can adequately compensate our veterans for the 
deterioration of their health or families for the loss of a loved one. 
It is important that the benefits, which our Nation provides to 
partially compensate for such losses, do not lose their value over 
time.
  In 2004, over 28,000 veterans in Nevada received disability 
compensation or pension payments from the VA, and thousands of Nevada 
families and survivors receive VA cash benefits. The action we are 
taking here today will help the Nevada veterans and families who depend 
on these VA benefits.
  I am very disappointed that the bill does not contain a provision 
approved by the House earlier this year to include the transitional DIC 
benefit in the COLA. As a result, the value of the $250 transitional 
benefit paid to surviving spouses with minor children for their first 2 
years of eligibility will unfortunately erode in value in 2006.
  Unfortunately, our widows and orphans are going to have to survive on 
a stagnant benefit. Our Gold Star Wives, the spouses of veterans who 
have perished in our current conflict, and their children certainly 
deserve better than this.
  I understand the urgency of passing this COLA so that veterans and 
their dependents will receive a timely increase in VA benefits. I hope 
that before this Congress recesses for the year, the increase in DIC 
benefits and other provisions passed by the House and Senate can be 
enacted into law. Those who have served this Nation deserve no less.
  S. 1234 will receive my full support, and it deserves the support of 
all Members of this House.
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Ms. BERKLEY. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank Chairman Buyer, chairman 
of the full committee; the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller), the 
Benefits Subcommittee chairman; and the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. 
Berkley), the ranking member; as well as Senator Craig and Ranking 
Member Akaka for their work on this bill.
  S. 1234, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 
2005, will help our service-disabled veterans and their survivors to 
maintain the value of their compensation benefits despite any increase 
in the cost of living. Our Nation's veterans and survivors have earned 
these benefits. We must not allow them to erode by the simple passage 
of time.
  This is a bill which deserves the full support of all Members of the 
House, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer), the chairman of the 
full committee.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to take a moment and thank 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) and thank him for working with 
me and his staff.
  I also failed to mention the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nussle), the 
chairman of the Budget Committee, and the gentleman from South Carolina 
(Mr. Spratt), who worked cooperatively together to make sure that the 
budget had a place holder so we could have this. This came in a little 
higher than what we anticipated, and I want to thank the chairman of 
the Budget Committee. He has got a tough job in laying out the budget 
and sending the numbers to everyone, and he did yeoman's work. I am 
really proud of Chairman Nussle and Mr. Spratt.
  I would also like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), 
the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee and also the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Edwards).
  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentlewoman from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth), ranking 
member of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee.
  Ms. HERSETH. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Nevada 
for yielding.
  I rise today in support of S. 1234, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-
of-Living Adjustment Act, which authorizes the annual cost-of-living 
adjustment for disabled veterans and their survivors.
  I, too, would like to commend Chairman Buyer and Ranking Member 
Evans, as well as their staff, for their hard work and support of this 
important legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this bill which will improve the quality of 
life for our disabled veterans and their families. It is very important 
that we provide for the basic needs of our veterans, particularly our 
disabled veterans.
  Our Nation's disabled veterans rely on this annual cost-of-living 
increase and rightly expect us to provide it to them. I am proud to 
support this legislation, confident it will benefit the more than 3,000 
veterans of my home State of South Dakota who received disability 
compensation last year, as well as disabled veterans throughout the 
country.
  As wounded young service men and women return home from the 
battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is imperative that we work to 
provide this newest generation of veterans and their families with the 
financial support they have earned and deserve. Providing adequate 
disability benefits is an issue that will impact these brave men and 
women for the rest of their lives as they struggle to cope with the 
scars of their sacrifice and should be considered an ongoing cost of 
war.
  Again, I am proud to support the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-
Living Adjustment Act and urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this 
bill.

