Lawmakers help wounded soldier get home after pay dispute

[UpInArms]

http://ww2.saukvalley.com/news/315910577320008.bsp

WASHINGTON (AP) — Spc. Robert Loria of Middletown, N.Y., lost his arm in Iraq, but instead of a farewell paycheck from the Army he got a bill for nearly $1,800.

On Friday a platoon of New York lawmakers came to his rescue.

Loria found himself stuck in Fort Hood in Texas this week when Army officials said he owed money for travel expenses and for lost equipment.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey and Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton interceded on behalf of the 27-year-old veteran after his wife, Christine Loria, told the Times-Herald Record of Middletown about the problem.

<snip>

Clinton, Schumer, and Hinchey said Friday the Army had dropped the billing demands and would allow Loria to return home on leave before he is discharged. Clinton's office said late Friday that Army officials were now looking at the cases of 19 other injured veterans who may have had payroll situations similar to Loria's.

...more...

This article goes on to note that only Democratic lawmakers went to this soldier's aid.

[peacebird]

1. only Democrats came to his aid -

buncha bleeding heart liberals, jeez and he owed uncle Sam almost $2k. just like them liberals to go handing out our taxpayer money hand over fist - or stump in this case... (sarcasm now off)

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. Only Democrats give a damn. The right just likes to talk tough.

They say they don't leave any of their soldiers on the field. I don't know if that's true any more. But it does appear they abandon them once they get stateside.

[American liberal]

13. I posted the Loria story on another message board

and the neocons were all over it, calling it garbage, misstatements, biased (because it came from DU).

Bunch of ostrich-headed pansies! :mad:

[salin]

21. hint... in the future

post the direct link to the story rather than to the DU link to the story and the DU discussion. Harder for the right wingers to so quickly dismiss.

[talk hard]

23. Yes, that's right. Facts are liberal bias.

:}

[Mari333]

2. Republican lawmakers never care, believe me

All the phone calls and letters I wrote when Michael was sent to Iraq...the Dems always called back, and responded. Republicans , like the asshole Fred Upton in MI, NEVER respond. They are too busy checking their stock portfolios.

[Cleopatra2a]

3. Typical Army

I'm in the Air Force. Seems to me that these guys are just shuttled around from place to place and no one briefs them on their entitlements etc. I think it is just the Army mentality. They don't tell their people anything!!!!! When we deploy or travel, at least in my experience, we were always told how much we were allowed to spend for meals travel etc. You always have the one person who comes back from a deployment, continues to receive combat pay or tax-free bennies and does not say anything. If that happens, you are supposed to report it ASAP. They always complain when they get that $00.00 paycheck.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. I have questions about the Air Force.

I apologize now if I offend you, but there does seem to be some elitism going on with the Air Force and the other branches of government. I'm basing my opinions on two conversations I've had with an Air Force person and I realize that's not enough, so I'm asking for yours. Here's where I'm confused:

The Air Force person appears to be getting a military paid scholarship for her child. Apparently not all college scholarships are equal. They are graded, just like civil servant jobs use to be. With the most favorable resulting in a full ride. So, her kid is going to college, BUT, she insists her daughter doesn't have to enlist in the military!!! She isn't the first one who has told me this. They claim their kids don't have any obligation to serve.

How can that be? How can we have boys from poor families going into the Army and fighting on the front lines without getting a full scholarship to college and the children of Air Force people getting full rides without any requirement to serve?

Is there something that I missed in the conversation? I'm afraid to ask too many question to these people.

[Cleopatra2a]

15. Not offended at all

I'm offended that we are treated so much better than the other services. I don't have any kids, already have a degree, so I don't really pay attention to scholarships etc. I do think they extended tuition assistance to family members and there are AF associations that raise money to give to students. I was in Kuwait when the Army was building up to go to Irag, Feb 2003. We all had the new chem gear, but there were Marines and Army guys running around in the old stuff. An Army female Major told me they were give 1 new desert uniform, the rest they had to pick out from old used ones! I have 10 sets of DCUs in my closet right now, some never worn!!

[tabasco]

20. I think the Army & USAF are the same on this ...

With the 3 & 4 year scholarships, the first year is a free ride with no obligation. The second year requires a commitment. I'm not aware of military scholarships without obligation, at least the taxpayer funded ones.

