Defense authorization stalled over disabled vets' benefits

Conferees trying to finish the fiscal 2003 Defense authorization bill remained deadlocked Thursday over disabled veterans' benefits, leaving Congress to break until after the elections with a fiscal 2003 Defense appropriations bill, but no authorization.

The two chambers were close, having both agreed on spending figures of $393 billion-within President Bush's requested limit.

But the Bush administration has threatened a veto over plans in both bills to authorize disability pay on top of retirement pay instead of offsetting it, as is done now. The House authorization bill would fund this "concurrent receipt" only to veterans who are 60 percent disabled. The provision was projected to cost $18.5 billion over the next decade.

The Senate version applied to virtually all military retirees who get disability pay, and would cost $58 billion over the same period.

Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wrote to conferees that the federal government "simply cannot continue to add ever-expansive obligations" to the Defense budget.

"This would divert critical resources away from the war on terrorism, the transformation of our military capabilities and important personnel programs," Rumsfeld wrote.

The Defense Department now spends about $35 billion per year on military pensions and healthcare entitlements.

The Retired Officers Association has lobbied for years to get elected officials to support adding disability pay to retirement pay. House and Senate conferees apparently chose to put off approving either version, rather than answer to voters for an unpopular presidential veto.

But one champion of concurrent receipts, Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid, D-Nev., dared the administration to go through with plans for a veto.

"The administration claims to acknowledge, honor and respect these patriots' sacrifices and touts itself as their champion," Reid told CongressDaily Thursday. "Who deserves a higher funding priority?"