Harry Reid: “The letter indicates clearly the Defense Department General Counsel's opinion that both of these groups should be paid…”

“The letter indicates clearly the Defense Department General Counsel's opinion that both of these groups should be paid their full retired pay and disability compensation under the law Congress passed last year, and it requested permission from OMB to execute the payments to unemployables. That permission apparently was not forthcoming, since the Pentagon is still withholding payments for the ``unemployable'' group after all these months--contrary to its own General Counsel's legal review. For all other purposes, both the VA and the Defense Department treat unemployables exactly the same as those with 100 percent disability ratings. In fact, these unemployables must meet a criterion that not even the 100 percent-rated disability retirees have to meet. They are certified as unable to work because of their service-connected disability. The administration pays equal combat-related special compensation to both categories. Yet the administration is discriminating unemployables and 100 percent disabled retirees with noncombat disabilities in flagrant disregard for the letter of the law as interpreted by its own legal counsel. The time to act is now. As we stated last year, these veterans do not have 10 years to wait for the full phase-in of their benefits. The administration needs to act quickly.…”