House approves military pension bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted overwhelmingly today to restore full cost-of-living increases to pension benefits for younger military retirees, responding eagerly to election-year pressure from veterans groups.

The Senate debated a similar bill as lawmakers hastened to reverse course on the most controversial cut contained in budget legislation approved less than two months ago.

Approval of the measure was never in doubt in the House, where the final vote was 326-90.

Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., said the bill would "protect the promises that this nation has made to our veterans." He called on Congress to "care for those who have borne the battle and to send that message to all who can hear it."

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., argued that overturning last year's relatively modest change in pensions would eventually cause military readiness to erode as the Pentagon struggles to adjust to budget restrictions.

"We've got to make some hard choices. This bill doesn't do it. It punts in every conceivable way," he said.

Under the bill in the Republican-controlled House, a cut in cost-of-living increases for military retirees under age 62 would be eliminated before it is scheduled to take effect 2015. The $7 billion cost of the measure would be more than offset by extending pre-existing cuts in Medicare and other government programs for an additional year, through 2024.