Warner, Kaine introduce bill to address veterans' concerns

Virginia Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine have introduced legislation that would change a provision of the bipartisan budget bill that has angered military retirees.

The budget deal would reduce cost-of-living increases for working-age military retirees by 1 percent beginning in January 2015. While the provision would save $6 billion over 10 years, it has angered many veterans' groups who say it would break faith with military service members.

The Military Retirement Restoration Act, co-sponsored by Warner, Kaine  and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., would replace this provision with a measure that could raise as much as $6.6 billion over 10 years.

It would raise the money by preventing companies from avoiding U.S. taxes through the use of foreign tax shelters, Warner said in a press release.

"While the changes to military pension COLA increases may look insignificant to some, this is real money to a lot of families," said Warner, adding that the deficit reduction package "should not unfairly single out our military families."

In a floor speech Tuesday, Sen. Tim Kaine called for the budget compromise to pass the Senate, but also expressed displeasure with how it targets military retirees.

He noted that the provision doesn't take effect until 2015, and Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has agreed to review it next year.

The two-year deal, which has already passed the House of Representatives, would relieve $63 billion of sequester cuts for fiscal years 2014 and 2015.

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