Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - January 24, 2005)

By Mr. DEWINE (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Allen, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Obama, and Mr. Leahy):

S. 121. A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve the benefits provided for survivors of deceased members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Armed Services.

Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the many families of our Nation's servicemen and women. We owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude for the services they have performed in supporting their family members in uniform. These families embody courage, patriotism, and dedication.

Mr. President, we have all heard the saying, ``if the military wanted you to have a family, they would have issued you one at boot camp.'' But, the truth today is that more than 50% of America's men and women in uniform are married and about 50% of those families also have children. These families supply endless support for our servicemen and women in life and I believe we need to provide them that same support in the event of the death of the service member while serving on active duty. That is why I am joining my colleagues Senators DURBIN, ALLEN, HAGEL, COLEMAN, JOHNSON, OBAMA, and LEAHY in introducing legislation today to improve critical survivor benefits for those families who have lost a loved one on active duty.

Our legislation would amend four key benefit programs to improve the overall quality of life for survivors and dependent children. First, it would increase the death gratuity to $100,000 and create a death gratuity for each child under the age of 18 in the amount of $25,000. Currently, the gratuity for spouses is just $12,000, while no benefit exits for dependent children. This change would provide flexibility for the spouse in maintaining a home, paying off remaining debt, and providing immediate funds to transition the family to a life without the service member. Additionally, the dependent benefit would offer surviving children an initial investment that can be used to transition to adulthood, for example, as a down payment on a house or for college tuition.

Second, our legislation would extend military health insurance, known as TRICARE Prime, to every dependent child of a deceased service member at no cost until the age of 21, or until 23 if the dependent attends college. The Department of Defense indicates that this important benefit would save dependents approximately $15,000 per year compared to the cost of private health insurance premiums. Expanded TRICARE coverage also guarantees that surviving dependents would continue to have access to some of the best doctors this country has to offer and would receive adequate health care and treatment.

Third, our legislation would increase the dependency and indemnity compensation, or DIC, for a spouse to $1500 per month, as well as $750 per month for each child. In July 2004, the Government Accountability Office released a report titled ``Military Personnel: Survivor Benefits for Service members and Federal, State, and City Employees.'' This report outlined hypothetical situations to demonstrate the benefits received at certain pay grades. This report indicated that an E-3, meaning a Private First Class or a Lance Corporal, with two dependents and three years of service would receive $1,182 per month from the Survivor Benefit Plan, SBP, and $1208 per month for DIC. This equals $28,680 per year for the family to live on if the surviving spouse is not employed.

In 2003, the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion released a report on the costs associated with raising children. The study indicated that, on average across the United States, families spent between $9,500 and $10,500 per child on expenses in a two child, husband-wife family. Further, this study indicated that families with a household income below $47,000 per year were only able to spend from $7000 to $8000 per year on expenses to raise a child. For the hypothetical family I just described, it would cost more than $18,000 per year just to meet the expenses of raising the two dependents. However, since the household income, if the surviving spouse is not employed, would reach just $28,860, then it is likely that only about $14,000 will be spent for that purpose. Clearly, that's just not enough. Our bill would help ensure that the essential needs of the family can be met.

Finally, our legislation would increase the benefits available from the Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Program. It would eliminate the current 45 month cap on benefit payments and establish an $80,000 lump sum that can be drawn down for any educational expenses, including tuition, fees, room, board, and books. Under current law, a survivor only has access to about $38,867 if he/she attends college or a trade school on a full-time basis. As we know, this amount would not even guarantee a survivor access to a college degree from a state university. In fact, let's use the Ohio State University as an example. This public institution will cost in-state students roughly $18,600 for the 2004-2005 school year. Now, if there were no cost increases over the course of a four year matriculation, which, in this day and age, is an unrealistic assumption, a degree from OSU would cost $75,600. That is $36,733 more than the current benefit available from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Clearly a gap exists.

Mr. President, we owe the families of those who have lost loved ones in active duty our gratitude and support. The President's inauguration last week reminded me of something President Abraham Lincoln said in his second inaugural address. He said this: ``With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan. .....'' It is time to do a better job of caring for these families. It is time to ensure that this Congress does what is right. I ask my colleagues to stand with me in support for these families and do our part, as they have done theirs.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

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