[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 89 (Thursday, June 24, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7479-S7480]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LAUTENBERG:
  2601. A bill to amend title 37, United States Code, to require the 
payment of monthly special pay for members of the uniformed services 
whose service on active duty is extended by a stop-loss order or 
similar mechanism, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Armed 
Services.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise today to offer a bill that 
addresses a critical element of defense funding.
  My bill will very simply compensate men and women from all services 
who will be deployed even after their service agreement has ended.
  The so called ``Stop Loss'' policy that will keep over 10,000 troops 
forcefully conscripted is a direct result of perhaps the most dangerous 
error the administration made in its planning for the war in Iraq.
  The administration gravely miscalculated the military personnel 
required in the post-invasion stage of the Iraq campaign. It 
drastically underestimated the challenges of the so called 
``Reconstruction Phase'' and instead naively pretended we would be 
greeted as liberators, with sweets and tea.
  The civilian leadership at the Pentagon failed to plan for adequate 
personnel to ensure the security of Iraq.
  But this wasn't just failure by omission. This was a deliberate 
neglect of expert opinion, which warned the administration that 
hundreds of troops would be needed to secure a country the size of 
California. In January 2003, three star General Eric Shinseki told the 
White House, the Pentagon and the public that 300,000 troops were 
necessary to execute the war and post-war objectives.
  Not only was his expert advice ignored, but he was also fired for 
offering a dissenting view.
  In May 2003, the administration was given a second chance to bolster 
its troops in Iraq; it could have solicited the support of our major 
allies--such as Turkey, France, India and others--and NATO and urge a 
truly international coalition to maintain peace in Iraq.
  Unfortunately, the opportunity to bolster our troops through a real 
multinational coalition was squandered and now it is too late.

[[Page S7480]]

  In fact, our troop shortage is so dire in Iraq that we are paying 
non-military private contractors to perform typically military 
functions in Iraq--everything from serving meals to securing command 
centers.
  We now have over 20,000 private security contractors in Iraq, which 
is approximately the same number of individuals as the international 
troops from the United Kingdom, Poland, Thailand, Italy and elsewhere 
who are in our coalition.
  And now, the military is forced to rely on the policy of forcing 
individuals at the end of their service term to remain with their unit 
if it is deployed or will be deployed to the combat theaters.
  The Pentagon has cleverly borrowed the corporate term ``Stop Loss'' 
to describe this new policy, which will affect over 10,000 new active 
duty and national guard and reservists.
  I call the policy: ``Going Back on Your Word.'' With the Stop Loss 
orders, thousands of men and women are being forcibly maintained in the 
services, just as they were packing their bags and preparing to return 
home to civilian life.
  Stop Loss has an extremely large impact on all troops, but especially 
impacts the National Guard and Reservists, many of whom have already 
been deployed much longer than they expected.
  These men and women have put jobs and families on hold and now the 
Pentagon is delaying their return further.
  My bill addresses the serious strain that is currently being placed 
on our young men and women in uniform and their families back home. It 
requires the Pentagon to reimburse service members $2,000 a month for 
each month that they are forcibly maintained in the Armed Services, 
after their term of enlistment has extended.
  Critics might claim that this bonus will unfairly reward some troops 
and not others. But the Army and other services already have instituted 
many different types of bonus awards that compensate service members 
above and beyond the base military pay. For example, we routinely give 
hazardous danger pay and separation pay and recently we've initiated 
new bonuses for those who enlist as a recruiting tool.
  It's only fair that we compensate the troops who have already been 
fighting on the front lines of our two combat theaters.
  These American heroes being sent back to war deserve a $2,000 a month 
bonus each and every month they are serving.
  While the richest among us have been rewarded with tax cuts, the 
soldiers, sailors, marines, and air men and women and their families 
are living paycheck to paycheck. This is just one example of how this 
war is requiring sacrifices from only a small, overburdened segment of 
American society.
  It is not fair and my Military Fairness Act of 2004 will begin to 
redress the inequity in sacrifice:
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2601

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. MONTHLY SPECIAL PAY FOR ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE 
                   EXTENDED BY STOP-LOSS ORDERS.

       (a) In General.--(1) Chapter 5 of title 37, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 327. Special pay: active duty service extended by 
       stop-loss order

       ``(a) Special Pay.--A member of the uniformed services 
     entitled to basic pay whose enlistment or period of obligated 
     service is extended, or whose eligibility for retirement is 
     suspended, pursuant to the exercise of an authority referred 
     to in subsection (b) is entitled while on active duty during 
     the period of such extension or suspension to special pay in 
     the amount specified in subsection (c).
       ``(b) Extension Authorities.--An authority referred to in 
     this section is an authority for the extension of an 
     enlistment or period of obligated service, or for suspension 
     of eligibility for retirement, of a member of the uniformed 
     services under a provision of law as follows:
       ``(1) Section 123 of title 10.
       ``(2) Section 12305 of title 10.
       ``(3) Any other provision of law (commonly referred to as 
     `stop-loss authority') authorizing the President to extend an 
     enlistment or period of obligated service, or suspend an 
     eligibility for retirement, of a member of the uniformed 
     services in time of war or of national emergency declared by 
     Congress or the President.
       ``(c) Monthly Amount.--The amount of special pay specified 
     in this subsection is $2,000 per month.
       ``(d) Construction With Other Pays.--Special pay payable 
     under this section is in addition to any other pay payable to 
     members of the uniformed services by law.''.
       (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter 
     is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``327. Special pay: active duty service extended by stop-loss order.''.

       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect as of March 20, 2003.
       (c) Funding.--Amounts appropriated or otherwise made 
     available for the Department of Defense for operation and 
     maintenance for fiscal year 2005 shall be available for the 
     payment of special pay under section 327 of title 37, United 
     States Code (as added by subsection (a))--
       (1) during fiscal year 2005; and
       (2) for the period beginning on the effective date 
     specified in subsection (b) and ending on September 30, 2004.
                                 ______