By the end of the 107th Congress (2002), most eligible retirees believed
that they would finally receive their earned retired pay. A misinformation
campaign generated by the Department of Defense in the last hours of the
107th Congress prevented this from happening. The Department of Defense
Personnel Director, Dr. David Chu, described disabled military retirees as
"greedy" and "already well compensated." The Wall Street Journal, in an
article published November 12, 2002, supported restoration of retired pay.
The article stated that the Commander in Chief and his administration
could
have ended this unjust and discriminatory practice by not threatening to
veto the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Senate and
the
House both had the floor votes to override the threat of a presidential
veto.
In its place, through the work of Senator John Warner (VA), the Armed
Services Committee Chair, and others, the President's Administration
agreed
to a new program entitled, "Combat Related Special Compensation" (CRSC).
This program would begin on June 1, 2003. Eligibility would consist of
those
who received a Purple Heart or VA Combat related disability of 60% or
higher. From the estimated 600,000 disabled retirees only 35,000 would be
eligible for this program. The Military Coalition members, who were in
attendance during the final days of deliberation, agreed to CRSC after
being
told to accept this or receive nothing for their many years of effort. The
USDR and the military coalition agreed to continue the fight during the
108th Congress until all disabled retirees received their earned
disability
pay.
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