Senator Ayotte Receives MOAA Congressional Leadership Award

Press Release

At a special reception Tuesday evening on Capitol Hill, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) received the Military Officers Association of America's Colonel Arthur T. Marix Congressional Leadership Award in recognition of strong and consistent support of national defense and the uniformed services community, including her role in leading the successful fight to repeal unfair cuts to military retiree benefits.

"I am humbled and honored to receive this award. Our brave men and women in uniform have selflessly put their own lives on the line to protect our nation, and it is my privilege to fight for the benefits they have earned," said Senator Ayotte, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "I was honored to work to reverse the COLA cuts, and I'll continue to fight to ensure we keep our promises to those who have defended our nation."

"Senator Ayotte is a champion for every man and woman, past and present, who has served or is currently serving their country in uniform. Her efforts to protect the benefits promised to them are unmatched by any other member of Congress. New Hampshire is proud of the work our Senator does on the Armed Services Committee, but especially for her bipartisan leadership in undoing the military retiree COLA injustice of the 2013 budget act," said COL Ken Lull, USA (Ret.), Vice President of MOAA-NH, who was on hand for Tuesday's ceremony. "As this year's MOAA recipient of the Colonel Arthur T. Marix award, Senator Ayotte once again sets the high water mark for her peers, and every member of the MOAA-NH family extend to her their sincere gratitude for all she has done and continues to do."

At Tuesday's ceremony, Chairman Robertson praised Ayotte's leadership in successfully repealing unfair cuts to the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for military retirees - including disabled veterans who retire because of their injuries. In December 2013, Senator Ayotte was the only member of the New Hampshire congressional delegation to vote against a budget agreement that unfairly targeted military retirees by cutting their retirements by $6 billion. She then introduced multiple pieces of legislation to repeal these cuts and played an instrumental role in pushing Congress to do the right thing and restore the military retirement benefits.

MOAA advocates on behalf of American service members, veterans, and their families. MOAA represents 380,000 members from every military service branch and their families.

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