Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Sponsors Bill to Undo Military Retiree Benefit Cuts in the Bipartisan Budget Act

Press Release

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) today announced she will be an original co-sponsor of the Military Retirement Restoration Act (H.R. 3793), a bill that would repeal planned cuts to military retiree cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) that were included in the Bipartisan Budget Act last week. The Military Retirement Restoration Act would replace the cuts to military retiree benefits by closing loopholes and preventing companies from avoiding U.S. taxes by abusing overseas tax havens.

"It is unacceptable to backpedal on the commitment we have made to our men and women in uniform who raise their hand to serve and put their lives on the line for us," said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. "While it was far from perfect, the Bipartisan Budget Act was a modest step in the right direction to help us avert preventable government crises; however, we cannot pay for the agreement by short-changing our military retirees. The legislation I sponsored today would completely replace the cuts that were made to those retiree benefits, and instead closes tax loopholes for businesses that avoid paying a fair share by locating their operations overseas."

The Military Retirement Restoration Act would:

Repeal the provision in the Bipartisan Budget Act (Section 403) that modifies the annual cost-of-living adjustment for working-age military retirees by making the adjustments equal to inflation minus one percent. This provision, which is scheduled to go into effect in December 2015, would result in a benefit cut for working-age military retirees. The Bipartisan Budget Act modifies the annual cost-of-living adjustment for working-age military retirees by making the adjustments equal to inflation minus one percent. At age 62, the retired pay would be adjusted as if the COLA had been the full CPI adjustment in all previous years, and the service members would receive the full COLA from then on. The provision would have saved approximately $6 billion over ten years.
Prevent companies from avoiding paying their fair share of U.S. taxes. The repeal would be fully offset by stopping companies incorporated offshore but managed and controlled from the United States from claiming foreign status and avoiding U.S. taxes on their foreign income. It would require these companies to be treated as U.S. domestic corporations for tax purposes. This provision and is expected to raise over $6.6 billion over ten years.

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