[[Page 26397]]

  It is imperative that we get a cost of living adjustment to those who 
have put their lives on the line to protect the freedom of this 
country. The 4.1 percent cost of living increase is very important to 
our veterans.
  I am pleased that Congress is passing a clean bill. There are no 
riders that would dilute the effectiveness of our commitment to our 
Nation's veterans.
  However, it is important to continue this bipartisanship into the 
heavier lifting that will occur in the next days and weeks.
  It is imperative we keep the reconciliation bill free from cuts in 
veterans healthcare. It is imperative we do not subject veterans 
healthcare to an across the board cut. It is imperative we fully fund 
veterans healthcare next February, when the President submits his 
Fiscal Year 2007 budget.
  We do not need another emergency supplemental appropriations bill to 
cover shortfalls in operations and maintenance.
  Let us do right by our veterans and not pay for tax cuts for the 
wealthy and recovery efforts from Katrina with cuts in veterans 
healthcare.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 
1234, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2005.
  This bill would provide a 4.1 percent cost-of-living adjustment to 
disabled veterans, surviving spouses, and other VA beneficiaries in 
receipt of monetary VA benefits. This is the same COLA increase 
provided to Social Security recipients and will apply to benefits 
beginning on December 1 of this year. Congress has provided these 
increases every fiscal year since 1976.
  More than 2.6 million veterans are receiving service-connected 
disability compensation. These benefits are paid monthly, and range 
from $108 for a 10-percent disability to $2,299 for a 100-percent 
disability. Additional monetary benefits are available for our most 
severely disabled veterans, as well as those with dependents.
  Spouses of veterans who died on active duty or as the result of a 
service-connected disability likewise are entitled to monetary 
compensation. Additional amounts are paid to survivors who are 
housebound or in need of aid and attendance, or have minor children. 
Currently more than 336,000 surviving spouses and children are 
receiving survivors' benefits.
  I want to thank the subcommittee's ranking member, Ms. Berkley, as 
well as all the members of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance 
and Memorial Affairs, for their work this year.
  I also commend Chairman Buyer and Ranking Member Evans for their 
leadership in bringing the bill to the floor today, as well as 
committee staff on both sides of the aisle for their hard work.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 1234.
  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Nevada?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                S. 1234

       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 2005''.

     SEC. 2. INCREASE IN RATES OF DISABILITY COMPENSATION AND 
                   DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION.

       (a) Veterans' Disability Compensation.--Section 1114 of 
     title 38, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``$106'' and inserting 
     ``$112'';
       (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``$205'' and inserting 
     ``$218'';
       (3) in subsection (c), by striking ``$316'' and inserting 
     ``$337'';
       (4) in subsection (d), by striking ``$454'' and inserting 
     ``$485'';
       (5) in subsection (e), by striking ``$646'' and inserting 
     ``$690'';
       (6) in subsection (f), by striking ``$817'' and inserting 
     ``$873'';
       (7) in subsection (g), by striking ``$1,029'' and inserting 
     ``$1,099'';
       (8) in subsection (h), by striking ``$1,195'' and inserting 
     ``$1,277'';
       (9) in subsection (i), by striking ``$1,344'' and inserting 
     ``$1,436'';
       (10) in subsection (j), by striking ``$2,239'' and 
     inserting ``$2,393'';
       (11) in subsection (k)--
       (A) by striking ``$82'' both places it appears and 
     inserting ``$87''; and
       (B) by striking ``$2,785'' and ``$3,907'' and inserting 
     ``$2,977'' and ``$4,176'', respectively;
       (12) in subsection (l), by striking ``$2,785'' and 
     inserting ``$2,977'';
       (13) in subsection (m), by striking ``$3,073'' and 
     inserting ``$3,284'';
       (14) in subsection (n), by striking ``$3,496'' and 
     inserting ``$3,737'';
       (15) in subsections (o) and (p), by striking ``$3,907'' 
     each place it appears and inserting ``$4,176'';
       (16) in subsection (r), by striking ``$1,677'' and 
     ``$2,497'' and inserting ``$1,792'' and ``$2,669'', 
     respectively; and
       (17) in subsection (s), by striking ``$2,506'' and 
     inserting ``$2,678''.
       (b) Additional Compensation for Dependents.--Section 
     1115(1) of such title is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``$127'' and inserting 
     ``$135'';
       (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``$219'' and ``$65'' 
     and inserting ``$233'' and ``$68'', respectively;
       (3) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``$86'' and ``$65'' 
     and inserting ``$91'' and ``$68'', respectively;
       (4) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``$103'' and inserting 
     ``$109'';
       (5) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``$241'' and inserting 
     ``$257''; and
       (6) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``$202'' and inserting 
     ``$215''.
       (c) Clothing Allowance for Certain Disabled Veterans.--
     Section 1162 of such title is amended by striking ``$600'' 
     and inserting ``$641''.
       (d) Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for Surviving 
     Spouses.--
       (1) New law dic.--Section 1311(a) of such title is 
     amended--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``$967'' and inserting 
     ``$1,033''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``$208'' and inserting 
     ``$221''.
       (2) Old law dic.--The table in paragraph (3) of such 
     section is amended to read as follows:


