I certainly recognize the difficulty of this committee's task to shape legislation that would offset decreases while avoiding a Presidential veto. However, our veterans have served our Nation unhesitantly when their country called on them. We must not now turn our backs on them in this time of economic distress. I urge the committee to adopt H.R. 1754.

STATEMENT BY HON. ROBERT 0. TIERNAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Mr. TIERNAN. Mr. Chairman, I find it bitterly ironic that Congress should enact a cost of living increase in social security, so that our senior citizens are better able to contend with the present rapid inflation, but ignore the fact that thousands of our neediest elderly are actually losing money because of this increase, and many others are not helped at all. This "cost of living" increase has cost 24,000 disabled veterans and their widows their pensions, and reduced the pensions of thousands more. This is an intolerable situation.

The condition of the elderly in this country is often a difficult, poverty stricken, and lonely one. Society ignores their past contributions and often combines with infirmity to prevent present actions; it shunts them aside, forces them to live in squalor and humiliating poverty, and impatiently waits for them to die.

I fear that legislative action alone cannot solve the bulk of the elderly's problems. I find it intolerable, however, that Congress should add to these problems. Moreover, the ones who suffer most from this situation are the ones who can afford it least; war veterans who suffer from a non-service-related disability certainly are not in a good position to recoup any losses in their pensions.

I urge my colleagues to correct this situation. The income level of the veteran disability pensions should be raised to accommodate cost of living increases. I urge the passage of H.R. 1493, or any similar measure to achieve this purpose.

STATEMENT BY HON. PATSY T. MINK, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF HAWAII

Mrs. MINK. Chairman Teague and members of the subcommittee, I appreciate this opportunity to testify on behalf of legislation to prevent veterans from receiving a reduction in pension as a result of the recent increases in social security.

As a cosponsor of H.R. 1753, which seeks to prevent such a reduction, I strongly urge favorable action by the subcommittee on this legislation.

While the veterans pension program is a needs program based on income limits, we should prevent automatic reductions in such pensions because of social security increases. The recent social security increases have been justified by rising costs of living in the United States which have left many thousands of veterans facing economic hardship.

Unless it is our intent to abandon those who have served their country in the military to financial disaster, it seems to me only equitable that these costs of living-related increases be left in effect

for the veterans. The needs have gone up even as social security benefits rose. It takes more dollars now to maintain an adequate standard of living than several years ago. Thus, the reduction of pensions by automatic action not related to actual circumstances is to rob our veterans of their justly deserved funds for existence.

All of us recognize the great financial difficulty faced by retirees. For veterans it is especially onerous. Many served long ago when pension rights amounted to a mere pittance. They are still struggling in the old age to make ends meet on the paltry income provided by today's affluent society. To tie their income to an arbitrary "needs" test based on this outdated standard merely compounds the injury being

inflicted on these veterans.

I firmly believe that all veterans are entitled to the full benefits of the recent social security increases. We should be working toward a goal of allowing veterans to actually retire and not be forced to find new jobs by economic necessity. If we persist in permitting veterans only to subsist at low-income levels, we will be forbidding all their hope for future relief from the pressure of economic need.

Admittedly, it will be costly to restore equity to the veterans pension program. Since we are providing justifiable increases to other retirees, however, it would be unfair to deprive those who have served in the military of comparable benefits.

I request the adoption of H.R. 1753, or other legislation to prevent this pension loss as a penalty for the social security increases.

STATEMENT BY HON. EDWARD F. HÉBERT, A REPRESENTATIVE

IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF LOUISIANA

Mr. HÉBERT. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to state my views on the many pieces of legislation dealing with the reduction in pensions veterans receive as a result of increases in social security.

I agree with the distinguished chairman that it would be virtually impossible to devise legislation which would prevent every pensioner from losing any of their pension because of increases in social security or other types of retirement income.

Therefore, I support the committee's efforts to pass legislation to increase allowable income limits to cover cost-of-living increases, which would partially offset decreases.

