Reid renews fight for full benefits for vets

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2001 | 8:54 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is renewing an attempt to "correct a 110-year-old inequity" that prevents veterans from collecting full military retirement pay and disability compensation at the same time.

Under current law, disabled veterans who receive a military pension and disability compensation must waive a portion of their retirement pay equal to the amount they receive in disability.

Disabled veterans who complete civil service careers have been able to collect both full disability and retirement benefits, but veterans who retire from the military have not.

"Career military retired veterans are the only group of federal retirees who are required to waive their retirement pay in order to receive VA disability," Reid said in a written statement. "The law simply discriminates against career military men and women."

Reid attached the legislation as an amendment to a defense spending bill that passed the Senate Tuesday. A panel of House and Senate lawmakers will negotiate over the final version of the bill.

Reid has pushed the disability pay legislation several times before, but Congress has not passed it, although he and other bill sponsors have amassed a number of supportive lawmakers.

It's unclear whether it would have a better chance of passing Congress now that support for the military has surged among some lawmakers.

The legislation would affect roughly 400,000 military retirees who would collect an estimated $1.9 billion more per year.