WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a member of the Senate Budget and Armed Services committees, today voted to proceed with legislation to repeal $6 billion in cost-of-living cuts to current and future military retirees. The cuts were included in the budget deal signed into law in December.

“The current bill does not pay for the reinstatement of the funds, but I am hopeful that Majority Leader Reid will allow Senators the opportunity to offer amendments to find suitable savings elsewhere in the budget,” Wicker said. “We can rectify the wrong done to our military retirees and protect taxpayers by not adding to our nation’s sea of debt.”

Wicker has cosponsored legislation by Senator Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., that would pay for the reinstatement of the military benefits by closing a loophole in the U.S. tax code that allows illegal immigrants to claim the Additional Child Tax Credit. A recent report conducted by the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates this change will save approximately $20 billion over the next 10 years.

In December, Wicker and Senator Thad Cochran, R-Miss., voted against final passage of the negotiated Murray-Ryan budget proposal in part because of the cuts to military retirement benefits.