February 11, 2002

Washington, D.C.- Ask a politician about his or her opinion of the government's care of our military veterans, and you will likely hear grandiose phrases about the importance of treating veterans with respect and dignity, and ensuring that their health care and retirement benefits are second to none. But what they may not talk about is an injustice that is happening right now to our disabled military retirees, keeping them from receiving the full financial assistance they are entitled to receive from the federal government. Congress should enact legislation to end this injustice immediately.

Disabled military retirees are entitled to receive both military retired pay and Department of Veterans' Affairs disability compensation. But under current law, veterans' military retired pay is reduced by the amount of VA disability compensation they receive. Under this inequitable system, veterans are not allowed to receive these two benefits concurrently. In Washington circles the issue is called "concurrent receipt," and veterans have been fighting to receive the full amount of compensation for years, without success.

Every year for the past seven years, I've supported legislation to allow veterans to receive the benefits they have already earned, and I'm still hopeful that more of my colleagues in Congress will see the importance of concurrent receipt in the year to come.

Disabled veterans should be at the top of the list of groups we ensure receive their adequate compensation. No group has sacrificed more for this country than they have. To allow them to essentially receive only one of the two benefits they earned for wearing the uniform is an insult to the service and devotion these brave men and women have given to their country.

Some estimates put the total that military retirees are being shortchanged annually at as much as $3 billion. There are some folks who claim that there are more important budget areas to spend this money. If it cannot be completely funded, then Congress should at least allow for partial concurrent receipt, so that those who are the most severely disabled can receive the benefit.

Any politician worth his or her salt will give lip service to veterans' issues, but it's high time Congress stopped talking about it and actually passed legislation to give veterans the full benefits they are due.