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CONGRESSIONAL
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Lack of agreement on providing retirement and disability benefits stalls authorization Pity the groups that represent military retirees: They have an army of hundreds of thousands of voters ready to protest a veto threat over expanded benefits programs, but now they wonīt be able to engage in battle until after Election Day. Negotiations on the fiscal 2003 defense authorization bill (H.R. 4546) have effectively ground to a halt, primarily because legislators cannot agree on a way to expand a benefits program known as concurrent receipt. Both chambers have endorsed some overhaul of the program, but the White House has promised to veto any change. Current law requires retirement benefits to be reduced by the amount of the disability benefit, leaving the retiree with only the sum of the single benefit. Military retireesī groups have thrown their full weight behind a proposal that would allow former soldiers to receive full retirement and disability benefits. With an organized membership, a compelling cause and thousands of potential votes, groups like The Retired Officer Association (TROA) were convinced they could convince legislators to push concurrent receipt over the presidentīs objections. The defense authorization bill is a must-pass item - among other important provisions, it includes the authority for pay raise for members of the military. But now that Congress appears to be gone until late November, those veterans cannot use their votes to punish those who might vote against concurrent receipt, or reward those who support it, because action on the bill will happen after the elections. The delay protects President Bush from vetoing a politically popular bill before a close midterm election, something Democrats were quick to note. "I think theyīre holding it up," said Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid, Nev., of his Republican colleagues. "Itīs a cruel legislative trick." Reid, who has endorsed concurrent receipt for years, said this is the year it should have been approved. After years of claiming the United States could not support the benefit, the House Budget Committee for the first time came up with $5.8 billion over five years to support a limited version of the program. For years before that, House members had blocked Senate attempts to fund the program. But now the problem lies with the White House, which has argued that Congress should not create a special benefit for military retirees. Reid argues that is no excuse and that the president would ultimately support concurrent receipt if pressured. "I dare him to veto this," said Reid. Steve Strobridge of TROA said lawmakers will not get off so easy. Although TROA does not endorse specific candidates, he said the group does support issues. "Weīre doing what we can to hold peopleīs feet to the fire," he said. "We have a right to hold them accountable." But Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., said the delay will allow members to promise one thing and vote another way. He noted that Congress will not return until after Veteranīs Day, allowing members to appear at holiday events to state their support for concurrent receipt. "That way they can tell everybody everything," he said. "The farther we get away from Election Day, the easier it will be for them." Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., agreed that it would be a bad precedent to ignore concurrent receipt. Beyond that, he noted that Congress should not delay its work. He argued that delaying the defense authorization billīs passage until a month after the fiscal 2003 defense appropriations bill (H.R. 5010) is cleared undercuts the importance of the authorization bill. "We become irrelevant," he said. "Itīs tragic." |
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