{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reps-gallego-desaulnier-and-jones-introduce-bipartisan-legislation", "Reps. Gallego, DeSaulnier and Jones Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Veterans Unfairly Forced to Return Separation Pay to the Federal Government", "2017-10-11", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "AZ", "Ruben Gallego", "G000574", "rubengallego.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Today, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) and Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) introduced the Restore Veterans\u2019 Compensation Act of 2016, legislation that would prevent the federal government from recouping separation pay from veterans who later qualify for VA disability benefits.\u00a0 The bill also makes other changes to the Department of Defense\u2019s recoupment policies to make them fairer to veterans.\nMany service members qualify for separation pay when they depart the military\u2014it\u2019s a form of compensation for those with more than six years of service who meet reenlistment requirements but are not allowed to reenlist. It\u2019s also used to incentivize service members to depart the military when the Pentagon is working to downsize the force. Unfortunately, under current law, veterans are required to pay back separation pay if they later become eligible for VA disability benefits or DOD retirement pay.\u00a0\nThe Restore Veterans\u2019 Compensation Act bill would:\n No longer allow for the recoupment of separation pay from veterans who later become eligible for VA disability benefits because the two compensate for different things\u2014workplace injuries (disability benefits) versus time served (separation pay);\n\tEnsure retirees repay the net amount of separation pay instead of the gross amount to prevent the federal government from recouping more than the veteran received; and,\n\tChange the recoupment rate to 25 percent of a veterans\u2019 paycheck instead of the current 40 percent.\n \u201cAs a Marine Corps combat veteran, I believe it\u2019s manifestly unfair that veterans who receive VA disability benefits face the unwarranted recoupment of their separation pay,\u201d said Rep. Gallego. \u00a0\u201cThey are completely unrelated \u2013 VA disability benefits compensate for workplace injuries while separation pay compensates for time served.\u00a0 This policy simply makes no sense and Congress has a responsibility to our brave veterans to fix it.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\n\u201cWhen Americans sign up to protect our country, we make a commitment to honor and support their service \u2013 but for nearly 25,000 veterans that promise has been broken. Over $400 million in disability benefits have been withheld or even taken back from veterans to \u2018make up\u2019 for their separation pay, causing military families financial insecurity. I am proud to partner with my colleague Representative Gallego to make right on this promise and to give our veterans the compensation they deserve for the sacrifices they\u2019ve made,\u201d said Rep. DeSaulnier.\n\u201cThis is an injustice! Right now, an honorable veteran can be forced to return large portions of his or her separation pay if found eligible for VA disability benefits or military retirement pay. These are completely separate payments, and our courageous veterans should not be shortchanged for being injured in the line of duty,\u201d said Rep. Jones. \u201cThank you Represenatives Gallego and DeSaulnier for introducing legislation to put an end to this disparity.\u201d\n\u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reps-gallego-desaulnier-and-jones-introduce-bipartisan-legislation"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9222580119967461, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}