Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 5008 - Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Reform Act

(House)
(Applegate (D) OH and 12 others)

The Administration has no objection to House passage of H.R. 5008 provided the pay-as-you-go cost of the bill is fully offset as required by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA). H.R. 5008 would, among other things, revise the monthly Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) rates paid to survivors of those veterans who died from service-related causes.

The Administration will work in the Senate to revise the following two provisions:

—   The increases in insurance coverage under the Servicemen's and Veterans' Group Life Insurance programs. The maximum coverages under these programs were doubled last year, and limited Federal resources should be used to deal with higher priority needs than the additional increases provided in this bill.

—   The permanent increases in the Montgomery GI Bill education benefit rates. Benefit rates were increased by 17 percent effective October 1, 1991. The Administration believes that scarce resources would be better spent expanding GI Bill opportunities for career military personnel affected by the Defense Department drawdown. Under the Administration's proposal, members of the Armed Forces with more than six years of service who did not have the opportunity to enroll in the voluntary GI Bill program could choose to enroll when they leave the military voluntarily.

Scoring for Purposes of Pay-As-You-Go

H.R. 5008 contains provisions that would both increase and decrease direct spending; therefore it is subject to the pay-as- you-go requirement of OBRA.

OMB's preliminary scoring estimates of this bill are presented in the table below. Final scoring of this legislation may deviate from these estimates. If H.R. 5008 were enacted, final OMB scoring estimates would be published five days after enactment, as required by OBRA. The cumulative effect of all enacted legislation on the pay-as-you-go requirement will be issued in monthly reports transmitted to Congress.

Estimates for Pay-As-You-Go
(outlays in millions)