U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) co-sponsored U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte’s (N.H.) legislation today, “Keeping Our Promise to Our Military Heroes Act” (S. 1869), as part of his continued efforts to protect military retirement pay for America’s servicemen and women.

Ayotte’s bill would repeal the harmful Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) reduction for military retirees that was included in the recent budget agreement, which Blunt voted against. The bill would repeal and replace the military retiree benefit cuts by making a simple fix to the U.S. tax code to require filers to have Social Security Numbers in order to qualify for the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC).

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Treasury reported that individuals who were not authorized to work in the U.S. received $4.2 billion by claiming the ACTC. The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates that this change will save approximately $20 billion over 10 years.

“This bill would easily replace these unfair cuts and help keep our promise to the men and women who bravely serve to protect America in the Armed Forces,” said Blunt, who is one of three U.S. Senators to serve on the defense authorizing and appropriating committees. “I voted against the budget because it hurts our men and women in uniform. This bill is a common-sense solution to help keep our promise to them and to their families.”

In December 2013, Blunt also co-sponsored a “sense of the Senate” resolution that was introduced last month by U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) and stated that Armed Forces retirees should not unfairly bear the burden of excessive government spending, and the Senate should seek alternatives to the current military retirement provisions in the budget legislation currently being considered. With this resolution, the Senate agrees to address the reduction of military retirement pension before it goes into effect in December 2015.