Kerry, Clinton, Emanuel, Murphy and Walz Fight for Full Troop Pay Increase

[mloutre]

This press release went out from Kerry's office this afternoon:


Kerry, Clinton, Emanuel, Murphy and Walz Fight for Full Troop Pay Increase

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) joined with House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill. 5th District), and House Democratic military veterans Tim Walz (D-Minn. 1st District) and Patrick Murphy (D-Penn. 8th District) today to call upon the White House to increase the pay raise for wartime troops to 3.5 percent. The group also asked Bush not to cut a proposed benefit for grieving spouses, which would provide $40 a month to help these military families cover expenses when a loved one is killed in action. Last week, the White House specifically resisted those two provisions in the FY 2008 National Defense Authorization Bill.

“We are here today to ask the President whether he will put his money where his mouth is, about whether America owes our troops and their families a special debt of honor and gratitude during war time,” said Senator Kerry. “It’s unacceptable that this White House continues to choose more tax breaks for the richest Americans and less pay and fewer benefits for our military families. At a time when Army deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have been extended from 12 months to 15 months, and our troops serve so bravely in Iraq, they are owed pay equal to their sacrifice – and then some. We need to do something to reduce the gap between military and civilian pay, and we need to do it today.”

“If you serve your country your country should serve you,” said Senator Clinton. “That is the promise our country must keep to the men and women who enlist, who fight, and who return home often bearing the visible and invisible scars of sacrifice. This new Congress will stand with our troops and stand against efforts to block a modest pay raise for our men and women in uniform.”

“This Administration should be embarrassed,” said Congressman Emanuel. “One in five military families are in desperate enough straits that they have to depend upon food stamps and other assistance to make ends meet and put food on the table. But even after asking our troops to risk their lives thousands of miles from home, all this President wants to give our troops is not some real assistance -- but just a handshake and a slap on the back. Our troops deserve better. It's time for our resources to match our rhetoric.”

"At a time when our troops are stretched thin, this pay raise will make a difference in their lives and the lives of their families," said Congressman Patrick Murphy. "In 2003, when I was in Baghdad, in the 138 degree heat, the Bush administration wanted to cut our combat pay. That was wrong then and it is wrong now for President Bush to threaten a reckless veto against our soldiers who are putting their lives on the line to protect our families."

“Instead of calling for shared sacrifice after September 11th, President Bush asked Americans to go shopping,” Congressman Walz said. “By opposing the military pay increase proposed by Democrats, President Bush sends a clear signal to the troops that the only sacrifice he’s willing to ask for is one shared by our military men and women and their families. As a retired senior noncommissioned officer I am astonished at the President’s disregard for our soldiers and their families.”

The Office of Management and Budget said that the House bill’s moves to increase military pay by .5 percent (from 3.0 to 3.5 percent) and give a $40 monthly benefit for surviving spouses and military families were “unnecessary.” On the same day, the White House expressed opposition to the FY 2008 Budget Resolution Conference Report because it failed to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

Last year’s pay increase for members of the uniformed services was just 2.2 percent, the lowest since 1994. Congress previously made a commitment to keep pay raises for the military ahead of private sector pay raises.

Kerry is the author of the Military Family Bill of Rights. A provision from the bill increased the amount received by the beneficiary from $250,000 to $400,000 in the Servicemember’s Group Life Insurance policy. Other provisions in the bill extended the amount of time they can remain in military housing to one full year, along with increasing TRICARE benefits and promoting better care for those suffering from PTSD and other mental illness.


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[Democrafty]

1. Thanks.

Do let us know if the press conference will air on any of the C-SPANs.

[politicasista]

2. K&R

:kick:

[ProSense]

3. Kick! n/t