As a concerned active duty soldier and the Commander of AMVETS Department of Pennsylvania, I am writing to make you aware of Senate Amendment (SA) 0198.
This much needed amendment would protect the benefits of more than
3.2 million disabled veterans; 350,000 surviving spouses and children
who have lost a loved one in battle or as the result of a service-connected disability; the pensions of 310,000 extremely-low income veterans; and 9 million veterans receiving
Social Security benefits.

Senator Bernie Sanders (VT), Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Committee (SVAC) and others have introduced SA 0198, an amendment, which
would create a deficit-neutral reserve fund to protect disabled veterans
and their survivors by not enacting a chained CPI.

I’d like to briefly mention some of the benefits which would be negatively
impacted by the chained CPI below:

• VA Disability Compensation Benefits: Veterans are generally eligible for
VA disability compensation benefits if they become disabled due to
injuries or illnesses sustained during, or as a result of, military
service. There were 3.2 million veterans receiving these benefits in 2010.
In 2010, a veteran receiving VA disability compensation due to a 100
percent service-connected disability was entitled to receive $33,288 a
year. Under the chained CPI, a disabled veteran who started receiving
these benefits at age 30 would have their benefits reduced by $1,425 at
age 45, $2,341 at age 55 and $3,231 at age 65.

• VA Pension Benefits: Veterans with low incomes who are either
permanently and totally disabled, or age 65 and older, may be eligible for
pension benefits if they served during a period of war. More than 310,000
veterans received VA pension benefits in 2010. In 2010, the benefit for a
veteran is just $12,256 a year. Under the chained CPI, VA pension benefits
for veterans aged 65 and older living in poverty would be reduced by $353
at age 75, $696 at age 85 and $1,029 at age 95.

• VA Survivor Benefits: The chained CPI would also cut the benefits of
more than 350,000 surviving spouses and children who have lost a loved one
in battle or as the result of a service-connected disability by cutting
Dependency Indemnity Compensation benefits that average less than $17,000
a year.

• Social Security Retirement Benefits: Social Security is one of our
nation’s most important programs serving veterans and their dependents and
survivors. It currently pays benefits to over 9 million veterans – about 4
in 10. The average retirement benefit of a veteran receiving Social
Security was about $15,500 in 2010. Adopting the chained CPI would
significantly reduce those benefits, by changing the manner in which COLAs
are determined. A veteran with average earnings retiring at age 65 would
get nearly a $600 benefit cut at age 75, and a $1,000 cut at age 85. By
age 95, when Social Security benefits are probably needed the most, that
veteran would face a cut of $1,400 – a reduction of 9.2 percent.

This must not be allowed to happen; the national budget should not be
balanced on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. Please take a
stand now to protect those who have stood for us at home and abroad by
voicing your support of SA 0198 and call upon your colleagues to do the same.

Sincerely,
Steven Ryersbach
Commander
AMVETS Department of Pennsylvania
(717)679-0230

{ 0 comments }