Ike Skelton

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my friend, my colleague from Texas, who is the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Readiness, Mr. Ortiz.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my friend, the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Sea Power and Expeditionary Forces, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor).

Mr. SKELTON. I yield an additional minute to the gentleman.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my colleague, my friend, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Smith).

Mr. SKELTON. I yield 3 minutes to my colleague and my friend, the distinguished chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel, the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, pursuant to section 4 of House Resolution 572 and as chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, I request that during further consideration of H.R. 2647 in the Committee of the Whole, and following consideration of amendment No. 1, printed in House Report 111-182, the following amendments be considered: amendment No. 3, printed in House Report 111-182; amendment No. 4, printed in House Report 111-182; en bloc amendment No. 1; amendment No. 2, printed in House Report 111-182; amendment No. 9, printed in House Report 111-182, as modified; amendment No. 15, printed in House Report 111-182, as modified; en bloc amendment No. 2; amendment No. 20, printed in House Report 111-182, as modified; amendment No. 24, printed in House Report 111-182; amendment No. 34, printed in House Report 111-182; amendment No. 39, printed in House Report 111-182; en bloc amendment No. 3; en bloc amendment No. 4. Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. SKELTON. As the gentleman knows, I support the VAE. At the same time, I know it can be improved. I would be happy to work with the gentleman to address the issues that you have so aptly raised.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to the time remaining for each side, please.

Mr. SKELTON. At this time I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Klein).

Mr. SKELTON. I certainly thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Klein) for bringing this issue to the floor. As the gentleman knows, the bill under consideration calls for a report on military working dogs. Mr. Klein's legislation would surely take the next step with a grant for therapy dogs for disabled soldiers and veterans. I look forward to working with the gentleman from Florida to ensure that Congress stands behind our soldiers as well as our veterans.

Mr. SKELTON. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my friend, my colleague, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, let me first express my gratitude and admiration to the new ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, Mr. McKeon. He hit the ground running, a veteran of our committee, and his first baptism of fire was in the markup of the some-17 hours of this bill in committee, and we thank him for his leadership and for his diligence in making this a success. Tomorrow, under the rule, Mr. Chairman, we will consider the various amendments, four groups of en bloc amendments and several by themselves, according to the rule that's been set forth and the time limits set thereon. This is an important piece of legislation. It deals with the security of our country, the security of our citizens. It deals with those young men and young women in uniform wherever they may be. It's our job to do our best to support them and this bill does just that. I thank the members of the committee on both sides of the aisle. They have been magnificent to work with.

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2990) to provide special pays and allowances to certain members of the Armed Forces, expand concurrent receipt of military retirement and VA disability benefits to disabled military retirees, and for other purposes.

Mr. SKELTON. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on then resolution under consideration.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2990, the Disabled Military Retiree Relief Act of 2009. The disabled veterans tax has, for decades, prevented retirees from receiving the full benefits they have earned in military retired pay and veterans disability compensation. The one group of retirees that have endured great hardship but have been among the last to be embraced by reform is the disabled retiree with less than 20 years of service. This group of retirees has been ignored by even the most reform- minded advocate until the Democratic Congress acted to include them in the Combat-Related Special Compensation program when the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 was adopted. And yet this group of retirees has perhaps the most compelling story to tell. Many of these servicemembers were on track to serve a full military career but were blocked from serving 20 years because of their disabilities. It's this group of retirees that were disabled at younger ages and often with young families. As a result, they are often the most financially stressed. The President took a definitive step forward in support of disabled retirees with less than 20 years of service when he proposed legislation in his budget request for fiscal year 2010. The President's proposal would phase in full concurrent receipt of military retired pay and VA disability compensation for these deserving veterans over 5 years. We share the President's view that our veterans and their families, and particularly disabled retirees with less than 20 years, have made tremendous sacrifices for our country, but this bill moves us closer to fulfilling the President's plans and the commitment of Congress to give disabled veterans full access to the benefits they deserve. While H.R. 2990 is an important step, we must recognize that it is an incremental step that reaches only the most severely disabled over the first year of the President's phased implementation plan. Congress has been working to find a way to permanently eliminate the disabled veterans tax for many years, but finding this entitlement program is an immensely difficult task. I'm grateful to all of my House colleagues who have worked to find the budget offsets needed to provide this temporary fix for our veterans. As we pursue this legislation, we will continue to do all we can to honor our country's debt to our veterans and their families. I would note that H.R. 2990 also includes a number of valuable changes that enhance the Federal civilian retirement benefits. In addition, the bill extends expiring authorities concerning a wide variety of bonuses and special pays that are critical to military recruiting and retention. H.R. 2990 is a good bill. It's an important bill that supports the President's initiative regarding disabled retirees and fulfills the longstanding commitment of Congress to provide for the welfare of disabled veterans. There still remains much to be done to find a permanent solution, and this bill provides the framework for our future action. Our veterans have never quit on America, and you can be certain that we will never quit on our veterans. I urge my colleagues to support the Disabled Military Retiree Relief Act of 2009. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This is a very, very important bill, particularly important to disabled American veterans. I notice we have had two adjournment motions already. I hope we can take this bill up because those young and young women deserve it. Special thanks to the Speaker, Leader Hoyer, Chairman Towns, Chairman Spratt, Chairman Rahall, Chairman Gordon, Chairman Waxman, Chairman Markey, Mr. Lynch, Susan Davis, and Mr. Edwards for all the help that they have given us on this very complicated, very important matter for our disabled veterans. At this time, Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns).

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from South Carolina, my friend, my colleague, the gentleman who is the chairman of the Committee on the Budget, Mr. Spratt.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my friend, my dear colleague, the chairwoman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, the gentlelady from California (Mrs. Davis).

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, this bill is a tribute to excellent Armed Services Committee staff work, and I wish to acknowledge the fact that so many, supporting both Democrats and Republicans, did yeomen's work on this: Erin Conaton, Bob Simmons, Debra Wada, Mike Higgins, John Chapla, Jeanette James, and Eryn Robinson did a masterful job in gluing a very complicated and difficult bill together, and I want to publicly thank them. At this time, I want to yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Georgia, who is also a member of the Armed Services Committee, Mr. Marshall.

Mr. SKELTON. I thank the gentleman from Georgia. At this time I yield to my colleague, my friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) 2 minutes, who is also the chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, at this time I yield 1 minute to my friend, my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott) who is the vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism and Nonproliferation and International Trade.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, I have no more requests for time on our side and I wish to thank the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) for his excellent cooperation and hard work to make this bill a reality. We are most appreciative. Again, I thank all of those who worked on this very complicated piece of legislation, and other kudos to the Armed Services staff on both sides of the aisle. It is very important. It is very important for our veterans, particularly those disabled veterans who have had less than 20 years of service. It treats them as they should be treated.

Mr. SKELTON. I yield back the balance of my time.