Dr. Benishek Supports Effort to Increase Veterans’ Compensation

WASHINGTON, DC: Dr. Dan Benishek (MI-01) today supported legislation which will supply an increase in veteran disability compensation, clothing allowance, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children.

“With the prices going up for groceries, gas, and utilities, this increase in the cost of living adjustment is needed for our veterans and their families up here in Northern Michigan,” said Dr. Benishek, Michigan’s only member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Dr. Benishek, who worked as a general surgeon at the Oscar Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain, stated that the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) would go into effect on December 1, 2013. According to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the COLA is based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index and is designed to offset inflation, which has increased due to heightened federal spending.

“This bipartisan legislation will help Northern Michigan veterans stretch their bucks a little further. Our military veterans have earned these benefits by defending for our freedoms. They fought for us, and we need to fight for them,” added Dr. Benishek.

There are nearly 68,000 veterans living in Michigan’s First Congressional District.