Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I want to speak briefly on an amendment I offered to the armed services bill. It relates to survivor benefits for people…”

“I want to speak briefly on an amendment I offered to the armed services bill. It relates to survivor benefits for people in the military who are killed in the line of duty. I had offered this amendment with Senator Inouye actually before September 11, the day that changed all of our lives, because I thought there was an injustice in the law as it deals with our military personnel; that is, if someone died in a training accident or in the line of duty but had not yet retired, he or she would not be entitled to any retirement benefits, even the benefits already earned. So if someone died after 10 years of service and had not had the opportunity to serve the full 20 years, the survivors would have no benefits. I do not think that is the way to treat our military families, so I have been working on a piece of legislation that would allow those people who die in the line of service while on active duty to have the retirement benefits for their survivors--just what they have already accumulated.”