Who could possibly argue with this?

Some military retirees with service-related disabilities would have to wait less time to collect both their full retirement pay and disability compensation under legislation the House passed last week.

The measure, included in the Defense Authorization Bill by Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), would end by 2009, for some retirees, a system that requires their federal disability payments to be offset by dollar-for-dollar reductions in retirement pay. Under current law, that trade-off is scheduled to be phased out by 2014 for military retirees with more than 20 years of service and a disability rated at 50 percent or higher by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"We have a responsibility to support the fighting men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our way of life," Butterfield said in a written statement.

Indeed.