Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I reintroduce the ``Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act,'' with Congressman Mike Turner (R-OH) as the original cosponsor.
The late Congressman Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-NC), my dear friend and our beloved colleague, sponsored the ``Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act'' every Congress since 2002. I am honored to continue his work on this critical, bipartisan legislation to protect military families from completely avoidable bank overdrafts following a veteran's death.
Specifically, the ``Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act'' would allow the spouse or other designated survivor/beneficiary of a veteran to retain the full retirement benefit paid out in the final month just before or coinciding with the veteran's death. Under current Department of Defense policy, that final month's retirement benefit may be clawed back on a prorated basis if the family fails to immediately notify the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) of their veteran's death.
Military families with joint bank accounts, into which retirement payments are deposited electronically, are often unaware that DFAS can claw back overpayments without the accountholder's consent. This results in joint bank accounts being drained of funds, subjecting veterans' families to overdraft fees and avoidable financial hardship following a veteran's death.
The ``Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act'' would finally end this needless and callous DFAS practice for any retirement benefit received in the month for which a veteran was alive for at least 24 hours. Military families grieving the loss of their loved one should not be penalized for an accounting oversight by the Department of Defense.
As chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, I plan to make the ``Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act'' a major priority during this year's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to join me and Congressman Turner (R-OH) in cosponsoring this bipartisan and commonsense bill.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source