Udall Votes to Reverse Military Retiree COLA Reduction

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall joined the full Senate in voting to undo a 1 percent reduction to the cost of living adjustment (COLA) for working-age military retirees and current service members who have not yet reached retirement. The reduction in COLA was included as part of a bipartisan budget agreement passed by the Senate in December. The Senate voted 95-3 to reverse the cut. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the measure earlier this week. It now goes to the president to be signed into law.

"The bipartisan budget deal was important to New Mexico because it replaced harmful sequestration cuts with smarter alternatives that will support the growth of small businesses, create jobs, and support our active duty military and their families. However it also included an unfair cut to the cost of living adjustments of working age military retirees, which I have been working to reverse since the budget deal was announced," Udall said. "I've heard from New Mexico military retirees and their families about the importance of these benefits. We shouldn't balance the books on the backs of those who were promised these benefits. This was the right thing to do, and I am very pleased to join the Senate in a bipartisan vote to reverse this cut."

Udall has worked to reverse the cut to working-age military retirees' COLA since it was included as part of the budget bill. He was a cosponsor of the Military Retirement Restoration Act introduced in January as an amendment to unemployment insurance legislation . The amendment mirrored an earlier measure introduced in December .