[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8561]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF UNITED STATES FORCES KOREA QUALITY OF LIFE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOE KNOLLENBERG

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 3, 2003

  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Speaker, as the attention of the country is 
focused on the men and women of our armed forces who are fighting to 
liberate Iraq, we must not forget about those who are serving elsewhere 
around the world. That's why I am introducing today the ``United States 
Forces Korea Quality of Life Act.'' I, as well as my original co-
sponsors, believe this bill is essential in providing much needed 
relief to our military personnel in Korea.
  As Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military 
Construction, improving the quality of life for our military is one of 
my foremost goals. No place needs improvement more than our facilities 
in Korea. Simply put, the conditions our troops in Korea must currently 
endure are unacceptable.
  But you don't have to take my word for it. In recent testimony before 
Congress, Admiral Thomas Fargo, Commander, United States Pacific 
Command and General Leon LaPorte, Commander United States Forces Korea, 
testified that conditions on the Korean Peninsula for U.S. service 
personnel are ``the worst in the Department of Defense.''
  My bill provides members of the U.S. armed forces, the benefit of a 
tax exclusion to help offset the high cost of living and the poor 
quality of life while serving in South Korea and applies to personnel 
who execute permanent change of station orders or orders for temporary 
duty exceeding 30 days. Service members will be provided with an 
immediate boost in their quality of life as they keep more of the money 
they earn.
  Why should we provide this benefit to our soldiers in Korea?
  An unusual hardship of family separation for more than a year is 
borne by 94 percent of the 37,000 plus personnel who serve in Korea. 
Conditions are so poor for personnel that one third of those authorized 
to bring family members choose voluntary family separation before 
subjecting their families to the conditions on the peninsula.
  Seoul is the third most expensive city in the world to live according 
to a recent United Nations survey. Despite this, our service men and 
women receive no cost of living allowance, COLA, for being stationed 
there. That means they receive no additional compensation to help 
offset higher costs in Korea. Working and living facilities in Korea, 
as well as living conditions for our service personnel are sub-standard 
by any measure.
  Even the living quarters on post are smaller than typical military 
installations, and all our soldiers must live in an environmentally 
degraded region. Beyond cost and comfort, let's not forget that these 
soldiers live under the threat from an unpredictable North Korea.
  It's no wonder then that those who are allowed to bring their 
families to Korea rarely do so and that those who are given the 
opportunity to command forces in Korea decline at a rate five times the 
normal Army wide rate.
  There are many uncertainties about the future of our forces abroad as 
we re-examine our overseas basing and force structure. Unfortunately, 
discussion of overseas re-alignment may lead to further neglect of the 
critical quality of life and infrastructure requirements of our forces 
in Korea.
  As we work to rectify the inequities in pay/benefits for those 
stationed in Korea, I believe it is so important to give our soldiers 
there an extra boost now. The United States Forces Korea Quality of 
Life Act won't fix all the hardships that our service members face in 
Korea, but it will give them a chance to make their life there a little 
better and their time there more agreeable.
  I encourage all my colleagues to join me in giving our soldiers in 
Korea the additional assistance they need and deserve.

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