NEWS FROM….

CONGRESSMAN LANE EVANS

RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS

    U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Washington, DC – Congressman Lane Evans (D-IL) today hailed House adoption of legislation to provide a cost-of-living allowance (COLA) for compensation received by service-connected disabled veterans and recipients of dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) received by eligible survivors and dependents.

"This legislation provides important protection to the men and women who have served this country," said Evans, Democratic Leader of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. "I am pleased at the House’s action."

The COLA increase will be the same as the increase in the Social Security rates, as has been the practice for several years. Increases apply to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation for service-connected disabled veterans, and to the rates of VA disability and indemnity compensation (DIC) for survivors of certain disabled veterans.

Evans said such cost-of-living increases "are especially important to disabled veterans and their families who may not have other income." Earlier this year the Gold Star Wives, the national military widows organization, commended Evans for his leadership in Congress on behalf of the survivors of American servicemen, "assisting desperate widows in improving their quality of life."

"This legislation is important to help protect disabled veterans and their survivors from rising costs," Evans said. "We need legislation that insures the citizen soldiers who have kept us free are all part of treating our veterans fairly. These veterans, like all veterans, deserve our respect and our gratitude. Only if memory fails us will we fail our disabled veterans."