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Klobuchar Urges Swift Action for Troops' Benefits

February 6, 2010

Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates urging that he take swift action to provide U.S. troops with retroactive Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence (PDMRA) benefits as soon as possible. Klobuchar has repeatedly contacted the military and introduced bills and amendments on this issue to ensure U.S. service members receive all of the pay they earned while serving in combat. As a result of these actions, the Army has been authorized to provide these benefits but has failed to do so. In her letter, Klobuchar requested that Gates take the necessary steps to finally grant all eligible soldiers the full benefits they deserve.

“It is imperative that the Red Bulls and other troops across the nation receive the benefits they have earned. Many of them put their lives and families on hold to serve our nation. We owe it to them to fix this problem immediately,” said Klobuchar in her letter.

The Department of Defense (DOD) established the PDMRA program in January 2007 to provide benefits to service members deployed beyond established DOD rotation cycles. However, the delay between the announcement of the program by the DOD and the implementation of the program by the individual services has prevented thousands of these troops from receiving the Respite Leave benefits they have earned many months after returning home. This problem has affected over 22,000 Army National Guard members nationwide.
The full text of Klobuchar’s letter is below:

February 5, 2010

The Honorable Robert Gates                
Secretary of Defense                             
U.S. Department of Defense                
1300 Defense Pentagon                       
Washington, D.C. 20301               


Dear Secretary Gates,

I write to urge you to provide the Minnesota National Guard soldiers with retroactive Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence (PDMRA) benefits as soon as possible.  I have repeatedly contacted the military and introduced bills and amendments on this issue, and, for the sake of our Minnesota troops, hope that this will be my last correspondence on this topic.  

As you know, Minnesota’s 34th (Red Bull) Infantry Division was deployed to Iraq in September 2005.  The Red Bulls were scheduled for return in March 2007, but instead were retained to fight until July 2007.  Due to this delay, the Red Bulls ended up serving the longest tour of any American military unit ever to deploy to Iraq.

The Department of Defense (DOD) established the PDMRA program in January 2007 to provide benefits to service members deployed beyond established DOD rotation cycles.  Unfortunately, the delay in the implementation of the program prevented thousands of these troops from receiving the Respite Leave benefits they earned almost three years ago.  More than 2,500 Minnesota National Guard soldiers are owed approximately $10 million in overtime pay for their deployment in Iraq.  This is the greatest amount owed to a state’s National Guard unit in the entire nation.

Since being notified of this situation, I have repeatedly taken action to remedy it. In 2008, I introduced legislation with Senators Wyden and Grassley to require the military to provide these troops the benefits they are due.   I also supported an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2009 National Defense Authorization Act and sent a letter to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees urging them to include language addressing the PDMRA implementation in the Defense Authorization bill.  In 2009, I worked to address the situation by introducing amendments to the DOD Appropriations bill as well as through the Authorization process.

In November of 2009, the DOD indicated that it would issue implementing and processing instructions for the retroactive payment of PDMRA benefits after the enactment of Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act.  I am glad the DOD has finally issued a memorandum as of February 1, 2010, authorizing the service secretaries to establish guidance and administrative procedures to provide PDMRA benefits.  Now that the DOD and the individual services have the authority to retroactively provide these benefits, I request that you act immediately to provide them to all affected troops as soon as possible. 

The sheer amount of legislation and correspondence that has been drafted on this issue highlights the importance of resolving the problem as soon as possible.  It is imperative that the Red Bulls and other troops across the nation receive the benefits they have earned.  Many of them put their lives and families on hold to serve our nation.  We owe it to them to fix this problem immediately.           

Thank you for your leadership and attention to pressing matter.  I look forward to hearing from you soon on the steps you are taking to immediately provide PDMRA benefits to the military personnel to whom they are due. 

Sincerely,

Amy Klobuchar
United States Senator


CC: Gail McGinn, Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness


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