[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 69 (Tuesday, May 15, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H2695-H2698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PROGRAM GUIDANCE MODIFICATION RELATING TO POST-
  DEPLOYMENT/MOBILIZATION RESPITE ABSENCE ADMINISTRATIVE ABSENCE DAYS

  Mr. KLINE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4045) to modify the Department of Defense Program Guidance 
relating to the award of Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence 
administrative absence days to members of the reserve components to 
exempt any member whose qualified mobilization commenced before October 
1, 2011, and continued on or after that date, from the changes to the 
program guidance that took effect on that date, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4045

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

[[Page H2696]]

     SECTION 1. TREATMENT OF PROGRAM GUIDANCE RELATING TO THE 
                   AWARD OF POST-DEPLOYMENT/MOBILIZATION RESPITE 
                   ABSENCE ADMINISTRATIVE ABSENCE DAYS TO MEMBERS 
                   AND FORMER MEMBERS OF THE RESERVE COMPONENTS 
                   UNDER DOD INSTRUCTION 1327.06.

       (a) Discretion of the Secretary of Defense.--The Secretary 
     of Defense may determine that the changes made by the 
     Secretary to the Program Guidance relating to the award of 
     Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence program 
     administrative absence days or other benefits described in 
     subsection (b) to members and former members of the reserve 
     components under DOD Instruction 1327.06 effective as of 
     October 1, 2011, shall not apply to a member of a reserve 
     component, or former member of a reserve component, whose 
     qualified mobilization (as described in such program 
     guidance) commenced before October 1, 2011, and continued on 
     or after that date until the date the mobilization is 
     terminated.
       (b) Authorized Benefits.--Under regulations prescribed by 
     the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary concerned may provide 
     a member or former member of the Armed Forces described in 
     subsection (a) with one of the following benefits:
       (1) In the case of an individual who is a former member of 
     the Armed Forces at the time of the provision of benefits 
     under this section, payment of an amount not to exceed $200 
     for each day the individual would have qualified for a day of 
     administrative absence had the changes made to the Program 
     Guidance described in subsection (a) not applied to the 
     individual, as authorized by such subsection.
       (2) In the case of a member of the Armed Forces on active 
     duty at the time of the provision of benefits under this 
     section, either one day of administrative absence or payment 
     of an amount not to exceed $200, as selected by the member, 
     for each day the member would have qualified for a day of 
     administrative absence had the changes made to the Program 
     Guidance described in subsection (a) not applied to the 
     member, as authorized by such subsection.
       (3) In the case of a member of the Armed Forces serving in 
     the Selected Reserve, Inactive National Guard, or Individual 
     Ready Reserve at the time of the provision of benefits under 
     this section, either one day of administrative absence to be 
     retained for future use or payment of an amount not to exceed 
     $200, as selected by the member, for each day the member 
     would have qualified for a day of administrative absence had 
     the changes made to the Program Guidance described in 
     subsection (a) not applied to the member, as authorized by 
     such subsection.
       (c) Exclusion of Certain Former Members.--An individual who 
     is a former member of the Armed Forces is not eligible under 
     this section for the benefits specified in subsection (b)(1) 
     if the individual was discharged or released from the Armed 
     Forces under other than honorable conditions.
       (d) Form of Payment.--The payments authorized by subsection 
     (b) may be paid in a lump sum or installments, at the 
     election of the Secretary concerned.
       (e) Relation to Other Pay and Leave.--The benefits provided 
     to a member or former member of the Armed Forces under this 
     section are in addition to any other pay, absence, or leave 
     provided by law.
       (f) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) The term ``Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence 
     program'' means the program of the Secretary concerned to 
     provide days of administrative absence not chargeable against 
     available leave to certain deployed or mobilized members of 
     the Armed Forces in order to assist such members in 
     reintegrating into civilian life after deployment or 
     mobilization.
       (2) The term ``Secretary concerned'' has the meaning given 
     that term in section 101(5) of title 37, United States Code.
       (g) Commencement and Duration of Authority.--
       (1) Commencement.--The authority to provide days of 
     administrative absence under paragraphs (2) and (3) of 
     subsection (b) begins on the date of the enactment of this 
     Act and the authority to make cash payments under such 
     subsection begins, subject to subsection (h), on October 1, 
     2012.
       (2) Expiration.--The authority to provide benefits under 
     this section expires on October 1, 2014.
       (3) Effect of expiration.--The expiration date specified in 
     paragraph (2) shall not affect the use, after that date, of 
     any day of administrative absence provided to a member of the 
     Armed Forces under subsection (b) before that date or the 
     payment, after that date, of any payment selected by a member 
     or former member of the Armed Forces under such subsection 
     before that date.
       (h) Cash Payments Subject to Availability of 
     Appropriations.--No cash payment may be made under subsection 
     (b) unless the funds to be used to make the payments are 
     available pursuant to an appropriations Act enacted after the 
     date of enactment of this Act.
       (i) Funding Offset.--The Secretary of Defense shall 
     transfer $4,000,000 from the unobligated balances of the 
     Pentagon Reservation Maintenance Revolving Fund established 
     under section 2674(e) of title 10, United States Code, to the 
     Miscellaneous Receipts Fund of the United States Treasury.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Roby). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline) and the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. 
Bordallo) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota.


