Monday, January 24, 2005 · Last updated 11:34 a.m. PT
VA nominee pledges probe of benefits
By SUZANNE GAMBOA
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Jim Nicholson, President Bush's nominee to head the Veterans Affairs Department, promised Monday to look into reported disparities in disability compensation from state to state.
Nicholson, a Vietnam War veteran and former chairman of the Republican National Committee, told a Senate panel that disability benefits should not vary based on where a veteran lives.
Freshman Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. , a new member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, question Nicholson about a report in the Chicago Sun-Times earlier this month about compensation disparities.
Obama said that his state is 50th among 52 states and territories for the average amount of disability compensation. A veteran in Illinois can expect to receive $5,000 less than a veteran in Puerto Rico, he said.
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