"U.S. Reserve forces are making vital contributions to the war on terrorism and homeland security," Saxton said. "I think Members of Congress can see that the Reserves and the Guard are leaving their homes across the country and their regular jobs to serve a nation at arms. I believe there is a bipartisan consensus that the Guard and Reserves need to be treated fairly in a time when they are regularly called upon to serve their country."

New Jersey has a high concentration of veterans, about 600,000, and Saxton's district contains more veterans than any district in the Garden State. The bill has drawn the support of the VFW and other veteran groups.

The bill was introduced to the House clerk last night. The Saxton bill was unveiled originally as H.R. 3831 in the House in February 2002. It drew an impressive 159 cosponsors. In the Senate, New Jersey Sen. Jon Corzine agreed to be the sponsor of the Saxton bill in April 2002 (as S. 2250), where it drew 10 cosponsors. The Senate version is expected to be reintroduced by Sen. Corzine in the near future.

The bill would lower the retirement age for those who have served at least 20 years to begin to draw their retirement pay at age 55. Active duty forces have no age restrictions once their 20 years of service is complete. Members of the Reserve components— the National Guard in all 50 states, the Navy Reserve, the Coast Guard Reserve, the Army Reserve, the Marine Reserve and the Air Force Reserve— would qualify at age 55 for retirement pay based on individual participation in the retirement plan.

"The reserve forces we have today don't look anything like the Reserves and Guard of the Cold War era," Saxton said. " If you stand on Fort Dix or McGuire Air Force Base today, you will see thousands of Reservists being mobilized to do the same jobs as their active duty counterparts. If they're doing the same job, in the same place, facing the same dangers—  they should get the same treatment regarding retirement pay."

Veterans Committee Chairman Chris Smith and Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo, both of New Jersey, as well as Rep. Joel Hefley, Rep. Michael Bilirakis, Rep. Jeff Miller, Rep. Tom Davis, Rep. Peter King, Rep. Betty McCollum, Rep. Corrine Brown, Rep. Tim Holden, Rep. Rob Simmons, Rep. John Shimkus,, Rep. Tom Osborne, Rep. Bob Filner, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, Rep. Nancy Johnson, Rep. Adam Smith, Rep. Mark Foley, Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, Rep. Richard Burr, Rep. John Boozman, Rep. Mike McIntyre, Rep. Joseph Hoeffel, Rep. JoAnn Davis and Rep. Ander Crenshaw have all agreed to be original cosponsors, twice the number original cosponsors last year.

"Lowering the age will help recruit former active duty people to serve in the Reserve and Guard," Saxton said. "We need to tap their experience. The active duty military can already draw retirement pay after 20 years of service. By improving benefits, we can attract and retain experienced service men and women."

There are currently 1.4 million members in the various Reserve components.