Such legislation, I believe, would be beneficial and will have my full support.

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES HARVEY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN

Mr. HARVEY. Mr. Chairman, for millions of Americans, including many retirees and veterans, the recently enacted cost-of-living increase in social security benefits and last year's 20-percent increase actually could be detrimental or have no affect whatsoever on their current living incomes.

I am a sponsor of H.R. 2686 which would amend title 38 of the U.S. Code to liberalize the provisions relating to veterans pensions. This bill will benefit not only those on social security, but any veteran who has recently lost pension benefits due to a rise in railroad retirement

benefits or any other kind of retirement income similar to social security.

As you know, there is a ceiling on the combined payments an individual can receive from both social security and the Veterans' Administration. It is necessary, as in past years, to increase this ceiling whenever Congress passes an increase in one of the two programs. To fail to do so means a loss of benefits and economic hardship for thousands of families.

The plight of our pensioned veterans has been significantly intensified by increases in the cost of living which our Nation has encountered over the past few years. Our veterans' benefits have hardly kept pace with this increase. Although all Americans have felt an economic strain due to inflation, the heaviest toll has been felt by those with a fixed income, such as individuals receiving veterans' pensions.

Congress has recognized the need to offset this spiraling cost of living, as the rcent social security increase denotes. However, many veterans will not be able to receive the increase planned by Congress, for they are now in a higher income bracket due to that very social security incerase, thus resulting in a decrease in t heir veterans pensions.

In fact, if we do not amend the present law, over 1.2 million pensioners will have a reduction in their VA pension because of their social security increase. Another 20,000 pensioners will be dropped from the pension rolls entirely, and 15,000 of these veterans will actually suffer a loss in their aggregate income ranging from $38 to $168 annually. This means an average loss of approximately $108 annually to a veteran drawing a pension who is dropped from the rolls.

This Nation owes a tremendous debt to our veterans which we can never fully repay. I strongly urge this committee's serious consideration of H.R. 2686.

STATEMENT BY HON. DON H. CLAUSEN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Mr. CLAUSEN. Mr. Chairman, I very much appreciate having this opportunity to address your subcommittee on the very serious issue of the protection of veterans' pensions.

This issue involves the question of what we must do to assist our veterans who are having their pensions reduced as a result of increases in other benefits such as social security. In particular, I am deeply concerned over and would like to comment on the impact of the 20 percent increase in social security benefits which became effective last September and which is now affecting veterans' pensions for this year.

During the last several months, I have received a growing number of letters from veterans who live in my District expressing their extreme frustration over the reductions in their pensions. In almost every case this concern is coupled with a desperate plea to put an end to the ever rising cost of living. Despite increases in benefits which they have received, veterans find themselves falling further and further behind. Their daily costs are going up and their benefits are just not keeping pace. In fact, in some cases, I have been told, their overall level of benefits has been reduced as a result of the chance in income level caused by the increase in social security benefits.

Many of my constituents have recently experienced substantial increases in their rents while others who are lucky enough to own their own homes are faced with far greater costs of maintaining them and are in fear of losing them.

Everyone today is experiencing a rise in the cost of food and medical care; but, those living on fixed incomes are being hardest hit by these

increases.

Many of the letters which I have received from veterans state that due to the loss in benefits and rising prices they are being forced to compromise on their life styles. They will no longer be able to live in the peace and comfort they so justly deserve.

Everyone of us has a great deal of respect for and pride in our veterans and we must not stand by while this situation worsens.

However, I am also aware of and can appreciate the many difficulties the subcommittee faces in trying to resolve this issue. There just is not one easy answer to this dilemma despite everyone's efforts to do only what is fair and just for our veterans.

Budgetary restraints must be taken into consideration. The administration has budgeted a $233 million a year cut in pension programs and has also budgeted no money for increases.

