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Klobuchar gives "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon'' a place in Armed Forces Bill

Defense Authorization bill will fund and build on successful Minnesota National Guard initiative.

December 14, 2007

Washington, D.C. – Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) today voted in favor of the conference report on the FY08 National Defense Authorization Act to provide better pay, training, and healthcare for military personnel, and to create an independent, bipartisan Commission to investigate U.S. wartime contracting in Iraq. 

The conference report, which passed the Senate today by a vote of 90-3, includes two amendments Klobuchar helped pass that will ease Minnesota National Guard members’ transition back to civilian life, as well as an amendment Klobuchar co-sponsored allowing Guard and Reserve members to utilize their education benefits for a period of up to 10 years.

“This bill is about putting our nation’s heroes first,” said Klobuchar.  “As Americans, we are all proud of the men and women who serve in our nation’s armed forces and risk their lives everyday.  We must make sure that we give our troops the resources they need both in the field and at home when they return.”

The $696 billion Defense Authorization bill passed today increases funding and support for U.S. troops – including a 3.5 percent pay raise for all military personnel and by incorporating the Wounded Warriors Act to improve healthcare and benefits for recovering service members and veterans.

Klobuchar also succeeded in including two amendments that will benefit U.S. soldiers.  The first amendment would create a national reintegration plan, based on the highly successful Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program of the Minnesota National Guard. This national program will provide informational events and activities to assist National Guard and Reserve soldiers, families, and community members through all phases of their deployment cycle including pre and post deployment. The program includes family and marriage counseling, financial planning and education, small business planning, community outreach, and healthcare and veterans benefits education. 

Recently, Senators Klobuchar and Norm Coleman secured $3.52 million in the Defense Appropriation bill to fund the Minnesota Beyond the Yellow program through FY2008.  Klobuchar also co-sponsored an amendment with Coleman to the Defense Authorization bill to allow Minnesota National Guard members deployed to Bosnia and Kosovo to receive equitable combat incentive pay.

The National Defense Authorization Act also includes a provision Klobuchar co-sponsored, along with all of her Democratic freshmen colleagues, establishing an independent commission to increase transparency and accountability in wartime contracting. The commission will also address systematic problems with defense contracting by studying and investigating the impact of the government’s growing reliance on civilian contractors to perform wartime functions – modeled after the Truman Commission in the 1950s. 

Earlier this year, the top three auditors overseeing reconstruction projects in Iraq reported that of the $57 billion awarded in contracts they investigated, approximately $10 billion has been wasted.  This means almost one in six federal tax dollars sent to rebuild Iraq has been wasted.

“We’re tired of seeing contractors wastefully spend hard-working American taxpayer dollars while the Administration sits idly by – enough is enough,” said Klobuchar. “This new Commission will make sure contractors are held accountable for waste, fraud, and abuse.”

The bill now will now go to the President to be signed into law.

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