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4/4/2006
Harkin Proposal to Address Pay Problems for Wounded US Military Wins Committee Approval
Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today praised committee
approval of his proposal requiring a formal audit of Department of
Defense (DOD) pay records to account for pay problems for wounded US
Servicemen and women. Thousands of service members wounded in
Iraq and Afghanistan have reported problems receiving the pay and
benefits they are entitled to by law. The Harkin proposal will be
included in the Supplemental Appropriations measure being considered by
the Senate Appropriations committee today.
“Wounded soldiers are retuning to home to heal, and instead they are
worrying about their family’s financial well-being because of
bureaucratic error and government red tape,” Harkin said. “This
situation is completely unacceptable. After all these brave men
and women have sacrificed, we are duty-bound to make sure they get what
they are entitled to. I am pleased that the Senate Appropriations
Committee has chosen to include my proposal and I hope it will help us
get to the bottom of this situation immediately.”
Despite repeated DOD claims that the problems are being addressed,
thousands of service members continue to experience pay problems when
they return from combat zones. In fact, an internal Army audit
released last year, found that 82 percent of wounded soldiers evacuated
from Iraq for inpatient care had significant pay problems as a result
of government error. The Harkin proposal will increase
accountability by requiring the Secretary of Defense to report to
Congress with a formal accounting of these errors within 120 days.
The Department of Defense reports as of January 2006 that16,420 members
of the US military have been wounded in Iraq—more than 7,000 of those
sustaining serious injuries. An additional 677 service members
were wounded in Afghanistan by the same date, 402 of them seriously.
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