Posted on 08/15/2003 7:14:24 AM PDT by kattracks
WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Moving to quash a political firestorm, the Pentagon on Thursday denied that it will cut the pay of nearly 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan by $225 on Sept. 30 when special military pay hikes approved by Congress are due to expire.Defense officials said that even if lawmakers do not reinstate increases passed in April in both "imminent danger pay" and "family separation allowances," the Pentagon will make up the pay losses to troops in those countries in other ways.
Undersecretary of Defense David Chu answered sharp criticism from Democratic presidential candidates over a press report that the Pentagon favored cutting the pay of combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan because it supported letting the special increases expire.
"No one ever said we wanted to reduce pay in Iraq and Afghanistan," Chu, who is in charge of military personnel and readiness, told reporters.
"We prefer other compensation powers to ensure that we target benefits on the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan," he added, citing incentive and other packages that the Pentagon is authorized to use.
Chu spoke after the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Pentagon wanted to cut the pay of nearly 149,000 troops in Iraq and another 9,000 in Afghanistan because it supported the expiration of increases of $75 monthly in danger pay and $150 in family separation pay.
SPECIAL PAY FOR COMBAT, SEPARATION
Imminent danger pay, given to members of the armed forces in combat zones, was raised to $225 from $150 a month by Congress in April for the current fiscal year.
The family separation allowance, which helps military families pay expenses while troops are away, was raised from $100 a month to $250.
Democrats running to succeed President George W. Bush in next year's election on Thursday launched a barrage of criticism based on the report.
Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts said it made his "blood boil," Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut called it "unconscionable" and Sen. Bob Graham of Florida said it was "seriously wrong."
"The Bush administration questions the patriotism of those who ask questions about how you win a war," Kerry said, "but I know no deeper violation of patriotism than dishonoring those who wear the uniform of our nation and breaking our promises to our soldiers."
But Chu and Defense Department spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the Pentagon planned all along to use incentive and other measures to keep paychecks in Afghanistan and Iraq at current levels, even if danger and family separation pay went down.
"There is no intention of allowing compensation for those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to fall," Chu said.
"The premise that we would somehow disadvantage U.S. forces in combat is absurd," added Di Rita.
They said that the pay of troops serving in Kuwait near Iraq was also unlikely to change.
Chu conceded that the pay of some U.S. troops serving in other difficult areas of the world could fall if Congress did not reinstate the incentive increases, but that the Pentagon favored an end to the broad package as it constantly reviewed compensation in different deployment areas.
"It (the package) is too broad-based. It's like using a sledge hammer to hit a small nail," he told reporters.
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