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Gillibrand Votes for Pay Raise for Troops |
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Washington, DC- Today, local Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand voted for the FY'08 Defense Authorization bill. The Defense Bill supports our troops, restores military readiness, and improves accountability to American people. It also directly supports our troops by including a 3.5 percent pay raise and a prohibition on increases in TRICARE and pharmacy user fees.
"Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines have been fighting valiantly for the past five years. Their families have also supported them bravely through multiple deployments. I am, therefore, extremely pleased to vote today for a 3.5% increase to every servicemember's salary," said Congresswoman Gillibrand.
The bill also includes the Wounded Warrior Act to address the problems experienced by wounded and injured service members that became apparent earlier this year at Walter Reed.
In addition, to combat fraud by contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, the bill tightens the controls and encourages the timely reporting of waste, fraud and abuse. It also includes the Acquisition Improvement and Accountability Act, which will improve the acquisition process and accountability in contracting.
"Despite the President's last minute veto threat, I am proud that the Armed Services committee was able to work in a bipartisan, bicameral way to fix the offending language and make sure that our troops get pay raise their families need."
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