PRINTER'S NO. 3893
No. 583 Session of 2002
INTRODUCED BY SEMMEL, KELLER, HUTCHINSON, ALLEN, ARMSTRONG,
M. BAKER, BASTIAN, BEBKO-JONES, BELARDI, BELFANTI, BROWNE,
BUNT, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI, CIVERA, COLEMAN, CORRIGAN,
COSTA, COY, CREIGHTON, CRUZ, DALEY, DeLUCA, DeWEESE,
DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, EGOLF, FAIRCHILD, FEESE, FICHTER,
FORCIER, FRANKEL, FREEMAN, GABIG, GEIST, GEORGE, GORDNER,
GRUCELA, HARHAI, HARHART, HENNESSEY, HERMAN, HERSHEY, HESS,
JAMES, LAUGHLIN, LEDERER, LEH, LESCOVITZ, LUCYK, MANN,
MARKOSEK, MARSICO, McCALL, McGILL, McNAUGHTON, MELIO,
R. MILLER, MUNDY, NAILOR, PETRARCA, PHILLIPS, PIPPY,
PISTELLA, READSHAW, SAMUELSON, SANTONI, SCHULER, SHANER,
B. SMITH, SOLOBAY, STABACK, STEELMAN, STERN, R. STEVENSON,
SURRA, E. Z. TAYLOR, THOMAS, TIGUE, TURZAI, WANSACZ, WATSON,
WILT, WOJNAROSKI, G. WRIGHT, YOUNGBLOOD, YUDICHAK, ZUG,
J. TAYLOR, ADOLPH AND McGEEHAN, MAY 13, 2002
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, MAY 13, 2002
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the Congress to amend Title 10, United States Code, to
2 permit full concurrent receipt of military retired pay and
3 other veterans compensation, including dependents'
4 allowances.
5 WHEREAS, American servicemen and women have dedicated their
6 careers to protect the rights we all enjoy; and
7 WHEREAS, Career military personnel endured hardships,
8 privation, the threat of death, disability and long separations
9 from their families in service to our country; and
10 WHEREAS, Integral to the success of our military forces are
11 those soldiers and sailors who have made a career of defending
12 our great nation in peace and war from the Revolutionary War to
1 the present day; and
2 WHEREAS, There exists a gross inequity in the Federal
3 statutes that denies disabled career military personnel equal
4 rights to receive veterans disability compensation concurrent
5 with receipt of earned military retired pay; and
6 WHEREAS, Legislation has been introduced in the Congress of
7 the United States to remedy this inequity applicable to career
8 military personnel dating back to the 19th century; and
9 WHEREAS, Veterans who are retired with a minimum of 20 years
10 are denied concurrent receipt of hard-earned military longevity
11 retirement pay and veterans awards for service-connected
12 disability; and
13 WHEREAS, Career military personnel earn retirement benefits
14 based on longevity of 20 years for honorable and faithful
15 service and rank at time of retirement; and
16 WHEREAS, Veterans disability compensation serves a different
17 purpose from longevity retirement pay and is intended to
18 compensate for pain, suffering, disfigurement, chemical
19 exposure, wound injuries and a loss of earning ability, with a
20 minimum requirement of 90 days of active duty; and
21 WHEREAS, The prevailing idea that military retirement pay is
22 free is false because there is a contribution to retirement pay,
23 calculated to reduce military base pay and retirement pay by
24 approximately 7% when pay and allowances are computed and
25 approved by the Congress; and
26 WHEREAS, Traditionally a career military person receives
27 lower pay and retirement than his or her civilian counterpart
28 and has invested a life of hardships and long hours without the
29 benefit of overtime pay and lack of freedom of expression
30 through unions; and
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1 WHEREAS, Allowances to dependents of veterans with a 30%
2 disability are increased with the amount of disability; and
3 WHEREAS, The Department of Defense deducts the entire amounts
4 of dependents' allowances, essentially leaving the disabled
5 military retiree with no dependent allowance, a discrimination
6 which extends to the families of military retirees; and
7 WHEREAS, It is unfair to require disabled military retirees
8 to fund their own veterans compensation by deductions on a
9 dollar-for-dollar basis in the Department of Defense; and
10 WHEREAS, No such deduction applies to similarly situated
11 Federal civil service or congressional retirement beneficiaries
12 who receive veterans compensation; and
13 WHEREAS, A statutory change is necessary to correct this
14 injustice and discrimination in order to ensure that America's
15 commitment to national and international goals is matched by a
16 similar commitment to those who sacrificed on behalf of those
17 goals; therefore be it
18 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
19 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the Congress to amend Title
20 10, United States Code, to permit full concurrent receipt of
21 military retired pay and other veterans compensation, including
22 dependents' allowances; and be it further
23 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
24 the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense,
25 the United States Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, the
26 Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of
27 Representatives, the chairs of the United States Senate and
28 House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees and each
29 member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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