MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Representatives Staples, Baker (74th), Bennett, Bondurant, Byrd, Carpenter, Chism, Denny, Ellington, Formby, Gipson, Horne, McGee, Mims, Monsour, Moore, Nicholson, Palazzo, Pigott, Rogers (61st), Turner, Weathersby
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ACKNOWLEDGING THE PAIN AND SUFFERING OF THE SPOUSES OF MILITARY SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN WHO WERE CASUALTIES OF WAR THROUGH SERVICE CONNECTED CAUSES IN SERVICE TO OUR NATION, AND RECOGNIZING AND ADVOCATING THE NEED FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TO FAIRLY TREAT AND CARE FOR THE NEEDS OF THESE SPOUSES WITH REGARD TO THE DETERMINATION AND ISSUANCE OF SPOUSAL BENEFITS.
WHEREAS, military widows and widowers are being unfairly deprived of monetary benefits purchased and earned by their deceased spouses through deduction of Veterans Administration Indemnity Compensation from the paid for and earned Survivors' Benefits; and
WHEREAS, these deductions do not apply to veterans or military retirees employed as federal government civil servants who enroll in the civil service survivors benefits plan and die of service connected causes; and
WHEREAS, many of these military widows and widowers have the entire annuity, purchased and earned by their deceased spouses, entirely eliminated by deduction of the Veterans Administration Dependency Indemnity Compensation; and
WHEREAS, many of these widows and widowers are elderly and live on a fixed income and are being deprived of their full benefits further adding to their pain and suffering; and
WHEREAS, The Federal Court of Appeals recently affirmed the findings of the United States Court of Federal Claims in Sharp v. United Sates, recognizing a partial repeal of the offset and directing the Department of Defense to pay full Survivor Benefit Plan annuities to widows and widowers who remarry at or after age 57; and
WHEREAS; over 53,000 military widows and widowers are still subject to the offset, and it is our American duty, as advised by President Abraham Lincoln in his second inaugural address to "care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan"; and
WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to be advocates of those whose voices have been entrusted to us through our election to ensure the equitable treatment of all Americans, particularly the elderly, children and those who have bled and died in the protection of our nation's assurance to remain a free and democratic state:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby acknowledge the pain and suffering of the spouses of the military servicemen and women who were casualties of war through service connected causes in service to our nation, and recognize and advocate the need for the United States government to fairly treat and care for the needs of these spouses with regard to the determination and issuance of spousal benefits.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature of the State of Mississippi respectfully requests the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States to address and immediately rectify the injustices of this offset imposed only on military widows and widowers.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the
United States Senate, each member of the Mississippi Congressional Delegation and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.