                             General Leave

  Mr. KLINE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Minnesota?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. KLINE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of the bill, H.R. 4045, legislation that 
would ensure members of the National Guard and Reserve--including 
members of Minnesota's famed Red Bulls--receive the benefits they have 
earned.
  Simply put, this legislation ensures that promises made are promises 
kept. The bill will grandfather the Minnesota National Guard and more 
than 49,000 other servicemembers around the country who mobilized and 
deployed under the Pentagon's original Post-Deployment/Mobilization 
Respite Absence program policy, providing them the benefits they were 
promised prior to deployment.
  Since September 11, 2011, members of the Reserve component have been 
uniquely affected by long deployments, leaving their families and 
careers to answer their Nation's call. In January of 2007, the 
Department of Defense instituted the PDMRA program to allow 
servicemembers the opportunity to spend more time with their families 
and readjust after multiple deployments in excess of 12 to 24 months. I 
would ask my colleagues to reflect on that number, 12 to 24 months. 
That is 1 to 2 years away from their families and their homes, putting 
their own lives on hold to protect and defend our families and our 
Nation.
  Madam Speaker, last year, after more than 2,000 Minnesota soldiers 
were deployed, the Pentagon changed the PDMRA program, significantly 
reducing the leave available to the Red Bulls and many others across 
the Nation. With little notice, many soldiers and their families were 
forced to cope with unexpected financial challenges, less time at home 
with loved ones, and an increased urgency to find employment.
  H.R. 4045, as amended, provides the Pentagon the authority to 
grandfather members of the National Guard and Reserve whose 
mobilization and deployment commenced before the Pentagon's PDMRA 
reduction policy took effect in October of last year. The legislation 
does three things:
  First, for servicemembers still on active duty, the bill provides DOD 
the authority to immediately restore their PDMRA leave days lost and 
gives them the option of selling their leave in lieu of taking the 
PDMRA day if they determine that that is in their best interest;
  Second, for servicemembers still in the service but off active duty, 
the bill provides DOD the authority to award a leave payment in lieu of 
the days they would have received for their service during the change; 
and
  Finally, the former servicemembers who have left the military 
altogether but were affected during the PDMRA policy change, the bill 
provides DOD the authority to reward a leave payment in lieu of the 
PDMRA days they would have received for there service during the 
change.
  In short, we're making these soldiers whole again and keeping our 
promises. The legislation is critical to ensuring our sons and 
daughters in uniform receive the benefits they were promised and have 
rightfully earned.
  Sergeant Matthew Hite recently returned home to Minnesota after his 
third deployment with the Minnesota National Guard. While he's been in 
Kuwait the past 11 months, his 7-year-old son, Charles, has learned to 
play T-ball. Sergeant Hite wasn't there to see Charles get his first 
hit or make his first catch. ``It's frustrating'' Sergeant Hite told 
the Star Tribune, ``frustrating that the time we thought we had to 
spend with family is being taken away.''
  Every day, members of the reserve component are stepping off planes, 
beginning the process of reintegration, and returning to their civilian 
lives.

[[Page H2697]]

Every day, units are receiving their final orders specifying an end 
date to their mobilization. I am hopeful that this commonsense effort 
to do right by our men and women in uniform will become law.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4045, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in strong support of this bill, and I thank the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Kline) for bringing this measure to the floor. I also 
appreciate his continued leadership on pre- and post-deployment issues 
for the National Guard. The bill will correct an injustice for our 
National Guardsmen and reservists who have been putting their lives on 
the line to defend our Nation.
  The fiscal year 2013 Defense authorization bill includes a provision 
that also addresses this problem; but, regardless, this sends a clear 
message to the Department of Defense that we want to fix this problem, 
and quickly. The bill gives DOD the clear authority they need to make 
the necessary changes and to do so before the Defense authorization 
bill is likely to be completed.
  The bill is widely supported by outside groups, including the 
Military Officers Association of America, the National Guard 
Association of the United States, and the Enlisted Association of the 
National Guard of the United States, to name just a few.
  However, while I support the bill, I must raise the concern that this 
bill bypassed the normal committee process, and the minority was not 
included in the decision to bring this measure to the floor, which 
violates our tradition of bipartisanship. Still, in the interest of 
protecting our men and women in uniform, I stand in support of the 
bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it as well.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1920