[ContraBass Black]

4. Those Democraps need to support our troops!

They're fighting for our freedoms, but the LIEberals don't respect them like Republicans do!

[sam sarrha]

8. if it talks like a Freeper, and walks like a freeper, take it somewhere

else..

[sam sarrha]

10. i support out troops by demanding they COME NOME NOW and voting

against the Moron Privileged deserter frat boy that sent them there..

if you are trying to be funny it didnt work...your post was bullshit. the Campaign contributors of he Reich wing are making Billion's of profit with our tax dollars while our children die and theirs dont.

take your freep'n attitude somewhere else.. you only support ignorance and needless death. this war has turned the entire world against us.. we are about to lose 40% of our oil when the Saudi's cut us off after the their revolution.. then the Oil people will OWN us, this country will fall into a fatal depression, from which not a hint of democracy will survive.. and THAT IS THEIR PLAN ...dumbass, wake UP !!! this is not the time to be funny, and i dont think you are funny..just a mind controlled freeper.

if you think i take this too seriously.. maybe it is just that you dont.. and should. Iraq is a disaster!! it will end us as a super power, it has already ended any respect the rest of the world has for us and our Democracy., thanks to King George.. I bet we wont ever elect another Drug Addict/alcoholic. if we survive to another election

[ContraBass Black]

18. I take this deadly seriously as well.

I have been fighting this ignorance, warmongering, and outright foolishness for years. A full year before the invasion, I railed against the disaster to come, predicting to a T almost every failure, disaster, death, and destruction that has occurred. At the time, I was dismissed as a "stupid high school liberal" who didn't know what he was talking about and would say anything to smear Republicans. Now, I'm the "stupid college liberal" who "attacks the troops" in order to smear Republicans. I know well the seriousness of our situation.

Indeed, my attempt at a reminder of the lack of sense and awareness that we must contend against is misplaced. I apologize.

[CatWoman]

16. you're kidding, right?

:shrug:

[tsuki]

7. Lost equipment? I don't get it.

[zann725]

12. On AAR yesterday they said he lost and arm and hand in an explostion...

and the bulk of his 'equipment' during that explosion as well. So the double irony was...despite the fact he lost body parts in service to his country, they deducted away ALL his "exit" pay, and ended up telling him that HE owed THEM?!! This whole thing is soooo Draconian, and getting worse every day. Bushco makes Ebeneezer Scrooge look like a Philanthropist!

Oh recount, please save us..and quick!

[msgadget]

14. In an unarmored Humvee--eom

[TheDebbieDee]

17. Lost equipment is probably the TA-50....

or deployment/field issue this soldier signed for somewhere along the way.

It's really hard to keep up with all this stuff when you're in a tactical situation, constantly on the move or under fire.

However, the Army is supposed to make allowances for this and give the soldier a pass on the missing items (unless it's a weapon).

I lost several items of my TA-50 while I was deployed in Saudi Arabia in '91 and the items were written off, I never had to pay for them. I don't know what's going on between the military and the soldiers nowadays, but I'm glad I don't have to deal with *'s Army.

[msgadget]

9. Did you see them on Russert last night?

Oh my, don't mess with a NY wife, no matter who you are. Mrs. Loria has absolutely no respect for the military and wasn't at all shy in voicing her opinions. She said something to the effect, 'The military just doesn't care.' Her husband tried to be diplomatic but she never did.

How many of our guys came home to this situation besides the 19 cases they're now looking into? A friend's son enlisted and badly injured himself in course of basic training. They sent him home and the resulting medical bills became his thereafter. How fair is that? Even store clerks are entitled to Worker's Comp.

If we can't afford to take care of our soldiers, we can't afford to be in battle.

[Javaman]

11. All I have to say is, Un-fucking-believable....

Fucking jackass repukes...

Like I always say, It takes a Democrat to clean up the repukes mess.

This is disgraceful. halliburton, kbr and bectel misspend misspend misspend and where does the the gov't go to find the money? To these poor service men and women who give parts of their body to morons little quest.

And were was moron* during all of this? Not to be found.

AWOL in the reserves, AWOL as a prez.

[proudncdem]

19. was the lost equipment his arm...sound like the military

[Rammy]

22. That is just rediculous

that some loses an arm and then gets billed for his lost gear also.
i wonder if he would have been killed if they would have billed his family.