Urges Congress to allow veterans to collect disability compensation without repaying separation payments.
Impact
The resolution calls for a legislative change that aims to alleviate significant financial burdens faced by veterans. The current recoupment policy, which has led to the Department of Veterans Affairs collecting over $1.6 billion from more than 79,000 veterans, is criticized for potentially thrusting veterans into unexpected financial hardship. The elimination of this requirement would allow veterans to receive the support they need without facing sudden financial challenges.
Summary
Senate Resolution No. 111 urges Congress to allow veterans to collect disability compensation without the requirement to repay separation payments they may have previously received. The resolution highlights the issues faced by veterans who receive a one-time separation payment from the Department of Defense upon leaving military service, and later find themselves ineligible for disability compensation due to federal laws preventing what is termed 'double-dipping'. This prohibition requires veterans to completely repay their separation payments before they can receive disability benefits.
Contention
While the resolution represents a step toward protecting veterans, it illustrates a larger debate around the fairness of doubling up on compensation for military service. Advocates for veterans argue that separation pay and disability compensation serve different purposes and should not be linked under the same legislative restrictions. Conversely, there may be concerns from legislators who view the potential loss of recoupment as a threat to the integrity of the compensation system. The conversation around this resolution is indicative of broader discussions about veteran welfare and adequate support mechanisms following military service.
A concurrent resolution to urge Congress to amend 38 USC § 5304 and 10 USC § 12316 to permit members of the United States reserves and National Guard to receive full or partial active service pay in tandem with disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Urges President and Congress of United States to enact federal legislation providing proportional property tax relief for honorably discharged veterans having a service-connected permanent disability.
Urges President and Congress of United States to enact federal legislation providing proportional property tax relief for honorably discharged veterans having a service-connected permanent disability.
Urges Congress to provide for joint session at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in honor of semiquincentennial of Declaration of Independence.
Removal of the Highway Plan and Building Restriction Line from Lot 9 in Square 5914 along the West Side of Congress Street, S.E., S.O. 22-01642, Act of 2024
Urging the Congress of the United States to propose and submit to the states for ratification a federal balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States and, in the event that Congress does not submit such an amendment on or before December 31, 2011, applying to Congress to call a convention for the specific and exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to that constitution to provide, in the absence of a national emergency and on a two-thirds vote of Congress, for a federal balanced budget and requesting that the legislatures of each of the several states that compose the United States apply to Congress to call a convention to propose such an amendment.
A resolution recognizing the expiration of the Equal Rights Amendment proposed by Congress in March 1972, and observing that Congress has no authority to modify a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment after the amendment has been submitted to the States or after the amendment has expired.