Washington, D.C. —
Senator John Thune late yesterday introduced an amendment to S.1315, the Veterans Benefits Enhancement Act. Thune's amendment would make the annual cost of living adjustment, or COLA, for disabled veterans automatic and permanent.
"Too often Congress gets caught up in politics and important priorities fall off the chart. This is not how we should be treating those who have given so much for the defense of our country," said Thune. "Right now, it takes an act of Congress to increase the disabled veterans COLA each year. My amendment would make this increase automatic and give America's disabled veterans the peace of mind they deserve."
The COLA is usually enacted each year, and the COLA is already assumed in Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) baseline. This means this measure would essentially be budget neutral.
Using the CBO's analysis for the Fiscal Year 2008 COLA increase, the annualized cost for this amendment would be about $500 million in subsequent years.
"Too often Congress gets caught up in politics and important priorities fall off the chart. This is not how we should be treating those who have given so much for the defense of our country," said Thune. "Right now, it takes an act of Congress to increase the disabled veterans COLA each year. My amendment would make this increase automatic and give America's disabled veterans the peace of mind they deserve."
The COLA is usually enacted each year, and the COLA is already assumed in Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) baseline. This means this measure would essentially be budget neutral.
Using the CBO's analysis for the Fiscal Year 2008 COLA increase, the annualized cost for this amendment would be about $500 million in subsequent years.
