I 
116TH 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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 8, 2019 
Mr. BILIRAKIS (for himself and Ms. GABBARD) 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 provi-
sions 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 service- 
connected disability to receive both disability compensa-
tion 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 compensa-
tion. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Retired Pay Restora-
tion Act’’. 
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 to progressively expand eligibility criteria for re-
lief of the retired pay disability offset and reduce the 
burden of financial sacrifice on disabled military re-
tirees. 
(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 
qualifying retirees with combat-related disability rat-
ings, while phasing out the disability offset to retired 
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pay over 10 years for retired members with noncom-
bat-related, service-connected disability ratings of 50 
percent to 90 percent. 
(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 United States should not be re-
duced because a military retiree is also eligible for vet-
erans’ disability compensation awarded for service-con-
nected disability. 
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(a) 
of title 10, United States Code, is amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘COMPENSATION’’ in the sub-
section heading and all that follows through ‘‘Sub-
ject’’ and inserting ‘‘COMPENSATION.—Subject’’; 
and 
(2) by striking paragraph (2). 
(b) AMENDMENTS TO REFLECT CONCLUSION
OF 
PHASE-IN OF CONCURRENT RECEIPT OF RETIRED PAY 
AND VETERANS’ DISABILITY COMPENSATION.—Section 
1414 of title 10, United States Code, is further amend-
ed— 
(1) in subsection (a), as amended by subsection 
(a) of this section, by striking the final sentence; 
(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 paragraphs (3) and (4). 
(c) SPECIFICATION OF QUALIFIED RETIREES FOR 
CONCURRENT RECEIPT PURPOSES.—Section 1414 of title 
10, United States Code, is further amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), as amended by sub-
sections (a) and (b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘a member or’’ and all that 
follows through ‘‘is entitled’’ and inserting ‘‘an 
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