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Berta
This is email from Ray B. Davis- well known vets advocate-
I am not commenting at all on Ray's letter to the Pres- it is just part of the email copy-and no reason to start some political ranting at all here-
I sure didnt see this idea in the Dole Shalala report-
SSA is earned by work credits for retirement-to include military service- and VA comp is due to SC sacrifice-
I cannot imagine why this is even an issue but appraently it is now---
Then again I have not checked this info out-and believe Philpott-not that Ray would put anything untrue on his site- it is just absolutely bizarre to me that anyone would even attempt to pull something like this:
(actually I just managed to delete what Ray said about Bush-if you want to read his letter to Bush go to his web site )
"The article further states that at age 65 all your VA compensation
would go away when you start to receive Social Security. FROM the
article:
" VA compensation likely would be raised under the plan to include a
quality-of-life allowance. But the portion of VA compensation now
provided, and intended only to cover reduced earnings capacity, would
stop at age 65 when social security begins. "
What this means is that if you current get a 50 percent rating and
are paid $712.00 per month (which is the current rate for lost
earnings); the VA may boost your pay for "loss of quality of life" by
10 percent to: $783.00; BUT AT AGE 65 THE LOSS OF EARNING AMOUNT, OF
$712.00 WILL BE TAKEN AWAY, AND ALL THAT WILL BE LEFT IS THE $71.20
FOR THE LOSS OF QUALITY OF LIFE.
(another part deleted by me- full letter at valaw.org)
Sincerely,
Your Editor,
Ray B Davis, Jr
http://www.valaw.org
(Ray's take on it all is interesting -to say the least-and I dont feel appropriate to put it all here but the actual article is the main point)
-- Article on losing Compensation --
Better Pay for Combat-Related Disabilities?
Tom Philpott | August 23, 2007
Bush Backs Separate Combat-Related Disability System
The Bush administration is preparing a legislative proposal to
present to Congress in September that would establish a separate and,
under most circumstances, a more generous disability package for
service members who are injured in war or while training for war,
sources said.
Under the plan, recommended by the Dole-Shalala commission, service
members found unfit for duty as a result of combat or combat-training
injuries, regardless of the number of years served, would qualify for
an immediate lifetime annuity from the Department of Defense.
Annuity amounts would be based on the formula used to calculate
regular retired pay: 2.5 percent of basic pay multiplied by years in
service. A wounded warrior with two years of service thus would get
five percent of basic pay. Likewise, a service member injured in
combat training who had served 10 years when found unfit would get 25
percent of basic pay.
These members also would be get lifetime TRICARE, the military health
and pharmacy plan. Separately they would get disability compensation
from the Department of Veterans Affairs for any and all service-
connected injuries or ailments. VA compensation likely would be
raised under the plan to include a quality-of-life allowance. But the
portion of VA compensation now provided, and intended only to cover
reduced earnings capacity, would stop at age 65 when social security
begins.
The legislation is being drafted by DoD and VA officials and they
continue to work out critical details. One issue outstanding is
whether the changes should be applied retroactively, perhaps to all
combat-related disabled members injured since the attacks of 9-11.
But the Bush administration has decided that these disability pay
changes should apply only to members with injuries from combat or
combat training. That, officials say, adheres to the theme of Dole-
Shalala, also known as the President's Commission on Care of
America's Returning Wounded Warriors. Because the commission's
charter focused solely on the needs of combat wounded veterans, its
recommendations do too.
Under the White House plan, non-combat disabled members still would
come under current service disability retirement, with percentage
awards based only on conditions that make the individual unfit for
service. Non-combat disabled members rated below 30 percent still
would get a lump-sum severance payment instead of an annuity and
would not qualify for TRICARE.
This point is expected to be vigorously opposed by advocates for
disabled members. Though they generally are excited about the changes
planned for combat-related injuries, advocates see stark inequities
in having separate disability packages, one for wounded warriors and
one for members with other service-connected injuries or ailments.
The White House position also seems to be in conflict with a
principle of the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission, which will
complete its two-year comprehensive study of disability benefits in
October. That commission already has voted not to treat disability
benefits differently based on whether an injury is received in
combat, advocates point out.
One administration official brought another warning. If the VA-
portion of disability compensation is not boosted as much as
envisioned by Dole-Shalala, then certain disabled warriors actually
might receive less in overall disability pay than non-combat disabled
peers with equal rated conditions.
Though advocates for disabled veterans see the Dole-Shalala
disability pay reforms as overwhelming positive for service members,
which is why they want Congress to apply the changes to all members
being separated as physically or mentally unfit, there are anomalies
to be addressed, they said.
For example, an E-4 with four years' service and a 30-percent rated a
disability that leaves him unfit for duty would get service
disability retirement today of $546.07 a month. Under Dole-Shalala,
if VA compensation remains at current levels, with no qualify-of-life
allowance, the same E-4 injured in war would receive longevity
retirement of $182.02 a month for his four years of service plus VA
compensation of $348. The total of $530.02 a month would be $16 less
than awarded to the non-combat disabled member.
Even in this case, however, VA compensation of $348 a month is only
for the "unfitting" condition. The VA typically will base
compensation for any disabled veteran an average of 20 percent higher
than the rating used for service retirement because the VA considers
all service-connected conditions not just those that make the member
unfit for continued service.
Several military associations and veterans groups met July 31 with
Karen Guice, the Dole-Shalala commission's deputy staff director, to
clarify what commissioners intended regarding two military disability
systems. Retired Air Force Col. Mike Hayden, a benefits expert with
Military Officers Association of America, said Guice assured the
group that commissioners, if asked, would recommend that their
disability pay reforms extend to all disabled members not just the
combat injured.
That seems in keeping with the report's criticism of the confusion
and complexity that now exists with DoD and VA having separate
disability systems. Dole-Shalala would end that dual track, removing
DoD from the rating business. Yet the White House seeks to have
separate disability systems within DoD itself, citing the same
report. This has drawn criticism even within the administration as
concerns rise over the impact on morale of categorizing disabled
members based on where or when they are injured.
President Bush, during an Aug. 13 visit to the VA medical center in
Washington D.C., said the Dole-Shalala recommendations "make a lot of
sense, and we would ask for the Congress to pass those…as quickly as
possible, so I can sign them into law."
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,146937,00.html
To comment, e-mail milupdate@aol.com, write Military Update, P.O. Box
231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111 or visit: www.militaryupdate.com
--end--
Edited by BertaGRADUATE ! Nov 2nd 2007 American Military University !
When thousands of Americans faced annihilation in the 1800s Chief
Osceola's response to his people, the Seminoles, was
simply "They(the US Army)have guns, but so do we."
Sameo to us -They (VA) have 38 CFR ,38 USC, and M21-1- but so do we.
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