  Mr. KLINE. Madam Speaker, I am very happy to yield 3 minutes to my 
friend and colleague, a naval officer, another helicopter pilot, and a 
member of the Minnesota delegation, Mr. Cravaack.
  Mr. CRAVAACK. I thank Chairman Kline for the recognition.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of a critically important bill 
which I am a cosponsor of, offered by a fellow member of the Minnesota 
delegation, Chairman John Kline.
  The Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence program is an 
important program that allows servicemembers the opportunity to 
readjust after deployments and spend more time with their families. 
This earned leave further provides returning servicemembers with more 
time and a less stressful environment in which to seek employment in a 
time where a job search is becoming increasingly more difficult. These 
earned benefits will help combat the high stress experienced by those 
who have returned home from prolonged deployments.
  The Minnesota National Guard and tens of thousands of other guardsmen 
and reservists who have been deployed to the Middle East and were 
impacted by the PDMRA change were charged with the promise to defend 
our country. They have more than lived up to their end of the bargain 
to keep their promise. Now it is time for the Department of Defense to 
live up to its end of the deal and provide these individuals with the 
full benefits they were promised at the time of their mobilization 
deployment.
  As Chairman Kline addresses in his support for this bill, some of the 
servicemembers affected by this policy change have performed multiple 
deployments in excess of 12 to 24 months since the beginning of the 
Iraq war. That is 1 to 2 full years that these servicemembers have been 
away from their families, halfway across the world in a combat 
environment. Some of the same servicemembers--specifically, the 2005 
2007 Iraq deploying servicemembers--could stand to lose up to 24 days 
under the changes in the PDMRA policy.
  I do not think it is too much to ask that those who were promised 24 
days of leave for up to 2 years of deployed service to receive that 
leave. Therefore, it is imperative that we respect and honor the 
promises made to these individual families who have sacrificed so much 
in defense of our Nation.
  Recently, I have had the great privilege of welcoming the Minnesota 
National Guard Red Bulls home from their deployment in Iraq and Kuwait. 
When I attended their deployment ceremony last year in Pince City, 
Minnesota, one of the commanding officers in the brigade, Lieutenant 
Colonel Eddie Frizell said to the families, ``I'll bring them all 
home.'' True to his word, the first thing Lieutenant Colonel Frizell 
said in a hand salute to Major General Rick Nash, the adjutant general 
of the Minnesota National Guard, when his feet touched the ground in 
Minnesota was, ``I brought them all home, sir.''
  Madam Speaker, it is now time to bring them all the way home. I urge 
my colleagues to support the troops and support H.R. 4045, which will 
protect the promises made to our National Guard and Reserve, including 
members of the Minnesota's Red Bulls, by ensuring these servicemembers 
receive the benefits they were promised and highly deserve.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlelady from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
4045. This bill will ensure that all the servicemembers returning from 
overseas, including the Minnesota National Guard's Red Bulls, will 
receive the full benefits they were promised.
  Last year, after more than 2,000 of Minnesota's brave soldiers had 
already been mobilized for war, the Department of Defense reduced the 
amount of leave that the servicemembers would receive.
  For the Pentagon to apply this change to soldiers already deployed is 
simply unacceptable. Our men and women in uniform must be able to count 
on the benefits their Nation promised them when they left home.
  H.R. 4045 will correct this serious error by exempting 
servicemembers, like the Red Bulls, who had already deployed before the 
Pentagon's policy shift.
  Passage of this bill is a victory for the entire Minnesota 
delegation, which worked so hard on it. I especially want to thank Mr. 
Kline for his perseverance on this issue and for getting it to the 
floor today. Thank you very much, Mr. Kline.
  But, as I said, I applaud all my colleagues for coming together on 
behalf of the Minnesota Red Bulls and all of the servicemembers and 
their families. America's men and women in uniform dedicate their lives 
to defending our Nation and its values, and we are grateful for their 
outstanding service.
  As a daughter of a World War II disabled veteran of the Army Air 
Corps and as a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military 
Affairs, it is a special honor to work on behalf of those who have 
served our country and to make sure that they receive every benefit 
that they've earned.
  As the Red Bulls return to Minnesota from another deployment, they 
know they can count on their entire Minnesota congressional delegation 
to have their back.
  I urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation.
  Mr. KLINE. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to another 
member of the Minnesota delegation, Mr. Paulsen.
  Mr. PAULSEN. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I also rise in strong support of H.R. 4045.
  Madam Speaker, the promises that we make to our young men and women 
and those who serve and have volunteered to put our Nation's uniform on 
should always, always be kept. And this important legislation does 
exactly that by assuring that nearly 50,000--tens of thousands 
servicemembers will receive the benefits that they, in fact, were 
promised.
  In October of last year, the Department of Defense significantly 
changed the amount of earned time and leave time for our troops and 
began providing less time off for servicemembers after a long 
deployment. But in that process, they failed to take into account those 
reservists who were already deployed, including the 2,000 members of 
the Minnesota National Guard.

