McCain hits Bush on military retirement, disability payments

Campaigning for Republican Gov. Jeb Bush in Florida Tuesday, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., criticized President Bush for blocking a plan to allow career soldiers to receive both retirement and disability payments, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

Under current law, military retirees who receive disability payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs have their retired pay reduced dollar-for-dollar by the VA payment.

Veterans groups are pushing a plan, known as "concurrent receipt," in which disabled veterans would be able to receive both their full retirement pay and disability payments. Critics call the practice "double-dipping."

Congress is weighing a concurrent receipt proposal estimated to cost $58 billion over five years.

At a rally in St. Petersburg before an audience made up largely of veterans, McCain blamed the Bush administration for blocking the plan. "The White House has been the biggest barrier," he said.