,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cjc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #ae1 #bjac  
,mr4 ,bilirakis introduced the following
 bill2 which was referred to the        
,committee on ,armed ,services1 and in  
addition to the ,committee on ,veterans'
 ,affairs1 for a period to be           
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to amend title #aj1 ,united 
,states ,code1 to permit additional     
retired members of the ,armed ,forces   
who have a service-connected disability 
to receive both disability compensation 
from the ,department of ,veterans       
,affairs for their disability and either
 retired pay by reason of their years of
 military service or ,combat-,related   
,special ,compensation and to eliminate 
the phase-in period under current law   
with respect to such concurrent receipt4
  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be    

cited as the ,retired ,pay ,restoration 
,act4  #b4 ,findings and sense of       
,congress  7a7 ,findings ,congress finds
 the following3  7#a7 ,for more than    
#ajj years before #aiii1 all disabled   
military retirees were required to fund 
their own veterans' disability          
compensation by forfeiting one dollar of
 earned retired pay for each dollar     
received in veterans' disability        
compensation4  7#b7 ,since #aiii1       
,congress has enacted legislation to    
progressively expand eligibility        
criteria for relief of the retired pay  
disability offset and reduce the burden 
of financial sacrifice on disabled      
military retirees4  7#c7 ,absent        
adequate funding to eliminate the       
sacrifice for all disabled retirees1    
,congress has given initial priority to 
easing financial inequities for the most
 severely disabled and for              
combat-disabled retirees4  7#d7 ,in the 
interest of maximizing eligibility      
within cost constraints1 ,congress      

effectively has authorized full         
concurrent receipt for all qualifying   
retirees with #ajj-percent disability   
ratings and all qualifying retirees with
 combat-related disability ratings1     
while phasing out the disability offset 
to retired pay over #aj years for       
retired members with noncombat-related1 
service-connected disability ratings of 
#ej percent to #ij percent4  7#e7 ,in   
pursuing these good-faith efforts1      
,congress acknowledges the regrettable  
necessity of creating new thresholds of 
eligibility that understandably are     
disappointing to disabled retirees who  
fall short of meeting those new         
thresholds4  7#f7 ,congress is not      
content with the status quo4  7b7 ,sense
 of ,congress ,it is the sense of       
,congress that military retired pay     
earned by service and sacrifice in      
defending the ,united ,states should not
 be reduced because a military retiree  
is also eligible for veterans'          
disability compensation awarded for     

service-connected disability4  #c4      
,eligibility for payment of both retired
 pay and veterans' disability           
compensation for certain additional     
military retirees with compensable      
service-connected disabilities  7a7     
,extension of ,concurrent ,receipt      
,authority to ,retirees ,with           
,service-,connected ,disabilities ,rated
 ,less ,than #ej ,percent ,subsection   
7a7 of section #adad of title #aj1      
,united ,states ,code1 is amended--     
7#a7 by striking ,compensation in the   
subsection heading and all that follows 
through ,subject and inserting          
,compensation4--,subject2 and  7#b7 by  
striking paragraph 7#b74  7b7 ,repeal of
 ,phase-,in of ,concurrent ,receipt of  
,retired ,pay and ,veterans' ,disability
 ,compensation ,such section is further 
amended--  7#a7 in subsection 7a71 as   
amended by subsection 7a7 of this       
section1 by striking the final sentence2
  7#b7 by striking subsection 7c7 and   
redesignating subsections 7d7 and 7e7 as

 subsections 7c7 and 7d71 respectively2 
and  7#c7 in subsection 7d71 as so      
redesignated1 by striking paragraphs    
7#c7 and 7#d74  7c7 ,clerical           
,amendments  7#a7 ,section heading ,the 
heading for section #adad of such title 
is amended to read as follows3  #adad4  
,members eligible for retired pay who   
are also eligible for veterans'         
disability compensation3 concurrent     
payment of retired pay and disability   
compensation  4  7#b7 ,table of sections
 ,the item relating to such section in  
the table of sections at the beginning  
of chapter #ga of such title is amended 
to read as follows3  #adad4 ,members    
eligible for retired pay who are also   
eligible for veterans' disability       
compensation3 concurrent payment of     
retired pay and disability compensation4
  4  7d7 ,effective ,date ,the          
amendments made by this section shall   
take effect as of ,january #a1 #bjad1   
and shall apply to payments for months  
beginning on or after that date4  #d4   

,coordination of service eligibility for
 combat-related special compensation and
 concurrent receipt  7a7 ,eligibility   
for ,,tera ,retirees ,subsection 7c7 of 
section #adac;a of title #aj1 ,united   
,states ,code1 is amended by striking   
8entitled to retired pay who--0 and all 
that follows through the end of         
paragraph 7#a7 and inserting 8who--     
7#a7 is entitled to retired pay1 other  
than a member retired under chapter #fa 
of this title with less than #bj years  
of service creditable under section     
#adje of this title and less than #bj   
years of service computed under section 
#abgcb of this title2 and  4  7b7       
,amendments ,to ,standardize ,similar   
,provisions  7#a7 ,clerical and         
conforming amendments ,section #adac;a  
of such title is further amended--  7,a7
 in the heading for paragraph 7#c7 of   
subsection 7b71 by striking rules and   
inserting rule2 and  7,b7 in subsection 
7f71 by striking ,subsection 7d7 and    
inserting ,subsection 7c74  7#b7        

,specification of qualified retirees for
 concurrent receipt purposes ,section   
#adad of such title1 as amended by      
section #c1 is amended--  7,a7 in       
subsection 7a7--  7i7 by striking a     
member or and all that follows through  
is entitled and inserting an individual 
who is a qualified retiree for any month
 is entitled2 and  7ii7 by inserting    
retired pay and veterans' disability    
compensation after both2 and  7,b7 in   
subsection 7d71 by adding at the end the
 following new paragraph3  7#c7         
,qualified retiree ,the term qualified  
retiree means a member or former member 
of the uniformed services who1 with     
respect to any month--  7,a7 is entitled
 to retired pay1 other than in the case 
of a member retired under chapter #fa of
 this title with less than #bj years of 
service creditable under section #adje  
of this title and less than #bj years of
 service computed under section #abgcb  
of this title2 and  7,b7 is entitled to 
veterans' disability compensation4  4   

7#c7 ,standardization with crsc rule for
 chapter #fa retirees ,subsection 7b7 of
 section #adad of such title is         
amended--  7,a7 by striking ,special    
,rules in the subsection heading and all
 that follows through is subject to and 
inserting ,special ,rule for ,chapter   
#fa ,disability ,retirees4--,in the case
 of a qualified retiree who is retired  
under chapter #fa of this title1 the    
retired pay of the member is subject to2
 and  7,b7 by striking paragraph 7#b74  
7c7 ,effective ,date ,the amendments    
made by this section shall take effect  
as of ,january #a1 #bjad1 and shall     
apply to payments for months beginning  
on or after that date4