Baldwin Bill Helps VA Nurses
Baldwin Bill Helps VA Nurses
November 10, 2005
Would provide all VA nurses with full pension benefits
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin today introduced legislation that would provide full pension benefits for Veterans Affairs Department (VA) healthcare workers. Presently, many retired VA nurses are denied full pension benefits. "Through a major oversight in the law, many retired VA nurses are currently denied the full pension benefits they deserve. That's just wrong," said Baldwin.
Legislation that passed in 2001 to restore full pension benefits to VA healthcare workers only applied to new retirees. Under current law, any healthcare worker who retired between 1986 and 2002 does not receive a full pension. Baldwin's legislation will correct this oversight and provide the pension benefits that these workers earned while caring for our nation's veterans.
"This Veterans Day, let's remember that our nation's veterans deserve quality health care. The professionals who deliver that care deserve to be treated fairly and should receive the benefits they've earned," said Baldwin.
Sandy Cesnik, a retired nurse from Madison, and an outspoken advocate for VA nurses, explained the unfairness of the pension rules that she retired under. "Many nurses who retired between 1986 and 2002 were not given the benefits originally intended for us. The VA used the promise of full-time credit for part-time years worked as a recruiting tool, but when we got to retirement, we discovered the VA had pulled the rug out from under us. We really appreciate the fact that Representative Baldwin is standing up for retirees," said Cesnik.
"We already have a nursing shortage in this country," said Congresswoman Baldwin. "We should encourage people to enter the nursing profession by providing them with incentives - not tell them that if they are a VA nurse, they will get less than other federal workers. My bill will right a wrong and demonstrate to future VA nurses that they will get the respect they deserve," Baldwin said.
http://tammybaldwin.house.gov/pr_display_page.asp?page=pressreleasedisplay&type=1&releaseid=446&pageno=1