Senate to Tackle Key Reid Amendments

Although the Senate had been expected to delay action on the fiscal 2007 Defense Authorization Bill this year as it did last year, it accelerated its schedule to begin debating and voting on amendments this week. Two important amendments by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev, that would affect certain disabled military retirees will be considered. First is to provide equity for service members who were medically retired before reaching 20 years of service because of combat wounds, and thus do not currently draw combat-related special compensation. Second is to stop the offset of military retired pay of retirees declared “unemployable” by the Department of Veterans Affairs, but who are not rated 100 percent disabled – even though they draw payments at the 100 percent disabled rate. This “disabled veterans tax” is scheduled to end in 2009, but the Reid amendment would accelerate the schedule.