Veterans' Affairs

My father was a Master Sergeant in the US Air Force, so I grew-up understanding the challenges veterans and their families face. I believe that serving our country in uniform is an extremely noble undertaking that all-too-often goes under-appreciated and unnoticed. I am committed to changing this and my colleagues and I have made some historic breakthroughs in the past few years.

In 2003, we made some major advancements to addressing the most pressing issues facing our nation's veterans. First, Congress and President Bush came to a historic agreement that addresses concurrent receipt, the inequity where disabled veterans’ retirement benefits are offset by the amount of disability coverage for which they are eligible. Under the agreement, all retirees with a 50 percent or greater disability rating from the VA will see the current offsetting reduction in their military retired pay phased out over a 10-year period. While it is not perfect, it is the first step toward addressing this problem in over 100 year. I continue to support H.R. 303, the "Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2003," and other efforts that will completely eliminate concurrent receipt.

We are also brought some much needed reform to the Survivors Benefit Program (SBP). Currently, hundreds of thousands of spouses of military retirees see their SBP benefits drastically reduced when they reach the age of 62. Commonly referred to as the “widow’s tax,” this is a result of the Social Security offset in the Survivors Benefit Plan, which cuts payments for beneficiaries from 55% to 35% of their retired spouse’s pay. We included a historic end to the widow’s tax in the FY05 Defense Authorization Bill, reform that restores payments to beneficiaries in 3 1/2 years.

A commitment was made to veterans of the armed services that the government will take care of health needs, and I will work to ensure that this commitment is honored. I am committed to working hard for the veterans in Arkansas and will use my assignment on the Veterans' Affairs Committee to affect legislation that serves all veterans.

As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, I will have the opportunity to help make our soldiers and veterans tranisiton into civilian life easier. This will be a priority for the VA Committee in the 109th Congress as we work to make opportunities available to the brave men and women who are returning from fighting the War on Terror.

Congressional Research Service Reports:

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Veterans Health Care Issues in the 109th Congress

Veterans Benefits Issues in the 109th Congress