Sen. Tester Deserves Your Vote

Dear Editor,

Under current law, retired military veterans who also receive service-connected disability compensation have their retirement benefits reduced by the disability benefits they receive. In other words, disabled military retirees pay their own disability benefits. There are few exceptions to that penalty, but virtually all military retirees whose disability rating is less than 50% are adversely affected.

For his entire career in the Senate, Sen. Tester has spearheaded an effort to abolish that draconian legislation that has penalized disabled military retirees for decades. When Sen. Tester was first elected there was some bipartisan support for such legislation. However, there was always a Republican faction that shot it down. Those interested in the legislative history of Sen. Tester's sponsored bills, please check the Library of Congress website under S. 546 (111th Congress), S. 344 (112th Congress), S. 234 (113th congress), S. 271 (114th Congress), S. 66 (115th Congress) and S. 208 (116th Congress). No Montana Republican EVER supported those Senate bills, or any companion bill in the House of Representatives.

Notwithstanding the fact that he, himself, is a veteran, Sheehy's allegiance to his party makes it a certainty that he would NEVER sponsor the beneficial legislation Sen. Tester has fought so hard to enact. Nor would he fight for veterans' interests as hard as Sen. Tester has.

If you are a veteran, please be aware that it is ONLY Sen. Tester who deserves your vote.

Sincerely,

Al Weed

Kalispell, Mont.