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As we are reminded very sharply now with our forces fighting the war on terrorism to defend our nation’s freedom and security, we owe our servicemen and women and their families a great debt for their sacrifices. Fred Upton has a long record of providing fairer treatment and support to our veterans and their families.
- Strong Support for Military Survivor Benefits
Upton is a cosponsor to the Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act<, which adjusts the basic Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity amount for surviving spouses, age 62 and older, of former military personnel to: (1) 35 percent of the retired pay of the decedent (current law), for months before October 2005; (2) 40 percent for months after September 2005 and before October 2008; (3) 45 percent for months after September 2008 and before October 2014; and (4) 55 percent for months after September 2014.
Upton was pleased that on May 20, 2004 the House passed the Department of Defense Authorization for FY-2005, H.R. 4200, by a recorded vote of 391 – 34, which included both, Section 641 -- the Computation of Benefits Under Survivor Benefit Plan for Surviving Spouses Over Age 62, and Section 642 -- the Open Enrollment Period for Survivor Benefit Plan Commencing October 1, 2005.
- Working to Bring Much Needed Funding for Our Veterans
Upton led the successful drive to add $12 billion to the budget for veterans, biomedical research, and education. Upton voted in favor of the House approved VA-HUD appropriations bill for 2004. This bill provided a $1.4 billion increase for the Veterans Health Administration. The bill totals $60.7 billion in spending on veterans’ programs—including nearly $16 billion for medical services for service-related conditions, $4 billion for VA health facilities, and $408 million for veterans’ medical and prosthetic research.
- Providing Help to Our Disabled Veterans
Upton is a cosponsor to H.R. 303, the Retired Pay Restoration Act, which permits retired members of the armed forces with service-connected disabilities to be paid both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation.
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