About time
For some time now, counting on Congress to do what it’s supposed to do — i.e., conduct the nation’s business — has been a crapshoot. The only sure outcome when lawmakers get hung up on partisanship or otherwise dawdle is that Americans suffer the consequences.
And surely one of the more shameful examples of congressional foot-dragging is when those who have served their country militarily are neglected.
Former Philadelphia Eagle and now New Jersey Congressman Jon Runyan has waged a three-year crusade to make cost-of-living adjustments for disabled veterans’ and veterans’ survivor benefits automatic rather than dependent on yearly congressional approval. That would be OK, except that Congress simply cannot be counted on to act.
Last year, lawmakers waited until the middle of November to approve a 1.7 percent increase, giving the Department of Veteran Affairs barely enough time to process the change in time for the start of 2013.
Unlike Social Security recipients, whose benefits are adjusted automatically each year based on the federal consumer price index, veterans receiving payments have been at the mercy of a highly unreliable Congress.
Runyan has been working on a veterans automatic COLA bill since 2011, with limited success. But this week, the House gave final approval to his American Heroes COLA Act, and those receiving veterans’ benefits are now one big step closer to the same certainty enjoyed by those on Social Security.
The bill still has to pass muster in the Senate, and veterans’ groups are not happy about a cost-savings provision in the legislation that rounds benefit increases down — not up — to the next lowest dollar. An amendment was added to Runyan’s bill, which he endorsed, that uses the savings to pay increased compensation to severely injured veterans, but the veterans’ groups say they will still lobby the Senate to change the savings measure.
There’s also concern about proposed changes in how the CPI is calculated and what effect that might have on veterans’ benefits.
So there’s still some significant work to be done before disabled veterans and veterans’ survivors are assured of getting the benefits that were rightfully earned in service to the nation. But at least there’s some movement toward giving veterans what should be rightfully there’s.
There are many, many areas in government where savings can be realized. But shortchanging America’s veterans brings dishonor to them and shame to members of Congress.
Let’s hope our elected representatives keep that in mind when they finally pass a bill worthy of the considerable sacrifices veterans have made for our well being over the years.
Bucks County Courier Times