Veterans' pension bills are often cleverly booby-trappeda fact that the battlescarred Congress should realize, but apparently doesn't. Two weeks ago Texas Democrat Olin E. Teague, chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, presented the House with a beguiling, Administration-backed pension-reform bill that, it was claimed, would save $12 billion over the next 40 years by tightening the rules on federal pensions for needy veterans. After less than 40 minutes of debate, the House gave the bill its overwhelming endorsement and won itself another Purple Heart.
Last week, after a second look at the...