April 28, 2004 – Representative Doyle joined 175 other Members of Congress and representatives of several veterans and military service organizations to launch a signature drive on a discharge petition to force a floor vote on H.R. 548, legislation that would end the drastic reduction in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) for spouses of deceased veterans.

“It’s outrageous that the federal government treats our veterans’ survivors this way,” Congressman Doyle said. “Both compassion and gratitude demand better treatment for these military spouses, many of whom are old, in poor health, and living in or near poverty.”

Millions of military retirees have paid premiums for years and expect that upon their death, their spouses will continue to receive 55 percent of their retirement benefits. But when their spouse reaches 62, the benefit drops to a mere 35 percent, forcing these spouses – overwhelmingly widows – to give up more than one-third of their retirement benefit. This represents a drastic 36 percent reduction in their SBP annuities. For a surviving spouse of a Sgt. 1st class whose pay was $40,000 per year, that amounts to an annual benefit of only $7000 – a $4000 reduction – once they reach age 62.

“The federal government shouldn’t ask, for example, the 62 year-old widow of a veteran to live on just 17 percent of her husband’s active duty service pay,” Congressman Doyle stated. “We can never begin to repay the debt we owe to our nation’s military servicemen and women, but protecting their surviving spouses from a life of poverty is the least we can do to honor their heroic sacrifice for our nation.”

Congressman Doyle proudly supports the military coalition and veterans service organizations whose top legislative priority this year is to eliminate the reduction in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). The military service organizations supporting H.R. 548 and its discharge petition include the Military Officers Association of America, Association of the US Army, Air Force Association, American Legion, National Military Family Association, Fleet Reserve Association, Naval Enlisted Reserve Association, and the Veterans Widows International Network. Last year, Congressman Doyle worked with the same military service organizations to eliminate the disabled veterans tax known as “concurrent receipt.”

H.R. 548, the Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2003, would end the Survivor Benefit Penalty for over 200,000 survivors who will lose one third of their benefits over the next 10 years, as well as hundreds of thousands of survivors in future years. It would ensure that the families of our military retirees can keep the benefits they have earned.

321 of the 435 Members of Congress are co-sponsors of H.R. 548, but the overwhelming support for this bill, the House Republican Leadership has kept the bill bottled up in committee. The rules governing the operation of the U.S. House of Representatives specify that if 218 Members of Congress sign a discharge petition for a particular bill, it must be brought before the full House for a vote despite the opposition of the House Leadership.

“I will keep working as hard as I can to pass this legislation and help our veterans’ families,” Doyle pledged.