Senator Mary Landrieu Pushes To Restore Earned Benefits For Military Retirees

Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and six other U.S senators are calling for passage of senate bill 1963 which would repeal the reduction in the cost of living adjustment (COLA) for military retirees' pay.

Landrieu, a cosponsor of the legislation, is joined by several veterans' organizations in her bid to get the reduction resended:

• The Retired Enlisted Association
• The National Guard Association
• Vietnam Veterans of America
• The Military Officers Association of America

Last Monday, February 10, the Senate cleared a procedural hurdle when all but six members of the Senate voted to proceed to this bill.

Senator Landrieu says,

"Over 20 years ago, Congress' cuts to military retirees' benefits were having an adverse effect on the retention rate of dedicated service members." We won't make that mistake again.  Louisiana has over 9,000 military retirees who dedicated their lives to serving our country.  We made a promise to them, and it's important for us to hold up our end of the bargain.  We're not just talking about percentages, numbers and figures when it comes to COLA's.  We're talking about benefits our service men and women have earned that will be used to start a business or raise a family.  This legislation is the answer to this problem, and Congress should be working tirelessly to restore the COLA's our military deserve."

What does this mean for Louisiana?  There are around 9,500 military retirees that would benefit from the repeal.

This year, retirees from the military were set to get their one a year 1.5 percent increase, but then under the Bipartisan Budget  Agreement Congress passed, retirees under 62 would have had a cut of one percent beginning next year.

That budget agreement, Landrieu says, would have had a negative impact on Louisiana veterans.