Issue Position: Veterans

Issue Position

As we are reminded very sharply now with our forces fighting the war on terrorism to defend our nation's freedom and security, we owe our servicemen and women and their families a great debt for their sacrifices. Fred Upton has a long record of providing fairer treatment and support to our veterans and their families.

* Strong Support for Military Survivor Benefits

Upton is a cosponsor to the Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act<, which adjusts the basic Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity amount for surviving spouses, age 62 and older, of former military personnel to: (1) 35 percent of the retired pay of the decedent (current law), for months before October 2005; (2) 40 percent for months after September 2005 and before October 2008; (3) 45 percent for months after September 2008 and before October 2014; and (4) 55 percent for months after September 2014.

Upton was pleased that on May 20, 2004 the House passed the Department of Defense Authorization for FY-2005, H.R. 4200, by a recorded vote of 391 - 34, which included both, Section 641 -- the Computation of Benefits Under Survivor Benefit Plan for Surviving Spouses Over Age 62, and Section 642 -- the Open Enrollment Period for Survivor Benefit Plan Commencing October 1, 2005.

* Working to Bring Much Needed Funding for Our Veterans

Upton led the successful drive to add $12 billion to the budget for veterans, biomedical research, and education. Upton voted in favor of the House approved VA-HUD appropriations bill for 2004. This bill provided a $1.4 billion increase for the Veterans Health Administration. The bill totals $60.7 billion in spending on veterans' programs--including nearly $16 billion for medical services for service-related conditions, $4 billion for VA health facilities, and $408 million for veterans' medical and prosthetic research.

* Providing Help to Our Disabled Veterans

Upton is a cosponsor to H.R. 303, the Retired Pay Restoration Act, which permits retired members of the armed forces with service-connected disabilities to be paid both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation.

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