Friday, April 8, 2011

Troops Go Home!: Because Of Government Shutdown, Military Won't Get Paid

Because of the impasse in Washington and the Republicans refusal to negotiate - mostly the social conservative wing - the military has sent out notices to some 1.4 million active-duty military personnel, stating they will have their pay cut because of the lack of appropriations.

From a Newsmax article by David A. Patten:
The military department that manages distribution of paychecks, the Defense Financing and Accounting Service (DFAS), posted the following advisory on its website: “Due to the government shutdown, the Department of Defense has no legal authority to pay any personnel -- military or civilian -- for the days during which the government is shut down.”

The current continuing resolution to fund government operations, including the military, expires at midnight Friday, and the current pay period continues through April 15. So without an end to the standoff in Washington, active-duty military personnel will only receive half their normal pay on April 15.

“We can only pay when we have appropriations,” a source with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service tells Newsmax. “Therefore, if appropriations were to terminate at midnight tonight, we can only pay through midnight tonight. We cannot invent money.”

The source said advice-of-payment notices usually only go out three or four days before payday, so the department is trying to understand why they went out this early. “This is one of those unusual situations where unusual things happen,” he said.
Here's a solution - all active-duty military serving overseas can go home.  If the government cannot guarantee their pay, these people should not be putting their lives in danger.

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