[House Report 116-68]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
116th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 116-68
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VETERANS' COMPENSATION COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2019
_______
May 16, 2019.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Takano, from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1200]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1200) to increase, effective as of December 1,
2019, 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, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that
the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary............................................. 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 3
Subcommittee Consideration....................................... 4
Committee Consideration.......................................... 4
Committee Votes.................................................. 4
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 4
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 4
Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits............................. 4
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 4
Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................. 5
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 5
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 5
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 5
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 6
Statement on Duplication of Federal Programs..................... 6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 6
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 1200, the ``Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living
Adjustment Act of 2019,'' was introduced by Representative
Elaine Luria, Chair of the Subcommittee on Disability
Assistance and Memorial Affairs, on February 13, 2019. H.R.
1200 would become effective December 1, 2019, and increase the
rates of Wartime Disability Compensation, Compensation for
Dependents, Clothing Allowance, Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation to Surviving Spouse, and Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation to Children by the same percentage as the increase
in benefits provided under title II (Old Age, Survivors, and
Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Veterans who are disabled as a result of their military
service may be eligible to receive disability compensation. The
purpose of disability compensation is to provide relief to the
veteran for the loss of earning capacity due to his or her
service-connected disability. The amount of compensation a
veteran receives varies according to the veteran's degree of
disability.
To be eligible to receive disability compensation, a
veteran must have a disability incurred or aggravated during
military service, which is not the result of willful
misconduct. Additionally, the veteran must have been discharged
under other than dishonorable conditions. The Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) is responsible for determining if a
veteran is entitled to service-connection for a disability.
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) are monthly
benefits paid to a surviving spouse and dependent children of a
veteran who died while on active duty; or as a result of
disabilities determined by VA to be serviced-connected or had a
service-connected disability rated at 100 percent for a certain
period of time prior to death. Survivors who are housebound,
require aid and attendance, or who have minor children may be
paid additional amounts. The purpose of DIC benefits authorized
under chapter 13 of title 38, U.S.C, is to provide partial
compensation to the disabled veteran's surviving dependents for
the loss in financial support due to the veteran's service-
connected death. The dependent's income and need are not
considered when VA determines the entitlement for a surviving
spouse or child because the government, in part, assumes the
legal and moral obligation of the deceased veteran to support
his or her spouse and children.
Section 2 of H.R. 1200 would increase the rates of Wartime
Disability Compensation, Additional Compensation for
Dependents, Clothing Allowance, Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation to Surviving Spouse, and Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation to Children. Such increase in benefits would be
the same percentage as the increase in benefits provided under
title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the
Social Security Act.
Section 3 of H.R. 1200 would require the Secretary to
publish in the Federal Register the cost-of-living as increased
under section 2, not later than the date on which the matters
specified by 42 U.S.C. 415(i)(2)(D) of the Social Security Act
are required to be published during fiscal year 2019.
HEARINGS
For the purposes of section 103(i) of H. Res. 6 of the
116th Congress--(1) the following hearing was used to develop
or consider H.R. 1200.
On May 1, 2019, the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance
and Memorial Affairs conducted a legislative hearing on various
bills introduced during the 116th Congress, including H.R.
1200.
The following witnesses testified:
The Honorable Mark Takano, U.S. House of
Representatives, 41st Congressional District of
California; The Honorable David P. Roe, U.S. House of
Representatives, 1st Congressional District of
Tennessee; The Honorable Conor Lamb, U.S. House of
Representatives, 17th Congressional District of
Pennsylvania; The Honorable Greg Steube, U.S. House of
Representatives, 17th District of Florida; The
Honorable Julia Brownley, U.S. House of
Representatives, 26th Congressional District of
Florida; Mr. Matthew Sullivan, Deputy Under Secretary
for Finance and Planning, National Cemetery
Administration; accompanied by Mr. Kevin Friel, Deputy
Director for Pension and Fiduciary, Veterans Benefits
Administration; Dr. Patricia Hastings, Deputy Chief
Consultant, Post Deployment Health Service, Veterans
Health; Mr. Derrick Curtis, Director, Software Testing
& 508, Enterprise Portfolio Management Division, Office
of Information Technology; Ms. Melanie Brunson,
Government Relations Officer, Blinded Veterans
Association; Mr. Karl R. Horst, Major General, U.S.
Army (Ret), President and Chief Executive Officer,
Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation; Ms. Allison
Adelle Hedge Coke, Distinguished Professor of Creative
Writing, University of California, Riverside; Mr.
