Congressman Brad Miller

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – November 7, 2011

Contact: LuAnn Canipe tel: (202) 225-6089 / email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Rep. Brad Miller Calls for Protection of Commissaries and Exchanges for U.S. Military Families

Miller and other lawmakers make the plea to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Brad Miller and other lawmakers sent a letter today to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the Super Committee, urging members to avoid making any major cuts that would affect the commissary and exchange systems for U.S. military families.

The Committee, charged with delivering a deficit-reduction proposal to the Congressional Budget Office, is considering reducing a federal subsidy for the exchanges that would effectively be a significant pay cut for U.S. military personnel.

Military families save on average more than 30 percent by shopping at commissaries and more than 20 percent by shopping at exchanges. For the $1.5 billion spent annually on commissaries and exchanges, military families save about $5.6 billion. The exchanges also generate approximately $300 million in earnings which provide dividends to support Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) programs for service members and their families.

"Creating more of a hardship for our military families is not the answer to trimming the budget," Rep. Miller said. "We are already asking for plenty from them."

In the letter, lawmakers ask that the Committee maintain the federal subsidy for commissaries and oppose any attempts to consolidate commissaries and exchanges into a single system.

In addition, the letter reminds Committee members that many military families are based in locations where there are either limited or no other options to purchase food and household items. Commissaries and exchanges are their only source for these types of purchases.

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***Letter is attached ***