Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of our nation's veterans to once again discuss the unjust and outdated policy of failing to give our veterans their full earned military retirement benefits and veterans disability compensation. Full payment of retirement and disability benefits, known as ``concurrent receipt,'' is an issue that I have ardently supported for more than 10 years now. In the past, veterans were prevented from receiving the full pay and benefits they had earned. The law required that military retired pay be reduced dollar-for-dollar by the amount of any VA disability compensation received. Many Senators have joined me in fighting this policy and we have made some progress on behalf of our nation's veterans. In 2003, Congress passed legislation which allowed disabled retired veterans with at least a 50 percent disability rating to become eligible for full concurrent receipt benefits by 2013. Then in 2004, the 10-year phase-in period was eliminated for veterans with 100 percent service-related disability. These are significant victories that put hundreds of thousands of veterans on track to receiving both their retirement and disability benefits, but many more are still affected by the unjust denial of concurrent receipt. For me, this is a simple matter of fairness. There is no reason to deny a veteran who has served his country honorably the right to the full value of their retirement pay simply because his service also caused him to become disabled.…”