III 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. CON. RES. 34 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 25, 2007 Mr. Kerry submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of Congress that Congress and the President should increase basic pay for members of the Armed Forces.

Whereas the United States continues to rely extensively upon the personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard who are deployed overseas and stationed at military support installations within the United States; Whereas uniformed services personnel, regardless of branch of service or whether serving in the active or a reserve component, have carried out their mission objectives with valor, distinction, and steadfast dedication to the cause of liberty and democracy; Whereas 1,600,000 uniformed service men and women have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, many of whom have served multiple deployments; Whereas there are currently more than 3,000,000 family members and dependents of those serving on active duty and reserve components; Whereas nearly 40 percent of the members of the Armed Forces, while deployed away from their permanent duty stations, have left families with children behind; Whereas over 1/2 of all service men and women who have deployed to Iraq are married; Whereas military families have persevered in the face of challenges and continue to provide critically important comfort and care and numerous other contributions to their loved ones deployed overseas or stationed across the Nation; Whereas there currently is a 4 percent gap between the pay of our service men and women and the private sector; and Whereas it is in our national interest to offer to the members of the Armed Forces comparable pay to that which the civilian sector provides in order to retain our highly qualified men and women in uniform and to faithfully reward their valiant service to our Nation: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of Congress that— (1)Congress and the President should increase basic pay for members of all components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps by 3.5 percent, effective January 1, 2008; and (2)Congress and the President should provide a special survivor indemnity allowance for persons affected by required Survivor Benefit Plan annuity offsets for dependency and indemnity compensation.