Show 43 Thursday Northern Utah Ju!y 30 1998 Veterans push for concurrent receipt of disability retirement 22 ears of Army and Air Force Maher Sr 78 of Gig Harbor During Robert suffered a senes of injuries that in recounting sound Lke a history lesson Before World War II he injured his back Late in the war Maher was shot through the knee by an Italian sentry “They were on our side by then“ said Maher “but they would shoot if they heard wind whistling through trees” Maher damaged his hearing in two Cold War tours In the 1950s he worked in a motor pool on an air base in Geibelstadt Germany home to U-- 2 spy planes like the one flown bv Gary Powers over the Soviet Union in 1960 “They’d bring those damn planes out every morning and just sit there all day playing with them They had a terrific amount of power and blast" he said Tuning truck engines 100 yards away Maher said he used no ear Military protection “By the ume I went Update home at night I couldn't hear anything" he said “I couldn't even talk to mv wife” In 1968 the week North Korea seized the USS Pueblo Maher joined an artillery unit in South Korea Training intensified “Spending all day with eight-inc- h howitzers is a lot like the U-- 2 program" he said None of the injuries was severe enough to end Maher's career When he retired in 1970 however he hoped to be compensated He was The Veterans Administration found Maher 30 percent e disabled and eligible for disability compensation There was a hitch however Federal law prohibits “concurrent receipt" of both VA compensation and military retirement Maher was told that his retired pay would be offset dollar for dollar by the amount he received from tax-fre- theVA Over the years as his health worsened VA compensation rose with Maher's disability rating But his retired pay disappeared “I gained about S200 a month more than I would have” said Maher “I'd rather not be disabled" Today 41 1000 retirees are affected by the VA offset Retired pay earned over 20 or more years is reduced by compensation for service-relate- d injury or illness Maher like a lot of retirees says the la a is grossly unfair The ban on concurrent receipt goes back to 1891 The rationale then as now is that military retirement is compensation m full for a service career Drawing both retired and disability py would be cheating taxpay ers Retirees don't buy il In effect thev argue they disa compensate themselves for service-connected Standard E2ZS23 STORAGE SHEDS WOfTHOT MORTGAGE mm m Lcmner mm mm 10x12 bilities Also federal civilian retirees get full pension credit for their military years plus full VA disabilities compensation for service-connectSome lawmakers led by Rep Michael Bilirakis have sponsored bills to end or cut the offset to no effect Money is a big obstacle The Congressional Budget Office esumates eliminating the offset would cost SI 6 billion annually A compromise bill HR 65 would establish an “inverse percentage” offset formula A retiree for example with an disability rating would see retired pay cut by 20 percent of their VA comdisabled pensation Retirees rated would see no otTset This plan would cost S750 million a year CBO says Given stiff political resistance to concurrent receipt Bilirakis and veteran groups have adopted a strategy A new bill HR 44 would reduce the offset by S300 a month for disabled S200 a month for disabled and by S 00 for reurees with a 70- - or rating And to be eligible retirees must be awarded the rating within four years after retirement Proponents say HR 44 addresses every argument against concurrent receipt The cost now is modest just $42 million a year only severely disabled catch a break a four-yerule screens out disabiliues linked more to aging than to service and the extra monthly pay would be small Last fall Bilirakis hosted a meeting between veteran groups and House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich to present the case for HR 44 Kasich agreed that if budget offsets could be found to cover the cost he wouldn't oppose the bill Attendees left believing that in 1998 Congress actually might begin to chip away at the offest It didn't The next meeting between vet groups and House National Security Committee Floyd Spence (R-- S C) to discuss funding was canceled twice then forgotten Spence told Bilirakis the bill was too significant to consider without hearings But none could be arranged “W e really thought we had a chance for HR 44 this year And it just died” said Mark Olanoff director for The Retired Enlisted Association Vet groups plan to push for HR 44 in the next Congress Mike Oklak president of Uniform Services Disabled Retirees a group whose sole purpose is to gain concurrent receipt said it must be made clear HR 44 is only a first step “W e were formed" he said “to get concurrent receipt for everyone” Most veteran and retiree groups have more on concurrent receipt and pending legislation And USDR s address is: PO Box 284! 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