News Release

MARION BERRY

United States Representative

First District, Arkansas

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

CONTACT: Lillian Pace

October 3, 2006

202-225-4076

 

Berry Urges President to Provide Free Calling Cards for Troops

 
WASHINGTON, D.C. –  U.S. Representative Marion Berry  (D-AR, 1st) sent a letter to the President today urging him to include funding in his Fiscal Year 2008 budget request to help members of the U.S. military serving overseas call their loved ones free of charge. Congressman Berry requested free calling cards after receiving numerous complaints from family members who could not afford to maintain regular contact with their loved ones serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

“Helping our servicemen and women stay in contact with their families is the best way to lift troop morale and improve the overall effectiveness of military operations,” said Congressman Berry. “Our military families sacrifice so much for this country. The least we can do is provide them with the resources to stay in contact during long deployments overseas.”

 

The typical military calling card offered by retail telephone companies can charge $0.50 a minute for international calls. A military family who talks with their loved one in Iraq or Afghanistan for just thirty minutes a week can spend up to $750 a year. Many military families struggle to cover this annual expense, especially those families kept apart by multiple deployments since the United States began sending troops to Afghanistan in 2001.  

 

According to the Department of Defense, there are currently 150,000 servicemen and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. This includes roughly 1,700 members of the U.S. military from Arkansas alone.

 

Although the Administration is working on a budget for Fiscal Year 2008, the President will present his official budget proposal to Congress in February of next year. Congress will use this proposal as a framework to prepare its annual spending bills. A proposal to provide free calling cards for the U.S. military would fall under the Department of Defense’s budget, which is funded in the annual Defense Appropriations bill.

 

 

A copy of the letter is attached.

 

October 3, 2006

 

President George Bush

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

 

Dear President Bush:

 

As you are well aware, America has a long tradition of military service dating back more than 200 years, with many stories of great soldiers and airmen who gave their lives on the battlefield.  I am proud of our servicemembers and will never forget our brave men and women fighting overseas.  Arkansans have done their part to protect our freedom, contributing heavily to the war effort since the conflict began.  Our State alone has roughly 1,700 soldiers currently serving overseas and has deployed more than 8,000 since September 11, 2001.

 

We, as a nation, must ensure that our troops have the tools and resources they need to not only accomplish their mission but to also stay connected to their families and loved ones who remain in the United States.  One of my constituents recently informed me that it is difficult to contact her son due to the expensive calling cards needed for overseas telephone calls.  With our troops continuously in harm’s way, we must do better than this.  We need to provide our servicemembers with free telephone access to contact their families and loved ones here in the United States while they are in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Thus, as you begin to prepare your budget for 2008, I urge you to include funding that will allow our brave American servicemembers overseas to call their loved ones free of charge.

 

May God bless our troops, their families, and every American.  Thank you for your consideration.

 

                                                            Sincerely,

 

 

 

                                                            MARION BERRY

                                                            Member of Congress

 

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