DISABLED VETS CALL FOR END TO PENSION DEDUCTION

BY: LARRY LIPMAN
COX NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON  BUREAU

After 24 years in the military, retired Air Force Maj. John M. Cassel feels he's entitled to his full pension. But Cassel, 69, a Boynton Beach, Fla., resident for 16 years, also has a 50 percent service-related disability. Under current law, that means his military pension is reduced by the amount of his disability payment. Cassel thinks that's unfair. "Those are two different things, separate and distinct," said Cassel, who served in Japan during the Korean War. "I put the 24 years in to get this Air Force pension and I should be entitled to that based on my longevity. If I'm disabled, I should also get that. They're shorting out my Air Force pension." Nationwide, there are 682,540 military retirees whose pensions are reduced by their disability benefits, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. That could change this year, but two big hurdles stand in the way. As part of the Defense Department authorization bill signed into law by President Bush on Dec. 28, Congress agreed to allow the "concurrent receipt" of full military pensions and disability benefits. But no money was earmarked for the legislation, estimated to cost $50 billion over 10 years. The bill specified that before the concurrent benefits can be paid, two things must happen: Bush must include the money in his budget proposal next month, and Congress must pass a resolution declaring where the money will come from. Veterans groups are worried that neither condition will be met. The administration has opposed concurrent benefits in the past, and Congress has been reluctant to address the issue for more than a decade. "We are terribly concerned that there won't be any funding for this," said David Autry, deputy national director of communications for the Disabled American Veterans. "Congress and the administration always say they are for a strong national defense and want to take care of American veterans, but when it comes down to it, veterans are left out in the cold."

The prohibition against receiving both disability and full pension benefits dates back to 1891. Over the years, administrations of both parties have opposed repealing the restriction, and there is no indication that the Bush administration will change its position. The Office of Management and Budget issued a policy statement in September opposing the repeal. In a letter from the Office of the assistant secretary of defense last July, the Defense Department noted that "concurrent receipt of both retired pay and ... disability compensation has been prohibited for over 100 years and no member has been promised payments of both these benefits."

Veterans' groups, including the Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Retired Enlisted Association, are mounting grass-roots efforts to try to convince the administration and Congress to fund the program.

But Mark Olanoff, national legislative director for the Retired Enlisted Association, worries that "since veterans don't contribute a lot of money to political campaigns ... we feel quite often our issues are not recognized. All we have is right on our side, but sometimes it's not enough."

Views on the disability and pension payments vary. Opponents of paying the concurrent benefits argue that it could be a windfall for some retirees that was never promised. It also would result in some military retirees receiving nearly twice the benefit of other retirees of similar rank and length of service who were not disabled. Supporters of the concurrent benefit say the current system penalizes career military personnel. One such supporter is Rep. Mike Bilirakis, R-Fla., who has been proposing the repeal of the concurrent prohibition for 15 years. Bilirakis offers the hypothetical example of two servicemen who are wounded on the same day. One leaves the service after four years and becomes a Defense Department employee; the other remains in the military and retires after 30 years. Upon retirement, the civilian employee would get a full civil service pension plus disability pay; the retired military employee's pension would be reduced by the amount of disability pay. Olanoff offers another example: one serviceman is fully disabled after one year and leaves the service; another serviceman serves 20 years and develops a full service-related disability after retirement. Both could receive the same compensation because full disability payments _ $2,163 a month _ are about the same as typical pensions for non-commissioned officers. The disability payment would wipe out the pension benefit. "It's really not fair. It's not fair at all," Olanoff said.

Bilirakis and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., sponsor of the Senate provision to allow the concurrent payments, and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of  the Senate Armed Services Committee, have indicated they plan to push for full funding of the benefit in this year's budget resolution. "It is fundamentally unfair to deny our servicemen and women the compensation they both earned and deserve," said Levin.
On the Web:

Disabled American Veterans: www.dav.org
The Retired Enlisted Association: www.trea.org
Department of Veterans Affairs: www.va.gov
Larry Lipman's e-mail address is larryl(at)coxnews.com