Prisoner of War Benefits Act of 2003

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4175) to increase, effective as of December 1, 2004, the rates of disability compensation for veterans with service- connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 4175, as amended, would provide a cost-of-living adjustment in the same amount as given to Social Security recipients, to disabled veterans and surviving spouses. The committee ordered this bill reported when it met on May 19, 2004. Five other measures were also ordered reported at that meeting of our committee.

All veterans and qualified survivors of veterans who receive disability compensation would receive a full COLA on December 1 of this year. The COLA is actually calculated on September 30; but if calculated today, it would be 2.2 percent.

More than 2.5 million veterans, Madam Speaker, were receiving service-connected disability compensation as of April of 2004. The basic purpose of the disability compensation program is to provide a measure of relief from the impaired earning capacity of veterans disabled as a result of their military service. These benefits are paid monthly, and range from $106 for a 10 percent disability to $2,239 per month for a 100 percent disability. Additional monetary benefits are available for our most severely disabled veterans, as well as for their dependents.

Spouses of veterans who died on active duty or as the result of a service-connected disability likewise are entitled to monetary compensation, as the Nation assumes, in part, the legal and moral obligation of the veteran to support the spouse and the children. Depending on their spouse's rank or grade in service, a spouse receives between $967 and $2,063 monthly. Currently, there are more than 300,000 surviving spouses and more than 29,900 children receiving dependency and indemnity compensation, also known as DIC.

The bill would also expand the list of diseases presumed to be related to a former prisoner of war for which benefits may be paid by adding osteoporosis, an often crippling bone condition. Former prisoners of war are eligible for disability compensation if they are disabled from one of the 16 conditions presumed to be the result of their POW experience.

I want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the committee's vice chairman, for working with us to include this portion of his bill, which was H.R. 348.

Finally, the bill would codify the current rates of compensation for service-connected disabilities and the rates of DIC for surviving spouses and children of veterans who die of service-connected causes, which went into effect last December, pursuant to Public Law 108-147.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill. It is a bipartisan bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown), the distinguished chairman of our Subcommittee on Benefits.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Beauprez), a distinguished member of the committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We do not have any further requests for time.

I, too, want to thank the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud) and again the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown). This is again a good, bipartisan piece of legislation. It is very significant and will significantly help our veterans and especially those who are service-connected disabled.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank once again the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith); the ranking member, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans); and our chairman of the Subcommittee on Benefits, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown), for their continued efforts to assure that our veterans' purchasing power is not decreased with the passage of time.

H.R. 4175, the Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Act of 2004, will help our service-disabled veterans and their survivors maintain the value of their compensation benefits despite any increase in the cost of living.

Although we will not know the amount of the increase until the consumer price index is computed this fall, I expect this bill will provide an increase in benefits for calendar year 2005.

No amount of money can adequately compensate for the loss of life or limb, but it is important that the compensation that is paid does not lose its value as the cost of living rises. This is particularly important in a rural State like Maine. Some labor market areas in my State have experienced double-digit unemployment. In one labor market alone last year, unemployment was as high as 32 percent.

Veterans benefits help veterans and their families in these areas make ends meet. I am also happy to note that the bill contains a provision adding osteoarthritis to the list of conditions that are presumptively service-connected for veterans who are former POWs.

I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 348, introduced by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), which contains this provision and more. I regret that the full bill cannot be considered because of the fiscal constraints.

I believe that when men and women suffer disabilities as a result of confinement as prisoners of war, this Nation should compensate them for all the disabilities that result. These disabilities are another cost of war, and they should be recognized and compensated as such. This provision is another small step in the right direction.

H.R. 4175 will receive my full support, and it deserves the support of Members of this House.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), the ranking member of the committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez).

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth), who has shown her interest in veterans' issues and is very dedicated and will be a hard fighter for veterans' issues.

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4175, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2004.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Committee on Veterans Affairs, and of course, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), our ranking member, for their leadership and advocacy for our Nation's veterans. I also would like to thank the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud) for his efforts and his leadership as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Benefits, as well as the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown).

Every year Congress does a small yet much welcomed cost-of-living adjustment to increase the rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities. This legislation, similar to those we have passed before, would authorize the cost-of-living adjustment on December 1, 2004, based on the same formula for our Social Security users. Additionally, it would increase the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain service- connected disabled veterans.

Our disabled veterans are some of our country's greatest assets.

The Disabled American Veterans say it best: ``Treaties are signed and the battles of nations end, but the personal battles of those disabled in war only begin when the guns fall silent.'' These men and women must struggle to regain health, to reshape lives shattered by disability, learn new trades or professions, and rejoin the civilian world. At each step, they need help to help themselves.

Madam Speaker, I know that this is just a small increase for our veterans and their survivors, but I know that they appreciate it. I encourage all my colleagues to vote in favor of this particular piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4175, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2004.

Congress acts annually to provide a cost-of-living adjustment in VA disability compensation and survivors benefits. Congress has provided increases in these rates for every fiscal year since 1976, and the administration's fiscal year 2005 budget includes the cost for this increase.

As well as providing the cost-of-living adjustment effective December 1, 2004, and codifying the current dollar amount for veterans and survivors benefits, H.R. 4175, as amended, would add osteoporosis to the list of diseases presumed to be service-connected for former prisoners of war. This particular provision is derived from H.R. 438, which the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) introduced in January of 2003. The vice chairman has long been a champion for former POWs, and I regret that due to budgetary obstacles we were not able to consider his bill in its entirety. I appreciate his understanding in that regard.

Madam Speaker, I note that last year the Secretary of Veterans Affairs convened a work group comprised of officials from the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration and the Office of General Counsel, to develop a methodology for a fair and balanced assessment of medical conditions identified and associated with POW detention. This summer, the workgroup will recommend to the Secretary any conditions it believes warrant either presumptive status or further study. I look forward to meeting with the Secretary upon the work- group's findings.

I want to thank the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Benefits, for his efforts on this bill and urge all my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the full committee; the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown), the Subcommittee on Benefits chairman; and

the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud), the ranking Democratic member, for their spirt of bipartisanship. Their work has resulted in a bill strongly supported by Members on both sides of the aisle.

H.R. 4175, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2004, will help our service-disabled veterans and their survivors maintain the value of their benefits despite any increases in cost-of- living adjustments. Our Nation's veterans and survivors have earned these benefits, and we must maintain their purchasing power.

I strongly support the provision adding osteoarthritis to the list of conditions which are presumptively service-connected for veterans who are former prisoners of war. Last year, the Congress passed legislation which I introduced to add additional disabilities to the presumptive list and to eliminate the time period of internment for certain conditions. I am a cosponsor and strongly support efforts to improve benefits for prisoners of war.

Additional presumptive conditions and the establishment of criteria for the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish new presumptive conditions are contained in H.R. 348, introduced by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), my good friend. I hope that all of these provisions will one day become law.

This is a bill which deserves the support of all of the Members of this House. I urge all Members to support it.