Veterans' Disability Compensation Injustice - Support HR 303

To: US Legislature (Congress - Senate - Executive)

I am writing to secure enactment and funding for H.R. 303, a bill that would end the current practice of deducting disabled military retirees' VA disability compensation from the retired pay they earned for completing a career of uniformed service.

Military retired pay and veteran’s disability compensation are two entirely different things, paid for different purposes --- and one should not offset the other. Each of these is earned in its own right --- retired pay for a career of arduous military service, and disability compensation for the pain, suffering, and lost future earnings resulting from service-incurred disabilities. Under the current law, many members with decades of uniformed service are forced to forfeit most or all of their military retired pay to receive the same disability compensation available to a similarly disabled member with only a few years of military service. This unfairly denies the compensation value they are due for their extended career of service in the uniform of their country.

Those who accept the extraordinary demands and sacrifices inherent in a service career deserve better. We have an obligation to those who make this choice to not require them to fund their own disability compensation from their separately earned retired pay. We have the opportunity to make this change now, given the large budget surpluses.

Please work to ensure our political leadership allocates the necessary funding for H.R. 303 in the FY 2002 Budget Resolution, and do all you can to assist in the enactment of this important legislation now --- before we lose thousands more of our dedicated veterans from WW-II, Korea, Viet Nam, and other retirees who already have suffered this unfair financial penalty far too long.

Actions you can take to assist include signing this petition; cut-&-paste this letter into your own letter to your representatives; and sending a link to this petition to as many concerned and like-minded individuals as possible. Thank you for your continued support to our men and women in uniform.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

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The Veterans' Disability Compensation Injustice - Support HR 303 Petition to US Legislature (Congress - Senate - Executive) was created by Concerned Americans & Veterans and written by Timothy G. Kennedy (kennedytg@yahoo.com). This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.