Begich Bill Would Increase Payments to Veterans and Their Families

Press Release

U.S. Senator Mark Begich's bipartisan legislation, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2014, passed the Senate today by unanimous consent, giving a much-needed increase in benefits to the nation's veterans. The bill now heads to the House, where it is awaiting a full vote.

"I sponsored this bipartisan legislation because so many disabled veterans and families of deceased veterans depend on these payments to get by. The payments help them with the essentials like feeding their families, heating their homes, and paying for prescription drugs," said Begich. "We have an obligation to the men and women who sacrificed so much to serve our country and to protect our freedoms. I expect the House to pass this quickly so the President and can sign it into law. It's not every day we agree on bills, but veterans issue are everyone's issues and this isn't the time to play partisan politics. I will keep fighting to fulfill our nation's promise to care for our brave veterans and their families."

Effective December 1, 2014, the measure would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the rates of veterans' compensation to keep pace with a rise in the cost-of-living, should an adjustment be prompted by an increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Referred to as the COLA, this important legislation would make an increase available to disabled veterans at the same level as the increase provided to recipients of Social Security benefits.

The VA has projected that more than 4.5 million veterans and survivors will receive these benefits in fiscal year 2015. Last year's cost-of-living adjustment of 1.5 percent affected many important benefits, including veterans' disability compensation and dependency compensation for surviving spouses and children.

Also, on Tuesday Begich attended a Senate Veterans Affairs hearing and spoke about the how reforms he championed in Alaska have made real progress in delivering health care for our veterans.

For a detailed look at Begich's work on veterans' issues, including his recent work on the Conference Committee to pass into law the Veterans Reform Act, which had several provisions Begich championed in Alaska, please visit his Senate website.

Source