Byron Dorgan: “Twenty-three of us in the Senate sent a letter to the authorizing committee on this subject, saying those soldiers who…”

“Twenty-three of us in the Senate sent a letter to the authorizing committee on this subject, saying those soldiers who have earned a retirement should receive it, and those same soldiers who are entitled to a disability payment should receive that as well. It is that simple. Senator Reid of Nevada has made the case. It is just a very simple issue of equity. What I wanted to do is point out that NBC News did a story recently. Hank Nix, from Ozark, AL, 52 years ago was shot in the chest. He took a bullet leading his platoon. He earned a Silver Star. He is now talking about having to move from their home because of what is called a broken promise. The Government is reducing his retirement pay because he is not allowed to collect both his disability--he is 100 percent disabled, he took a bullet in the chest leading his platoon in the Korean war, but he is not allowed to collect the retirement he earned and a disability payment he is due. Why? Because there is a quirk in the law that applies only to disabled soldiers and no other Federal worker. About half a million soldiers are in this circumstance. It is, in my judgment, totally unforgivable that we don't fix this.”