SBP Equity Bill Gets Ambushed

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla, had planned for an amendment to the Senate’s version of the fiscal 2006 National Defense Authorization Bill to correct two inequitable factors of the Survivor Benefit Plan: (1) the current dollar for dollar offset of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation by Survivor Benefit Plan payments for survivors of military retirees (but not survivors of federal civilian veteran retirees); and (2) the current effective date of 30-year paid-up SBP of Oct. 1, 2008, requiring thousands of military retirees to pay for more than 30 years. Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, however, filed a second degree amendment directing the Veterans Disability Commission to study the issues and include its recommendations in a report to the President next year. The Military Officers Association of America, which has lobbied to correct these inequities, says, “In MOAA’s view, we don’t need another study to do what’s right.”