I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 303 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to permit certain 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 25, 2005 
Mr. BILIRAKIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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 jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to permit certain 
additional retired members of the Armed Forces who 
have a service-connected disability to receive both dis-
ability compensation from the Department of Veterans 
Affairs for their disability and either retired pay by rea-
son of their years of military service or Combat-Related 
Special Compensation and to eliminate the phase-in pe-
riod under current law with respect to such concurrent 
receipt.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Retired Pay Restora-
tion Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) For more than 100 years before 1999, all 
disabled military retirees were required to fund their 
own veterans’ disability compensation by forfeiting 
one dollar of earned retired pay for each dollar re-
ceived in veterans’ disability compensation. 
(2) Since 1999, Congress has enacted legisla-
tion every year to progressively expand eligibility cri-
teria for relief of the retired pay disability offset and 
further reduce the burden of financial sacrifice on 
disabled military retirees. 
(3) Absent adequate funding to eliminate the 
sacrifice for all disabled retirees, Congress has given 
initial priority to easing financial inequities for the 
most severely disabled and for combat-disabled retir-
ees. 
(4) In the interest of maximizing eligibility 
within cost constraints, Congress effectively has au-
thorized full concurrent receipt for all qualifying re-
tirees with 100-percent disability ratings and all 
with combat-related disability ratings, while phasing 
out the disability offset to retired pay over 10 years 
for retired members with noncombat-related, service- 
connected disability ratings of 50 percent to 90 per-
cent. 
(5) In pursuing these good-faith efforts, Con-
gress acknowledges the regrettable necessity of cre-
ating new thresholds of eligibility that understand-
ably are disappointing to disabled retirees who fall 
short of meeting those new thresholds. 
(6) Congress is not content with the status quo. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that military retired pay earned by service and sac-
rifice in defending the Nation should not be reduced be-
cause a military retiree is also eligible for veterans’ dis-
ability compensation awarded for service-connected dis-
ability. 
SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENT OF BOTH RETIRED PAY 
AND VETERANS’ DISABILITY COMPENSATION 
FOR CERTAIN ADDITIONAL MILITARY RETIR-
EES 
WITH 
COMPENSABLE 
SERVICE-CON-
NECTED DISABILITIES. 
(a) EXTENSION OF CONCURRENT RECEIPT AUTHOR-
ITY TO RETIREES WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABIL-
ITIES RATED LESS THAN 50 PERCENT.—Section 1414 of 
title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking para-
graph (2) of subsection (a). 
(b) REPEAL OF PHASE-IN OF CONCURRENT RECEIPT 
OF RETIRED PAY
AND VETERANS’ DISABILITY COM-
PENSATION.—Such section is further amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking the final sen-
tence of paragraph (1); 
(2) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating 
subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (c) and (d), 
respectively; and 
(3) in subsection (d) (as so redesignated), by 
striking subparagraph (4). 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) The heading for section 1414 of such title 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 1414. Members eligible for retired pay who are also 
eligible for veterans’ disability compensa-
tion: concurrent payment of retired pay 
and disability compensation’’. 
(2) The item relating to such section in the 
table of sections at the beginning of chapter 71 of 
such title is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘1414. Members eligible for retired pay who are also eligible for veterans’ dis-
ability compensation: concurrent payment of retired pay and 
disability compensation.’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect as of January 1, 2006, and 
shall apply to payments for months beginning on or after 
that date. 
SEC. 4. COORDINATION OF SERVICE ELIGIBILITY FOR COM-
BAT-RELATED SPECIAL COMPENSATION AND 
CONCURRENT RECEIPT. 
(a) ELIGIBILITY FOR TERA RETIREES.—Subsection 
(c) of section 1413a of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ‘‘entitled to retired pay who—’’ and 
all that follows and inserting ‘‘who— 
‘‘(1) is entitled to retired pay, other than a 
member retired under chapter 61 of this title with 
less than 20 years of service creditable under section 
1405 of this title and less than 20 years of service 
computed under section 12732 of this title; and 
‘‘(2) has a combat-related disability’’. 
(b) AMENDMENTS TO STANDARDIZE SIMILAR PROVI-
SIONS.— 
(1) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The heading for 
paragraph (3) of section 1413a(b) of such title is 
amended 
by 
striking 
‘‘RULES’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘RULE’’. 
(2) SPECIFICATION
OF
QUALIFIED
RETIREES 
FOR CONCURRENT RECEIPT PURPOSES.—Subsection
(a) of section 1414 of such title, as amended by sec-
tion 2(a), is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘a member or’’ and all that 
follows through ‘‘retiree’)’’ and inserting ‘‘an 
individual who is a qualified retiree for any 
month’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘retired pay and veterans’ 
disability compensation’’ after ‘‘both’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED RETIREES.—For purposes of 
this section, a qualified retiree, with respect to any 
month, is a member or former member of the uni-
formed services who— 
‘‘(A) is entitled to retired pay, other than 
in the case of a member retired under chapter 
61 of this title with less than 20 years of serv-
ice creditable under section 1405 of this title 
and less than 20 years of service computed 
under section 12732 of this title; and 
‘‘(B) is also entitled for that month to vet-
erans’ disability compensation.’’. 
(3) STANDARDIZATION WITH CRSC RULE FOR 
CHAPTER 61 RETIREES.—Subsection (b) of section 
1414 of such title is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘SPECIAL RULES’’ in the 
subsection heading and all that follows through 
‘‘is subject to’’ in paragraph (1) and inserting 
‘‘SPECIAL RULE FOR CHAPTER 61 DISABILITY 
RETIREES.—In the case of a qualified retiree 
who is retired under chapter 61 of this title, the 
retired pay of the member is subject to’’; and 
(B) by striking paragraph (2). 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect as of January 1, 2006, and 
shall apply to payments for months beginning on or after 
that date. 
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