December 14, 2007

 Washington D.C. – Today U.S. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada hailed passage of the Department of Defense Authorization bill.  The bill being sent to the President includes the Concurrent Receipt for Unemployable Veterans and the Combat-Related Special Compensation, two important pieces of legislation that ensure veterans receive the retirement benefits and health care they deserve.“I’m extremely pleased that Congress is able to send this Defense Bill to the President that includes Concurrent Receipt and Combat-Related Special Compensation,” said Reid. “Our veterans deserve the best care and compensation that we can provide. With the passage of the Defense Authorization bill, wounded veterans will finally be given the full and fair benefits they deserve.”Reid has advocated for Concurrent Receipt legislation for over seven years. Using his influence as Senate Majority Leader, he was able to insert the measure into the Defense Authorization bill. The new Concurrent Receipt Legislation will restore equity for disabled retirees rated by the VA as “unemployable.” These worthy veterans are classified by the VA as 100% disabled, but they do not currently receive the same benefits as other 100% disabled veterans.  Most 100% disabled veterans received a reprieve from an unfair disability offset from their retired pay in January 2005. The Concurrent Receipt legislation removes the bureaucratic restrictions so that all “unemployable” retirees have access to the benefits they deserve. Under current law, “unemployable” retirees would have to wait until October 2009 to receive their full benefits. The new Concurrent Receipt legislation will accelerate that fix to October 2008, and also restore their back retired pay -- retroactive to January 1, 2005.

The Combat-Related Special Compensation Act, also sponsored by Reid, is an effort to give our younger disabled veterans the benefits they deserve. Injured servicemen and women coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan are often forced into medical retirement because of the nature of their injuries; but, under the current law, if they become disabled before attaining twenty years of service, they are only eligible for military disability benefits. The Combat-Related Special Compensation Act removes that restriction and gives our heroes retirement benefits proportional to their length of service.