Reid renews push for veterans bill

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, March 27, 2003 | 9:52 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- With the war 1 week old, Sen. Harry Reid is redoubling his effort to change what he considers an inequity in veterans benefits.

According to federal law, military retirees must waive the amount of their retirement pay equal to the amount they receive in disability pay. Veterans groups say the two benefits are separate entitlements, and Reid agrees.

"Quite simply, this is disgraceful, and we must correct it," Reid, D-Nev., said in remarks prepared for his testimony today in the Armed Services Committee.

Reid since 2000 has been fighting to change the law with "concurrent receipt" legislation that would allow veterans to receive both full retirement and disability pay. But he has run up against opposition in the Republican-controlled House, where lawmakers are concerned about the measure's multibillion-dollar cost.

Nevada's House members, Republicans Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter and Democrat Shelley Berkley, support the measure.

This week the Senate on a voice vote approved a Reid amendment to a bill in which senators agreed to set aside $12.8 billion in additional veterans pay in the federal budget for the next fiscal year -- if lawmakers agree at a later date to approve the concept of concurrent receipt.

The House has not approved similar legislation, so the issue would have to be worked out in a future negotiation.

Today Reid planned a Capitol Hill press conference with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., an ally on the issue, to rally support for it. Later today Reid was scheduled to testify in the Armed Services panel on the legislation.

In prepared remarks, Reid mentioned that among those who already have died in the conflict in Iraq was Marine 2nd Lt. Frederick Pokorney Jr., a 31-year-old from Nevada.

"We must demonstrate to veterans that we are thankful for their dedicated service," Reid said in the prepared statement. "It is the right thing to do and in addition it will send a signal to the men and women currently in uniform that our government takes care of those who make sacrifices for our nation."

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who supports Reid's concurrent receipt bill, sits on the committee.