I have been contacting senators and congressmen from my state of NM. about concurrent pay for those of us that were unable to complete 20 years due to a medical retirement. They all have pretty much the same response. I do believe that if we put some pressure on these folks then we can get them to pass the bill. Here is a response that I received the other day: March 21, 2014 Dear Mr. Maynard, Thank you for contacting me regarding concurrent receipt of retired pay and veterans disability compensation for military retirees. I appreciate knowing your thoughts and concerns on this important issue. The existing policy of concurrent receipt unjustly forces disabled veterans to give up $1 of their pension for every $1 of disability pay. This policy is unacceptable and I am committed to helping veterans receive the benefits they have earned. Senator Harry Reid (NV) introduced S. 234, the Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2013, which would allow retired veterans to receive both retired pay and veterans disability compensation if they have a service-connected disability rating lower than 50 percent. This legislation would eliminate the phase-in period for concurrent receipt of disability payments while extending eligibility for disability retirees with less than 20 years of service. S. 234 was referred to the Senate Committee on Armed Services. While I am not a member of this committee, please rest assured that I will keep your views in mind should this legislation come before the full Senate for consideration. As a member of the United States House of Representatives, I supported and cosponsored multiple measures that addressed concurrent receipt. I voted for H.R. 4213 the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act, which would have ended concurrent receipt and provide full retirement and disability benefits to 77,000 disabled service members for two years. Specifically, this legislation would have ended the tax for medically retired service members rated 90-100 percent disabled on January 1, 2011, and then expand to those rated 70 percent disabled and above on January 1, 2012. It also would have covered all disabled veterans whose disability is so severe that they are unable to maintain gainful employment due to a service connected disability rated at 60 percent or higher. Unfortunately, the Senate did not pass a similar concurrent receipt plan as part of the American Workers, State and Business Relief Act, so these provisions did not go into effect when this legislation was signed into law. Few sacrifices are as selfless as those our military service men and women make in defense of our country. We owe them more than a debt of gratitude – we owe them action in both our words and deeds. Working for our nations veterans is one of the major reasons I came to Congress. As your senator, I will continue to support legislation that honors the service of our nations veterans. Again, thank you for contacting me. I hope you will continue keeping me informed of the issues important to you. Sign-up to receive email updates for the latest news on issues important to you. Sincerely, Signature MARTIN HEINRICH United States Senator
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 12:43:43 +0000
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