April 15, 2005
President George W. Bush
The White House
Dear Mr. President,
I respectfully request any
information on the status of a decision about whether or not certain disabled
retirees rated as individual unemployable (IU) will qualify for immediate
concurrent receipt of Military Retired Pay and VA Disability Compensation per
Section 642 of the FY 2005 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law No:
108-375).
The Washington Post recently reported on this issue
involving 24,000 military retirees which has yet to be resolved because of a dispute
over the interpretation of the legislation by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB).
This is a priority issue
for FRA because many of our members believe these individuals are qualified to
receive the additional benefit. Any information your Administration may offer
on the status of this determination will be appreciated.
Thank you for your
attention to this request.
Sincerely,
JOSEPH L. BARNES
National Executive Secretary
JLB:ms:jhh