A message from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

A message from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

May 17, 2005

Mr. Seth Pollack
Chairman of the Board
Veterans for Common Sense
1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C.  20003

Dear Mr. Pollack:

I am pleased to announce that the Senate Armed Services Committee approved a
provision to make sure that wounded soldiers – including active duty,
National Guard members and Reservists – do not lose their combat pay
allowance while they are in hospital.

It is unacceptable that our service members can lose their combat pay while
they are recovering. They have put their lives on the line for us. The last
thing we should be doing is placing an intolerable burden on their families
in return for their sacrifice.

This provision is especially important to our Guard members and Reservists
who have often sacrificed their steady income as private citizens to serve
in the military.  I am pleased that the Senate Armed Services has passed
this provision so that we can stop this practice and give our service
members and their families the support they deserve. I hope the full Senate
follows suit. 

Under current law, when a soldier is sent to a military hospital in the
United States, they lose their combat pay allowance after 90 days. The new
provision, approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee as part of the FY
2006 Department of Defense (DOD) Authorization bill, allows wounded
servicemembers to continue to receive combat pay as long as they are
hospitalized.

I have made the treatment of wounded soldiers one of my top priorities.  I
raised the issue at a hearing of the Armed Services Committee last month
where I won agreement from the Secretaries of the Armed Services to address
the issue of wounded troops’ pay and obtained a pledge from each of them to
make sure that wounded Guard members and reservists would not lose their
combat pay allowance while they are in a military hospital.

I have also co-sponsored legislation with Senator Jay Rockefeller requiring
that a member of the uniformed services who is wounded or otherwise injured
while serving in a combat zone continue to be paid monthly military pay and
allowances while injured.  The bill would also continue the combat zone tax
exclusion for the servicemember during their recovery period.

Sincerely yours,
Hillary Rodham Clinton
http://clinton.senate.gov

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