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ARMED
FORCES NEWS |
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| Purple Heart recipients would qualify for
disability payments awarded by the Department of Veterans Affairs without forfeiting
a dollar-for-dollar amount from their military retired pay under a compromise reached by lawmakers this week. According to the agreement, retirees who were awarded the Purple Heart for a combat injury would qualify if the disability was related to the injury. Certain other disabled veterans also might qualify, but not in the numbers originally proposed in separate House and Senate provisions. After final details were worked out by House-Senate negotiators, the deal was approved by voice vote on the House floor. If the measure is approved by the Senate it could end an impasse with the Bush administration, which had threatened a presidential veto of the original proposals. |
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