Carlos Fuentes, Director, National Legislative Service,
Veterans of Foreign Wars; Mr. Rick Weidman, Executive
Director, Policy and Government Affairs, Vietnam
Veterans of America; Mr. Chanin Nuntavong, Veterans
Affairs and Rehabilitation Division Director, The
American Legion; Mr. Shane L. Liermann, Assistant
National Legislative Director, Disabled American
Veterans; and Dr. David A. Butler, Director, Office of
Military and Veterans Health, Health and Medicine
Division, The National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine; accompanied by Dr. Ourania
Kosti, Senior Program Officer, Principal Investigator,
Radiation Effects Research Foundation, The National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Statements for the record were submitted by:
The Honorable Doug LaMalfa, U.S. House of
Representatives, 1st Congressional District of
California; Mr. John Wells, Executive Director, The
Military-Veterans Advocacy; Mr. Keith Kiefer, National
Commander, National Association of Atomic Veterans; Mr.
Robert Celestial, SGT, U.S. Army Retired (D.A.V.),
Veteran who participated in Enewetak Cleanup; Mr. Ken
Brownell, Veteran who participated in Enewetak Cleanup;
and The American Federation of Government Employees,
AFL-CIO.
SUBCOMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
There was no Subcommittee consideration of H.R. 1200.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
On May 8, 2019, the Full Committee met in an open markup
session, a quorum being present, and reported H.R. 1200
favorably to the House of Representatives by voice vote.
COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded
votes on the motion to report the legislation and amendments
thereto. There were no recorded votes taken on amendments or in
connection with reporting H.R. 1200 to the House. A motion by
Ranking Member David P. Roe of Tennessee to report H.R. 1200
favorably to the House of Representatives was agreed to by
voice vote.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives,
the Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are
reflected in the descriptive portions of this report.
STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee establishes the
following performance goals and objectives for this
legislation: to increase, as of December 1, 2019, the rates of
Wartime Disability Compensation, Compensation for Dependents,
Clothing Allowance, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation to
Surviving Spouse, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation to
Children by the same percentage as the increase in benefits
provided under title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability
Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its
own the estimate of new budget authority, entitlement
authority, or tax expenditures or revenues contained in the
cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974.
EARMARKS AND TAX AND TARIFF BENEFITS
H.R. 1200 does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate on H.R.
1200 prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate
for H.R. 1200 provided by the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
H.R. 1200 would increase the amounts paid to veterans for
disability compensation and to their survivors for dependency
and indemnity compensation by the same cost-of-living
adjustment (COLA) that recipients of Social Security receive in
2020. The increase would take effect on December 1, 2019.
Relative to current law, CBO estimates that enacting this
bill would increase spending for those programs by $1.5 billion
in fiscal year 2020. CBO estimates that the COLA effective on
December 1, 2019, will be 2.1 percent. (The annualized cost
would be about $2.0 billion in subsequent years.) However,
section 257 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act directs CBO to assume that COLA will occur in CBO's
baseline. Because the COLA is assumed in CBO's baseline,
authorizing that increase would have no budgetary effect
relative to the baseline.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Logan Smith. The
estimate was reviewed by Leo Lex, Deputy Assistant Director for
Budget Analysis.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates regarding H.R. 1200 prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act would be created by H.R.
1200.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Pursuant to Article I, section 8 of the United States
Constitution, H.R. 1200 is authorized by Congress' power to
``provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the
United States.''
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that H.R. 1200 does not relate to the
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services
or accommodations within the legislative branch.
STATEMENT ON DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision
of H.R. 1200 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the
Federal Government known to be duplicative of another Federal
program, a program that was included in any report from the
Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
Section 1--Short title
Section 1 would establish the ``Veterans' Compensation
Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2019'' as the short title of
the Act.
Section 2--Increase in rates of disability compensation and dependency
and indemnity compensation
Section 2 would authorize VA to increase, effective
December 1, 2019, the dollar amounts in effect for the payment
of disability compensation and dependency and indemnity
compensation.
Section 2(b) would specify the amounts that would be
increased regarding the Wartime Disability Compensation, under
section 1114 of title 38, U.S.C.; the Additional Compensation
for Dependents, under section 1115(1) of title 38, U.S.C.; the
Clothing Allowance, under section 1162 of title 38, U.S.C.; the
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation to Surviving Spouses,
under section 1311 of title 38, U.S.C.; and the Dependency and
Indemnity Compensation to Children, under sections 1313(a) and
1314 of title 38, U.S.C.
Section 2(c) would specify that each amount shall be
increased by the same percentage by which benefits are
increased under title II of the Social Security Act.\1\
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\1\42 U.S.C. Sec. 415(i).
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Section 2(d) would provide a special rule authorizing VA to
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, who are not in receipt of compensation payable
pursuant to chapter 11 of title 38, U.S.C.
Section 3--Publication of adjusted rates
Section 3 would require the Secretary of VA to publish in
the Federal Register the amounts specified in subsection 2(b),
as increased pursuant to 41 U.S.C. Sec. 415(i)(2)(D).
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