[[Page H2698]]

  Madam Speaker, if we don't pass this legislation, members of the 
National Guard and the Reserve, including members of Minnesota's famed 
Red Bulls, will stand to lose approximately 27 days of leave that they 
were promised. They've already earned that leave.
  Let's do the right thing. This is simple. This is straightforward. We 
need to keep the promises out there for our service men and women.
  I want to applaud Chairman Kline. I want to applaud all the members 
of the Minnesota delegation for working together on something so 
critical and important and for sending a bipartisan message that we 
will stand behind our promises to our troops and our men and women in 
uniform.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz).
  Mr. WALZ of Minnesota. I thank the gentlelady from Guam who, as 
always, is an absolute stalwart supporter of our military forces and 
has a long tradition, coming from Guam, in defense of this Nation.
  Also, a special thank you to Colonel Kline, my colleague from 
Minnesota, for his unwavering support of our veterans and for bringing 
this forward and trying to correct this injustice.
  You've heard it today, Madam Speaker, about a change in policy. And 
while a stroke of the pen at the Pentagon may not seem like that much, 
it impacts our veterans and their families. These are folks that have 
deployed, in many cases, three times. For example, the Red Bulls from 
Minnesota: once for 9 months, once for 22 months, and once for a year.
  We came up, as a Nation, to make the determination that these folks 
should have a little bit of time of leave when they come back, readjust 
with their families, see children they maybe have never celebrated a 
birthday with, and then try to go back and get into the job market.
  As a Nation, these are our best and brightest. These are our future 
leaders. We want them getting readjusted. We want them back into the 
job market. And by the Pentagon changing this midstream, it's not so 
much the financial or the monetary insult; it's the insult to what 
these folks went through. When they went, they were promised a benefit. 
When they came back, we had cut it in half.
  We hear a lot about a 99 and a 1 percent. There is a 99 and a 1 
percent in this country--1 percent who are serving in uniform and have 
served overseas, 99 percent of us who have benefited from that 
sacrifice.
  So I commend the delegation. I commend this House. If there is an 
issue that binds this Nation together, it's the absolute unwavering 
support of those who are willing to lay down their lives and sacrifice 
time with their families to serve each and every one of us. The least 
we can do is make sure that the benefits that were promised, that were 
guaranteed, are delivered upon. It's the right thing to do. It's the 
right thing for the country. It binds us together.
  And I want to thank all of the folks here who made this possible. I 
urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation.

                              {time}  1930

  Ms. BORDALLO. I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz), 
especially for his assistance with the Reserve Component Caucus.
  I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. KLINE. I have no further requests for time, and I'm going to 
close by thanking Members on both sides of the aisle. You've heard from 
members of the Minnesota delegation here tonight, my good friends, the 
Democrats Mr. Walz and Ms. McCollum, Mr. Cravaack, and Mr. Paulsen. 
This legislation affects members of the Guard and Reserve all over the 
country.
  I'm especially pleased that my friend and fellow committee member and 
fellow traveler, Ms. Bordallo, was managing the debate on the other 
side of the aisle. She and I have traveled to some fairly remote 
corners of Iraq and Afghanistan and places like that over the years, 
and I must say I've never been anywhere where our Nation was at 
conflict and where we had men and women serving in uniform that we 
didn't come across somebody from the Guam National Guard. So I really 
want to thank her for her support on this legislation and the support 
of men and women in uniform everywhere. I know from the reaction I see 
from those soldiers that when they see Ms. Bordallo, there is great 
affection and respect there--both ways.
  Again, I want to thank all who weighed in on this. It was clearly an 
injustice. It needed to be fixed, and this is one of those times when 
we've come together as Democrats and Republicans working together. We 
have Senators, Republicans and Democrats, in the Senate working the 
other body to move this through. Speed counts here. Every day that this 
is delayed, another soldier loses the opportunity to take advantage of 
this paid leave.
  With that, Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4045, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________