Please Support H.R. 303, the Retired Pay Restoration Act, and S. 134 & H.R. 637, the Veterans Economic Recovery Act of 2021

H.R. 303, the Retired Pay Restoration Act

On January 13, 2021, Representative Gus Bilirakis (FL) introduced H.R. 303, the Retired Pay Restoration Act.

This bill would extend concurrent receipt authority to longevity retirees with service-connected disabilities rated 40 percent or less. Under current law disabled veterans with longevity retirement from active military service who are also in receipt of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability determination of 50% or higher may retain both military retirement pay and their compensation. 

 DAV strongly supports H.R. 303 as it would end the unfair policy of forcing many military longevity retirees to forfeit some of their retired pay in order to receive equal amounts of disability compensation from the VA. This legislation is in accord with DAV Resolution No. 002 and would eliminate the barrier to concurrent receipt for all longevity retirees.  

 Please use the prepared letter or draft your own to urge your Representative to support and cosponsor H.R. 303. As always, we appreciate your support for DAV and thank you for participating in DAV CAN.

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S. 134 & H.R. 637, the Veterans Economic Recovery Act of 2021

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the veteran unemployment rate across the country has risen exponentially. For many veterans, the inability to support themselves and care for their families has been especially difficult.

S. 134 and H.R. 637, the Veterans Economic Recovery Act of 2021, is a bipartisan and bicameral bill that would create an education program for unemployed veterans across the country. This legislation would provide 12 months of educational benefits to pursue training in high-demand fields through the Rapid Retraining Program. This new program would mirror current post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits, with both tuition funding and a housing stipend on par with full-time students. The program would be open to 35,000 unemployed veterans who lost their jobs due to the pandemic and are not eligible for any other VA educational program. It would also expand the VET TEC program (Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses for Training Providers) to assist transitioning service members.

DAV supports this legislation in accordance with DAV Resolution Nos. 202 and 313, which call for adequate funding for existing training programs and the adoption of programs that remove barriers and provide adequate employment education.

Please help us support this important legislation by asking your Senators and Representative to cosponsor these bills aimed at reducing the number of unemployed veterans by providing 35,000 veterans with education and employment services.

Thank you for participating in the DAV Commander’s Action Network.

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