Another important consideration involved here is the very basis of the veterans benefits system. A reevaluation of its purpose and capabilities may be in order at this time.

However, I feel confident that the subcommittee is working on this problem diligently and will deal with our veterans and their dependents in their usual sympathetic and equitable manner.

STATEMENT BY HON. WILLIAM R. ROY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF KANSAS

Mr. Roy. Mr. Chairman, I am most pleased that the members of the Subcommittee on Pensions and Compensation have decided to review the veterans pension legislation now pending before the subcommittee. Certainly, this review is in order, given the soaring cost of living, and the numerous inequitable situations which have resulted from the way in which the existing laws have been written.

Perhaps the most striking and widespread inequity in veterans pension benefits results from the fact that in 1972, Congress enacted a much-needed 20-percent increase in social security benefits, without having also enacted the necessary protective legislation to insure that this increase would in fact be realized in the paychecks of all those veterans eligible. Because of this, a situation was created whereby millions of veterans were actually adversely affected by that increase in that pension benefits in many instances were reduced, and even terminated. Figures released by the Veterans' Administration show that 1.2 million pensioners have suffered a reduction in the VA pension as a result of the social security increase enacted in 1972. Over 20,000 pensioners were actually dropped from the pension rolls entirely, and 15,000 of these pensioners have been faced with a loss in aggregate income as a result of this increase. I, quite frankly, was disappointed with the inaction of Congress in this matter, and joined my colleagues in sponsoring corrective, remedial legislation (II.R. 2312) in the opening days of the 93d Congress.

Mr. Chairman, in enacting the 20 percent increase, Congress intended to offset the dollar loss in purchasing power resulting from the increasing inflationary spiral, not increase the dollar loss in the pocket of veterans. Failure to protect the purchasing power of veterans and their survivors has, in effect, penalized them while granting nonveterans the full measure of the cost-of-living increases.

This situation is chaotic-it is intolerable. It is a situation whose effect is felt in very human terms in an inability to pay rising rent costs-purchase meats and vegetables to go to a physician for needed medical care-obtain glasses, and receive dental work. Like everyone else these days, veterans are caught in the current cost-price squeeze. But theirs is a situation much greater in severity, in that they, for the most part, live on fixed incomes. They find themselves doing without, for they cannot afford to do anything else.

Mr. Chairman, my mail on this subject has been unusually heavy, and reflects the growing disillusionment that is now being felt by our veterans. They feel that the Government which they so faithfully served has now deserted them in their "economic hour of need." I have nothing but congressional inaction to offer these individuals in the way of a response.

It simply is not fair. The Consumer Price Index has increased from 123.2 in January 1972, when the last pension and compensation increase went into effect, to 131.5 in May 1973-an increase of approximately 6.7 percent. This fact alone demands immediate action on the part of Congress. Are those pledges of financial assistance to older Americans last fall to be nothing more than empty promises-political platitudes? Mr. Chairman, the "near future" is quickly passing us by, as the cost of living continues to increase with the passing of each day, I implore my colleagues on the committee to report legislation providing the needed financial relief to our veterans to the floor of the House of Representatives for consideration.

STATEMENT BY HON. JOHN B. BREAUX, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF LOUISIANA

Mr. BREAUX, Mr. Chairman, members of the Veterans Affairs Committee; At a time when our society is witnessing the rise of population among our senior citizens a population increase partly due to better medical care and attention to healthy living-we in Congress have been partially to blame for making life more difficult for some of these same people.

Simultaneously this Nation has been making longer life not just a possibility, but a probability, while penalizing many of our aged through holding them to certain income levels which are inadequate at best to maintain a decent standard of living in the face of an everrising cost of living.

While one moment we raise their hopes through such legislation as the recent 5-percent cost-of-living increase in social security, these same hopes are dashed when many of our social security recipients find other areas of their income curtailed as a result.

Such a group are the veterans and their widows who suffer time a social security increase is enacted.

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