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HJM021.....................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
MILITARY RETIREMENT - DISABILITY PAY - Stating findings of the Legislature
and supporting the concurrent receipt of military retirement pay and
disability compensation.
02/26 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/27 Rpt prt - to St Aff
03/02 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/03 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/08 3rd rdg - ADOPTED - 66-0-4
AYES -- Andersen, Barraclough, Barrett, Bauer, Bayer, Bedke, Bell,
Black, Block, Boe, Bolz, Bradford, Campbell, Cannon, Clark, Collins,
Crow, Cuddy, Deal, Denney, Douglas, Eberle, Edmunson, Eskridge,
Field(18), Field(23), Gagner, Garrett, Harwood, Henbest, Jaquet,
Jones, Kellogg, Kulczyk, Lake, Langford, Langhorst, Martinez,
McGeachin, McKague, Meyer, Miller, Mitchell, Moyle, Naccarato,
Nielsen, Pasley-Stuart, Raybould, Ridinger, Ring, Ringo, Roberts,
Robison, Rydalch, Sali, Sayler, Shepherd, Shirley, Smith(30),
Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass, Stevenson, Trail, Wills, Wood
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Ellsworth, Schaefer, Skippen, Mr. Speaker
Floor Sponsor - Eskridge
Title apvd - To Senate
03/09 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to St Aff
03/16 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 10th Ord
03/18 10th Ord - ADOPTED - voice vote
Floor Sponsor - Bailey
Title apvd - to House
03/18 To enrol - Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/19 Pres signed - To Secretary of State
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2004
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 21
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 A JOINT MEMORIAL
2 TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS
3 ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF
4 IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
5 We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the
6 State of Idaho assembled in the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-seventh
7 Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
8 WHEREAS, military veterans who suffer from service-connected disabilities
9 have had to forfeit a dollar of military retired pay for each dollar of
10 Department of Veterans Affairs Disability Compensation pay they receive; and
11 WHEREAS, the Military Retirement Trust Fund was authorized by Public Law
12 98-94 for accumulation of funds to finance the liabilities of the Department
13 of Defense under military retirement and survivors benefit programs; and
14 WHEREAS, the reported mission of the Military Retirement Trust Fund is to
15 accumulate funds in order to finance, on an actuarially sound basis, the lia-
16 bilities of the Department of Defense under military retirement and survivors
17 benefit programs; and
18 WHEREAS, the Secretary of Defense is tasked with the responsibility of
19 budgeting funds annually for replenishment of the fund; and
20 WHEREAS, disabled retired veterans are having deductions from their
21 retirement checks to offset, dollar for dollar, their Department of Veterans
22 Affairs Disability Compensation and those offsets are Military Retirement
23 Trust Fund assets, which should be creating a surplus; and
24 WHEREAS, the United States government and the Department of Defense have
25 been required by their own laws and regulations to fund retired military pay;
26 and
27 WHEREAS, no persons, other than military retirees, fund their own disabil-
28 ity payments from their retirement funds; and
29 WHEREAS, this inequity was partially addressed in November 2003, when
30 President Bush signed the fiscal year 2004 Department of Defense bill contain-
31 ing provisions to phase-in concurrent receipt; and
32 WHEREAS, Public Law 108-136 became effective January 1, 2004; and
33 WHEREAS, all military retirees with Department of Veterans Affairs dis-
34 ability ratings of fifty percent or higher will have full concurrent receipt
35 phased-in over a ten year period; and
36 WHEREAS, National Guard and Reservist career retirees will be treated the
37 same as active duty retirees and will be included in both the Combat-Related
38 Special Compensation Program and the phase-in of concurrent disability pay
39 receipt for veterans rated fifty percent or higher; and
40 WHEREAS, Public Law 108-136 is a move forward; however, military retirees
41 with noncombat disabilities rated less than fifty percent continue to be
42 treated unfairly; and
43 WHEREAS, Idaho's chartered veterans' organizations intend to resume
44 efforts to expand concurrent receipt benefits to more retirees during the
2
1 108th Congress.
2 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-
3 sion of the Fifty-seventh Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and
4 the Senate concurring therein, that we support the concurrent receipt of mili-
5 tary retirement pay and disability compensation.
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa-
7 tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this
8 Memorial to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Repre-
9 sentatives of Congress, and the congressional delegation representing the
10 State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 14086
This House Joint Memorial expresses legislature support for
concurrent receipt of military retirement pay and disability
compensation for Veterans injured in combat. Prior to November
2003, current law required military retirement pay to be reduced
by the amount of the disability benefit. In 2003 this was
changed to provide for both benefits to be received if the
disability was 50% or greater. This Memorial stresses that the
agreement fell short and asks that the Legislature support the
ongoing request for full concurrent military and disability
compensation for all veterans receiving disability benefits as a
result of injuries sustained in combat.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this Joint Memorial.
Contact
Name: Rep. George Eskridge
Senator Kent Bailey
Phone: 208/332-1000
Name: Richard Jones, Div. Adm. - 208/334-3513
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE HJM 021