Tester Pushes Pay Raise for Troops

Press Release

Tester Pushes Pay Raise for Troops

Increase would give raise to 7,500 Montana airmen, guardsmen

Senator Jon Tester wants his colleagues to vote for a measure that will give members of the U.S. military a 3.9 percent pay raise.

If passed and signed into law, 3,500 members of the Montana National Guard and more than 4,000 airmen at Malmstrom Air Force base would get pay raises.

"Passing a well-deserved pay raise is the right thing to do for folks who put their lives on the line for our country," said Tester, a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. "This shouldn't be a sticking point. Congress needs to vote on this common sense pay raise now and the President needs to sign it into law."

The pay raise is part of the Defense Authorization Act, which funds personnel, equipment and health care for service members and their families. The 3.9 percent pay increase included in the Senate measure is half a percentage point more than what President Bush requested for U.S. troops.

Tester has proposed an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act requiring the military to pay for travel costs for immediate relatives to attend one memorial service in addition to a burial service, following an active-duty death. The Senate will continue voting on amendments this week.

Currently the military only pays for transportation costs for relatives who attend graveside services.

The Defense Authorization Act is S. 3001. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure later this week.

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