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Democratic Caucus's Senate Journal
January 14, 2008 President Bush: No Intention of Keeping His Promises to Military FamiliesWhen President Bush announced over the weekend that he was open to halting his promised troop withdrawals, he put in jeopardy many military families’ hopes that their loved ones would return home – particularly those on their second or third deployment in the region. Worse still, by vetoing the Defense Authorization bill only days earlier, the President rejected numerous benefits Democrats had secured for our men and women in uniform, including a 3.5 percent pay increase, incentive pay and bonuses for many career fields, enhanced care and treatment of troops returning with combat-related injuries, and extended leave for family members to take care of disabled service members. President Bush Told General Petraeus It Was “Fine With Him” If He Wanted to Slowdown Troop Withdrawals. President Bush said Saturday that the United States was on track to bring home at least 20,000 troops from Iraq by summer, but he emphasized that he was willing to halt the drawdown “in order to make sure we succeed.” After meeting in Kuwait with his top commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, the president presented a mixed picture of the conditions one year after he called for sending additional troops to Iraq. Regarding the reduction in troop levels, Bush told reporters that he had told Petraeus, “If you want to slow her down, fine; it’s up to you.” [Los Angeles Times, 1/13/08]
Bush Pocket Veto of Defense Bill Placed Benefits for Military Families in Jeopardy as Troops Struggle With 15 Month Deployments. The Dec. 28 pocket veto of the defense policy bill, in which President Bush simply refused to sign the $696.4 billion measure sent to him by Congress, places a number of benefits to military families at risk. As a result of the veto, service members will receive a 3 percent pay increase in their mid-January paychecks, not the 3.5 percent promised in the bill. And bonus and special pay programs were widely disrupted as of midnight Dec. 31, when the services lost the authority to pay new enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses and incentive pays and bonuses for many career fields, including aviators, medical personnel and submariners. The bill also included a provision to provide housing allowances during initial military training to any reservist who has a permanent home residence, something previously limited to reservists with dependents. That was to take effect when the bill became law, and cannot be backdated. Furthermore, the measure contained the Wounded Warrior Act, a package of improvements in the pay and benefits for combat-injured service members and expanded the Family and Medical Leave Act that would give spouses, parents, children and siblings of disabled service members up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave without fear of losing their jobs. [Army Times, 1/14/08]
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December 12, 2008:
The Senate stands in recess for pro forma sessions only, with no business conducted on the following days and times: Friday, December 12 at 10:00 a.m.; Tuesday, December 16 at 11:00 a.m.; Friday, December 19 at 10:00 a.m.; Tuesday, December 23 at 11:00 a.m.; Friday, December 26 at 11:00 a.m.; Tuesday, December 30 at 10:30 a.m.; and Friday, January 2 at 10:00 a.m. At the close of the pro forma Session on January 2, 2009, the Senate will stand adjourned sine die.
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