Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 11/24/2003

Dear Sergeant Shaft:

The widows who receive Survivor benefits urgently need your help to convince the Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee that he raise the priority of S 249 that will allow widows at or over age 55 to remarry and continue to receive their VA dependents indemnity compensation (DIC). The Chairman does not consider it a high priority. He feels increasing the Montgomery GI bill is far more important.

In spite of all our efforts to write, email, and telephone, we Gold Star wives cannot convince this senator. I am a 75-year-old disabled widow who has failed in convincing the senators how important passage of this bill is to us elderly and rapidly dying widows.

The excerpt included below is from of one of our ladies' emails which most effectively debunk the senator's argument that passage of this bill will cost too much. When our government can spend twenty million dollars to advertise the new twenty-dollar bill, how can it deny a bit of comfort to those who lost their mates in service to our county? I pray you will take up our cause. The excerpt follows:

"When the government computes how much it would cost for them to pass the remarriage bill, I think they assume all of us would immediately remarry; however, at this stage of the game (over 55 or 65), many widows have no intention of remarriage or potential beau whom they wish to marry. Therefore, their figures in this regard would not be accurate. I am sure like W.W.II and Korean War vets, older widows are passing away in increasing numbers. Vietnam War widows are the age group who would be most likely to remarry at this age. The Iraqi war is starting to make more widows who would eventually have the potential for remarriage, but this would not affect them as they are younger than most of us and the bill would not affect them for quite sometime. At this point in time, they would lose D.I.C. in any event of remarriage, as did we. I don't believe this point has come up in our discussions about the bill. Again, I don't think it would cost as much as they think, and the present situation keeps many older widows from remarriage, therefore keeping them on D.I.C. anyway. Perhaps they are just using the cost, based on their calculations, as an excuse not to pass the bill! Just my thoughts."

I do not understand why the Senators cannot join their colleagues in the House, who passed the remarriage legislation with a unanimous vote!

I most humbly thank you for considering our cause.

Most respectfully,
Alice R.
Virginia

Dear Alice
I join Senators Hutchinson and Clinton along with you and the Gold Star Wives in urging Senator Spector to pass this equitable legislation. Gold star Spouses deserve this peace of mind in their golden years. The rumor mill has it that as of this writing the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees have reached a DIC age 57 compromise.

Shaft Kudos
The President's Own" United States Marine Band will ring in the holidays at 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 7, at the 34th annual free holiday performance in the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Va.

Conducted by "The President's Own" Director Colonel Timothy W. Foley, the performance will feature the United States Marine Band and baritone vocalist Staff Sergeant Kevin Bennear in a prelude concert of seasonal works. Following the concert, the band will accompany the audience and local musical groups from the D.C.-area community while they sing traditional holiday carols.

The concert is free, tickets are not required, and free parking is available. For program information, call the Marine Band 24-hour Concert Information Line at (202) 433-4011 or visit www.marineband.usmc.mil.

The Marine Band is America's oldest professional musical organization. Founded in 1798, the band has performed for every U.S. President since John Adams. Given the title "The President's Own" by Thomas Jefferson, the Marine Band's primary mission is to provide music for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Hats off to President Bush for signing the Military Family Tax Relief Act of 2003 (H.R. 3365) on Veterans Day. The legislation increases the death gratuity payable with respect to deceased members of the armed forces to $12,000 and provides that the full payment is tax-free. The act also makes it easier for soldiers and Foreign Service personnel stationed abroad to escape capital gains taxes on the sale of their homes, among other provisions.

A kudos should also go to Congressman Walter Jones ® NC) who has

Been fighting for HR 693. His battle included a message to his fellow House Members, in which he stated, “I have a strong opinion about many issues. But this session, I’ve been especially forthright about one thing: Congress should not leave Washington this fall until we have passed this vital legislation.

It is unacceptable that while our men and women in uniform are overseas giving their lives for this country we have yet to approve a bill to spare their grieving families from paying a ridiculous tax. Is giving your child for freedom not price enough?

I have written the President of the United States and I implore my friends in the House and in the Senate to come together and remove this financial obligation from the tax code. We cannot allow our men and women in uniform’s greatest sacrifice to continue to be disrespected by this unreasonable and insolent death gratuity tax.

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.

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