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House Subcommitee OK's Berkley Bill to Increase "COLA" for America's Veterans

Vets Cost of Living Adjustment Needed to Preserve Purchasing Power

(Washington, DC -- June 8, 2006) A House Veterans Affairs’ Subcommittee today approved legislation cosponsored by Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV) that seeks to increase benefit payments to veterans and their survivors through a cost of living adjustment or COLA. Berkley serves as a member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and was instrumental in passing a similar increase last year.

"Providing our veterans with a cost of living adjustment will ensure that benefits earned by these heroes and their survivors maintain their purchasing power over time. Nevada veterans will not know the exact amount of the increase they will receive until the consumer price index is calculated later this year, but with gas averaging $3 a gallon and other living expenses continuing to climb, this COLA will help cover any added expenses,” said Berkley.

As the top Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, Berkley joined Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-FL) in introducing H.R. 4843, The Veterans’ Compensation Cost of Living Adjustment Act of 2006. The legislation will help service-disabled veterans and survivors maintain the purchasing power of their federal benefits through an increase in benefits tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The bill was passed this morning by Berkley’s Subcommittee and will now go before the full Committee on Veterans’ Affairs for a vote.

More than 28,000 veterans in Nevada receive disability compensation or pension payments from VA, and thousands of Nevada family members and survivors receive VA cash benefits. Without the Berkley COLA legislation, benefits to these individuals would not keep pace with the higher costs of goods and services and general inflation. The COLA bill would provide the same increase in benefits to service-disabled veterans and their survivors as is awarded to Social Security beneficiaries. While the overall amount of the increase will be determined later this year, the COLA for VA beneficiaries passed for 2006 was 4.1 percent.

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