I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 303 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to permit additional retired members 

of the Armed Forces who have a service-connected disability to receive 

both disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs 

for their disability and either retired pay by reason of their years of 

military service or Combat-Related Special Compensation and to eliminate the phase-in period under current law with respect to such concurrent receipt. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2009 

Mr. BILIRAKIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ 

Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to permit additional 

retired members of the Armed Forces who have a serviceconnected disability to receive both disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs for their 

disability and either retired pay by reason of their years 

of military service or Combat-Related Special Compensation and to eliminate the phase-in period under current 

law with respect to such concurrent receipt. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Retired Pay Restora3 tion Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) For more than 100 years before 1999, all 

7 disabled military retirees were required to fund their 

8 own veterans’ disability compensation by forfeiting 

9 one dollar of earned retired pay for each dollar re10 ceived in veterans’ disability compensation. 

11 (2) Since 1999, Congress has enacted legisla12 tion to progressively expand eligibility criteria for re13 lief of the retired pay disability offset and reduce the 

14 burden of financial sacrifice on disabled military re15 tirees. 

16 (3) Absent adequate funding to eliminate the 

17 sacrifice for all disabled retirees, Congress has given 

18 initial priority to easing financial inequities for the 

19 most severely disabled and for combat-disabled retir20 ees. 

21 (4) In the interest of maximizing eligibility 

22 within cost constraints, Congress effectively has au23 thorized full concurrent receipt for all qualifying re24 tirees with 100-percent disability ratings and all 

25 qualifying retirees with combat-related disability rat26 ings, while phasing out the disability offset to retired 

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1 pay over 10 years for retired members with noncom2 bat-related, service-connected disability ratings of 50 

3 percent to 90 percent. 

4 (5) In pursuing these good-faith efforts, Con5 gress acknowledges the regrettable necessity of cre6 ating new thresholds of eligibility that understand7 ably are disappointing to disabled retirees who fall 

8 short of meeting those new thresholds. 

9 (6) Congress is not content with the status quo. 

10 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that military retired pay earned by service and sac12 rifice in defending the United States should not be re13 duced because a military retiree is also eligible for vet14 erans’ disability compensation awarded for service-con15 nected disability. 

16 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENT OF BOTH RETIRED PAY 

17 AND VETERANS’ DISABILITY COMPENSATION 

18 FOR CERTAIN ADDITIONAL MILITARY RETIR19 EES WITH COMPENSABLE SERVICE-CON20 NECTED DISABILITIES. 

21 (a) EXTENSION OF CONCURRENT RECEIPT AUTHOR22 ITY TO RETIREES WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABIL23 ITIES RATED LESS THAN 50 PERCENT.—Subsection (a) 

24 of section 1414 of title 10, United States Code, is amend25 ed— 

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1 (1) by striking ‘‘COMPENSATION’’ in the sub2 section heading and all that follows through ‘‘Sub3 ject’’ and inserting ‘‘COMPENSATION.—Subject’’; 

4 and 

5 (2) by striking paragraph (2). 

6 (b) REPEAL OF PHASE-IN OF CONCURRENT RECEIPT

7 OF RETIRED PAY AND VETERANS’ DISABILITY COM8 PENSATION.—Such section is further amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), as amended by subsection 

10 (a) of this section, by striking the final sentence; 

11 (2) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating 

12 subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (c) and (d), 

13 respectively; and 

14 (3) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by 

15 striking paragraphs (3) and (4). 

16 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (1) SECTION HEADING.—The heading for sec18 tion 1414 of such title is amended to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘§ 1414. Members eligible for retired pay who are also 

21 eligible for veterans’ disability compensa22 tion: concurrent payment of retired pay 

23 and disability compensation’’. 

24 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The item relating to 

25 such section in the table of sections at the beginning 

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1 of chapter 71 of such title is amended to read as fol2 lows: 

‘‘1414. Members eligible for retired pay who are also eligible for veterans’ disability compensation: concurrent payment of retired pay and 

disability compensation.’’. 

3 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall take effect as of January 1, 2010, and 

5 shall apply to payments for months beginning on or after 

6 that date. 

7 SEC. 4. COORDINATION OF SERVICE ELIGIBILITY FOR COM8 BAT-RELATED SPECIAL COMPENSATION AND 

9 CONCURRENT RECEIPT. 

10 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR TERA RETIREES.—Subsection 

11 (c) of section 1413a of title 10, United States Code, is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘entitled to retired pay who—’’ and 

13 all that follows through the end of paragraph (1) and in14 serting ‘‘who— 

15 ‘‘(1) is entitled to retired pay, other than a 

16 member retired under chapter 61 of this title with 

17 less than 20 years of service creditable under section 

18 1405 of this title and less than 20 years of service 

19 computed under section 12732 of this title; and’’. 

20 (b) AMENDMENTS TO STANDARDIZE SIMILAR PROVI21 SIONS.— 

22 (1) CLERICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND23 MENTS.—Section 1413a of such title is further 

24 amended— 

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1 (A) in the heading for paragraph (3) of 

2 subsection (b), by striking ‘‘RULES’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘RULE’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘Sub5 section (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subsection (c)’’. 

6 (2) SPECIFICATION OF QUALIFIED RETIREES

7 FOR CONCURRENT RECEIPT PURPOSES.—Section 

8 1414 of such title, as amended by section 3, is 

9 amended— 

10 (A) in subsection (a)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘a member or’’ and all 

12 that follows through ‘‘retiree’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘an individual who is a qualified re14 tiree for any month’’; and 

15 (ii) by inserting ‘‘retired pay and vet16 erans’ disability compensation’’ after 

17 ‘‘both’’; and 

18 (B) in subsection (d), by adding at the end 

19 the following new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED RETIREE.—The term ‘qualified 

21 retiree’ means a member or former member of the 

22 uniformed services who, with respect to any 

23 month— 

24 ‘‘(A) is entitled to retired pay, other than 

25 in the case of a member retired under chapter 

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1 61 of this title with less than 20 years of serv2 ice creditable under section 1405 of this title 

3 and less than 20 years of service computed 

4 under section 12732 of this title; and 

5 ‘‘(B) is entitled to veterans’ disability com6 pensation.’’. 

7 (3) STANDARDIZATION WITH CRSC RULE FOR

8 CHAPTER 61 RETIREES.—Subsection (b) of section 

9 1414 of such title is amended— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘SPECIAL RULES’’ in the 

11 subsection heading and all that follows through 

12 ‘‘is subject to’’ and inserting ‘‘SPECIAL RULE

13 FOR CHAPTER 61 DISABILITY RETIREES.—In 

14 the case of a qualified retiree who is retired 

15 under chapter 61 of this title, the retired pay 

16 of the member is subject to’’; and 

17 (B) by striking paragraph (2). 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall take effect as of January 1, 2010, and 

20 shall apply to payments for months beginning on or after 

21 that date. 

Æ 

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