Military Personnel & Families

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am proud to serve our military men and women and their families from the installations I represent at Fort Huachuca and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Southern Arizona. 

I have had a front row seat and a primary role in addressing issues like the problems discovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, emerging mental health and brain injury concerns among today’s combat veterans and body armor.  In addition, I have aggressively pursued legislation to improve pay for the military, improve culture and language training for the military and keeping jobs at our Air National Guard bases.  Since 2007, I have visited Iraq twice and Afghanistan once to visit the troops and see firsthand the remarkable work our young men and women are doing there.

In the fight against terrorism and Islamic extremism, it is more important than ever that our service men and women have cross-cultural competency and language proficiency to use during missions in the Middle East. That is why I introduced the National Security Culture and Language Training Act (H.R. 6037), which would provide the Secretary of Defense with the authority to establish an incentive bonus to encourage individuals in officer training programs such as the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), and the service academies, to engage in the study of “critical” foreign languages and cultural education.  I am pleased that important provisions were included in the FY 2009 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5658) that passed the House on May 22, 2008. Read my op-ed in the Marana Weekly News about this bill. 

The 110th Congress has also given a full, four‐year college education to our troops and veterans with the new GI Bill and made the largest investment in veterans’ health care in American history.  We are working to rebuild our military, strained to the breaking point, to strengthen our national security, and to secure American troops serving around the world.

Strengthening Benefits for Troops and Families

• Providing significant tax relief for military families by allowing soldiers to qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Care Tax Credit - affecting as many as 10,000 soldiers currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.  (Provisions I sponsored were signed into law)
• Restoring the promise of a full, four‐year college scholarship for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, making them part of the economic recovery through a new GI Bill for the 21st Century. (Signed into law)
• Giving troops a pay raise of 3.5 percent in 2008 and 3.9 percent in 2009 – larger than the President’s budget in both years. (2008 pay raise signed into law; 2009 pay raise passed by the House)
• Cleaning up the scandal of inadequate care for our wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and facilities nationwide. (Signed into law)
• Conducting oversight on the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal, gaps in the DOD and VA health care systems, veterans’ suicides, and excessive bonuses for top VA officials.
• Strengthening Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury care at military facilities and preventing TRICARE and veterans health care fee increases. (Signed into law)
• Providing relief and homeownership opportunities for returning veterans by extending the ban on housing foreclosures from 3 months to 9 months and increasing VA home loan limits. (Incorporated into Comprehensive Housing Package, Signed into law)
• Providing Family Medical Leave for families of wounded soldiers. (Signed into law)

Strengthening the American Military

Rebuilding our military readiness – at its lowest level since the Vietnam War.

• Providing more Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles than the President, which are proven to save lives in Iraq (Signed into law).
• Creating a Strategic Reserve Readiness Fund to rapidly address military equipment shortfalls. (Signed into law)
• Ensuring more equipment, training and body armor for our troops. (Signed into law)
• Strengthening National Guard preparedness for disaster response here at home, including providing more equipment. (Signed into law)
• Giving troops adequate time at home to reduce strain on those serving multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Passed by the House)

 In addition, I have cosponsored the following following bills that will help our military families:

• Ensuring Military Readiness Through Stability and Predictability Deployment Policy Act (H.R. 3159) - would require the Department of Defense to provide one day of training or rest in the United States for every day that Active Duty servicemembers are deployed to Iraq—three days for every day that Guardsmen and Reservists are deployed to Iraq.
• Survivor Benefit Plan (H.R. 784) - would change the effective date for “paid-up status” under Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) from October 1, 2008 to October 1, 2007. This is an important modification to a law that would make the SBP system fairer for thousands of America’s oldest veterans—5,583 vets in Arizona alone.
• Military Retiree Survivor Equity Act (H.R. 1927) - would repeal the "Widow's Tax" represented by the SBP-DIC offset.  Many military survivors’ SBP payments are being unfairly reduced because of the offset against DIC, a monthly benefit paid to eligible survivors of deceased military retirees.

Congratulations to Fort Huachuca's 2008 Winners!

Civilian of the Year
Ray Curtin

Marine of the Year
SSgt Ronald L. Wolfe

Air Force NCO of the Year
MSgt Dwight Bechel

Army Soldier of the Year
SPC Jonathan E. Jordan

Army NCO of the Year
SSG Joanna L. H. Yanz

Top USAR Recruiter
SFC Roger O'Connell

Top Regular Army Recruiter
SSG Alfredo Hurtado

Instructor of the Year
Mark R. Domenic