 
                  ``Pay grade                    Monthly rate               Pay grade              Monthly rate
 
E-1...........................................          $1,033  W-4.............................          $1,236
E-2...........................................           1,033  O-1.............................           1,092
E-3...........................................           1,033  O-2.............................           1,128
E-4...........................................           1,033  O-3.............................           1,207
E-5...........................................           1,033  O-4.............................           1,277
E-6...........................................           1,033  O-5.............................           1,406
E-7...........................................           1,069  O-6.............................           1,585
E-8...........................................           1,128  O-7.............................           1,712
E-9...........................................          1,1771  O-8.............................           1,879
W-1...........................................           1,092  O-9.............................           2,010
W-2...........................................           1,135  O-10............................          2,2042
W-3...........................................           1,169  ................................  ..............
 
1 If the veteran served as sergeant major of the Army, senior enlisted advisor of the Navy, chief master
  sergeant of the Air Force, sergeant major of the Marine Corps, or master chief petty officer of the Coast
  Guard, at the applicable time designated by section 1302 of this title, the surviving spouse's rate shall be
  $1,271.
2 If the veteran served as Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Staff of the Army,
  Chief of Naval Operations, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Commandant of the Marine Corps, or Commandant of
  the Coast Guard, at the applicable time designated by section 1302 of this title, the surviving spouse's rate
  shall be $2,365.''.

       (3) Additional dic for children or disability.--Section 
     1311 of such title is amended--
       (A) in subsection (b), by striking ``$241'' and inserting 
     ``$257'';
       (B) in subsection (c), by striking ``$241'' and inserting 
     ``$257''; and
       (C) in subsection (d), by striking ``$115'' and inserting 
     ``$122''.
       (e) Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for Children.--
       (1) Dic when no surviving spouse.--Section 1313(a) of such 
     title is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``$410'' and inserting 
     ``$438'';
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``$590'' and inserting 
     ``$629'';
       (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``$767'' and inserting 
     ``$819''; and

[[Page 26398]]

       (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ``$767'' and ``$148'' and 
     inserting ``$819'' and ``$157'', respectively.
       (2) Supplemental dic for certain children.--Section 1314 of 
     such title is amended--
       (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``$241'' and inserting 
     ``$257'';
       (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``$410'' and inserting 
     ``$438''; and
       (C) in subsection (c), by striking ``$205'' and inserting 
     ``$218''.
       (f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect on December 1, 2005.
       (g) Special Rule.--The Secretary may adjust 
     administratively, consistent with the increases made under 
     subsection (a), the rates of disability compensation payable 
     to persons within the purview of section 10 of Public Law 85-
     857 (72 Stat. 1263) who are not in receipt of compensation 
     payable pursuant to chapter 11 of title 38, United States 
     Code.

  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

                          ____________________