Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 09/03/2001

Dear Sgt. Shaft:
As you know, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is the benefit accorded to the surviving dependents of those members of the Armed Forces who died while on active duty or of a service-connected cause. DIC is the only federal annuity program that does not allow a widow who is receiving compensation to remarry after the age of 55 and retain her annuity.

I think it is a wonderful thing if an older person falls in love and decides to marry, and I don't think we should be discouraging such marriages by making them financially burdensome. For those remarrying after the age of 55, it is often the case that both partners are living on fixed incomes. The prospect of one partner losing financial benefits as a result of the marriage is a real disincentive. In fact, current law makes it virtually impossible for some couples to marry after age 55 because they simply cannot afford to do so and continue to support themselves.

I have heard from military widows from across the country who have found someone they would like to spend the rest of their lives with but cannot afford to do so because of the current law. Consequently, I have once again introduced legislation that would allow a military widow to remarry after age 55 and retain her DIC compensation. My bill, H.R. 1108, makes a simple change that could mean a great deal to those who find themselves in this predicament, and I hope you will join me in supporting this change.

Michael Bilirakis
Member of Congress

Dear Congressman:
You are truly a champion of active duty military, military retirees, veterans and their survivors. Hawthorne wrote that the heart "is a chamber, waiting for a guest." And these Gold Star gems should be allowed to welcome their guests after age 55 without losing their dependence and indemnity compensation. As you can see from the following letter, I, too, have received many missives from these selfless patriots. 

Dear Sgt. Shaft:
I agree that it is unfair to military widows to punish them when they re-marry by forcing them to give up their DIC. I don't understand the thinking behind this provision.

Australian military widows keep their DIC benefits when they re-marry. The thinking there is that the loss of a husband is such a great loss that their continued DIC is just compensation for the grief the widows suffer. Should widows in time make a second marriage, they are wished a happy life.

Australia honors its dead servicemen by providing their widows and minor children with financial security. The country also provides personal service to bereaved survivors through an elite ex-servicemen's organization called Legacy. Legacy's support removes the pressure on military widows to remarry by establishing widows clubs to give the women social, emotional and practical help.

Australia remembers and honors its men who died defending their country by giving those they loved the opportunity for the best life possible for them. DIC for life helps make that possible for the military widows.

M.D.N.
Baltimore, MD

Dear M.D.N.:
I urge all members of Congress to support Rep. Bilirakis' legislation, H.R. 1108. The United States should follow the example of those Down Under and totally care for those who have borne the battle: their widows and children. 

Shaft Kudos
To House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair Chris Smith (R-NJ) for recently introducing legislation to establish a five-site demonstration project to speed up the sluggish pace at which the VA and Pentagon share their health care resources. The bill, The Department of Defense-Department of Veterans Affair Health Resources Access Improvement Act of 2001 (H.R. 2667), would direct VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to agree on five sites where the two agencies have health care facilities close enough to permit cooperative operations. Such joint operations would include unified budget systems, staffing, compatible software, and graduate medical education programs. The bill would authorize $10 million for each department for fiscal year 2002 and $25 million for each succeeding year of the demonstration project. Both secretaries would be given authority to waive regulations and policies that might impede the project. The projects would be designated to demonstrate the advantages and challenges of integrating the largest health care systems in the federal government.

To the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers for their great medication safety track record. When a veteran gets admitted to a VA hospital, an armband is placed on their arm, just like in any other hospital. But, in the VA hospital, this armband has a bar code that the nurse uses to help identify the correct patient before any medication is given. Using a hand-held scanner -- the same type used in department stores to scan the bar code on merchandise -- the nurse scans the patient's wristband. Based on the wristband scan, a computer shows the nurse all medicine that the doctor has ordered for that patient to receive at this time. The doctor orders all medications for that patient through the computer, which in turn checks all medicines against the patient's allergies and any other drugs the patient may be taking. Nurses also scan the bar code on all medications due for that patient to rugs ordered for that patient to make sure that the medicine, time administered, dose, and method of administration is correct for that patient. If the nurse scans a medicine that, for example, the doctor has just discontinued for that patient, the computer will alert the nurse. This way, when the nurse hands the medicine to the patient, the patient can feel confident that these are the correct medications to take, and that they have been administered in a safe manner.

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

BAVF Home | Who We Are | Sgt. Shaft | Flag Week | Links | Financials | Search | Contact BAVF

BAVF - P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900

Copyright BAVF 2001