Earl Pomeroy: “This beautiful family suffered the tragedy of losing Major Johnson in Iraq. Last winter, we buried Major Johnson at…”

“This beautiful family suffered the tragedy of losing Major Johnson in Iraq. Last winter, we buried Major Johnson at Arlington Cemetery. His widow contacted me 2 weeks later to tell me that what had happened in the State of Washington is the pension plan there had simply given the money back that Alan Johnson had paid in as if he had terminated his employment at the time he was called to duty, called to deployment in his status as a Reserve officer. It brought to light a gap in the law that protects our deployed Reservists and Guardsmen. When they come back, this law seamlessly reintegrates them into the pension plan of their employer, but there was no provision if we tragically lose our soldiers under deployment. Included in this bill is the HEROES Act, introduced by Doc Hastings and myself, that allows for survivor benefits to be paid in this situation. It is a very important addition. It is terribly important that survivors of our soldiers who paid the ultimate price have survivors benefits under the pension. This law will afford that.”