As most of you know, our elected officials in federal government have failed to agree upon an operating budget for our country. If there is no agreement by midnight, 8 April 2011 (only twelve hours from the time I am writing this post), then our government will shut down. The implications of the shut down are very complex and far reaching. One of the implications is very near and dear to my heart...my pay. My pay that my family depends on to pay the car bills, the electric bills, pay the water bills, purchase groceries, put gas in Em's vehicle so she can get to work, pay for child care...the list is seriously endless.
The pay schedule for the military is similar to many private sector jobs - the first and fifteenth of very month we are paid. We are paid for the previous two weeks of work prior to the pay day. As of right now, 8 April 2011, they have already posted my pay that will be deposited on the 15th...a full 24 hours prior to the possible shut down. My net pay is less than half of what I would normally make...LESS THAN HALF of what my family depends on. The best part, if this thing isn't resolved before the 15th, one week away, then my family will not receive any money on the first of next month...none, nada, nothing, zilch. Oh, we have been promised that it will be paid retroactively, but pardon me if I seem skeptic...what the government giveth, they also taketh.
So, while the elected officials still collect their FULL PAY AND BENEFITS through all of this, the men and women tasked with fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan (and now the forces committed to Lybia) are doing so for no compensation...nothing paid to our families while we risk EVERYTHING in this place. I decided to exercise the one of the rights that I am supposed to be willing to die to defend - my right of freedom of speech. Now, as anyone in the military knows, our right to free speech only extends so far and covers only so much. So, while I will not outwardly NOT support my country and government, I WILL express my concerns for my family and their well-being. The following is the letter that I wrote to my House of Representatives member, the Honorable Bruce Braley...it is my hope that EVERYONE that reads this will do the same :
Sir,
I am contacting you in reference to the upcoming / on-going government shut down and the loss of pay for the service members of Iowa that are currently serving in Afghanistan. The hardest hit are going to be our lower enlisted soldiers, the ones that are shouldering the biggest burden and facing the greatest threat.
These young men and women are facing the enemy everyday and coming out on top...for now. They endure the hardships of 5 - 6 day missions in some of the worst terrain imaginable and are now doing it for even less pay. Although those soldiers don't have an immediate need for their income, there are families that are dependent upon it...but dependent upon the FULL pay. These young soldiers' families are living pay check to pay check as it is, and now they are going to have to sacrifice even more.
What this all means is our families are going to have to sacrifice not only time and closeness with us, but they are going to have sacrifice the every day expenses on items that are needed...diapers, food, gas, etc.
Mr. Braley, I implore you do to everything you can, work as hard as possible to make the rest of your Congressional co-workers understand that because of the budgetary issue, the men and women our government has tasked to defend our country are suffering needlessly at the hands of the greedy few that have decided the pork in many spending bills is worth more than the service members lives or the well being of their families.
With respect,
SSG Jacob Pries
Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan
I hope he listens.....
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kudos, Jake. The politicians that are so involved with their own lives sure don't notice all they are putting on the line. Thank you for serving our country at such a great cost to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteJake, my first thought when I heard about this was of our submarine days. We lived paycheck to paycheck and I would go 2-3 months without hearing from Lanny. I don't know what I would've done if there was no paycheck, or even half a paycheck. I know they wouldn't have just sent him home from sea--just as they won't tell you not to show up for work. My thoughts and prayers are with all the military, and with those in Washington who need to make this decision and make it right.
ReplyDeleteJacob, this is your Congressman, Bruce Braley, responding to your letter raising concerns about the possibility of a government shutdown at midnight tonight. This is not one of my staffers typing. This is me.
ReplyDeleteFirst, thank you for the extraordinary sacrifice you and your family are making for all of us. I noted that your duty station is listed as Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. I was at Bagram last month, and also spent time in Helmand Province. Everywhere I traveled in Afghanistan, I spoke to young Iowans serving in the Army, Air Force, Marines, and Iowa National Guard. These were the same enlisted soldiers you refer to in your letter.
I have also spent a great deal of time recently visiting Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Medical Center, spending time with young Iowans and their families who have sacrificed greatly for their country. Some are paralyzed and in wheel chairs. Others have lost one or two of their legs. Some are suffering from traumatic brain injuries. Just this week, two more Iowans were seriously injured by an IED explosion in Afghanistan.
On my way home from Afghanistan, I visited Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where most of these brave wounded warriors from Iowa are taken on their way back home from Afghanistan. My father-in-law was stationed near Landstuhl when it was being constructed after World War II. I met many wounded warriors from around the country, and with their permission, took their photos to e-mail to their loved ones back home so they would have some way of connecting with their loved one.
When I returned from Afghanistan, I called the parents of the young Iowans I met to make sure they knew that I had spent time visiting with their loved one. Some of these parents got very emotional when I sent them photos and videos of their child who was sacrificing for us in Afghanistan.
This week I had General Petraeus's wife, Holly, in my office. I am working with her on the Veterans' Affairs Committee to protect the rights of service members while they are stationed overseas.
I mention these things because I take your concerns very seriously, and I'm extremely mindful of the hardships that a shutdown could have on brave men and women like yourself who are sacrificing so much for our freedom. When I took on the Pentagon to get GI Bill Education benefits and Respite Leave pay for hundreds of members of the Iowa National Guard and thousands of members of Guard units nationwide, I did it because it was the right thing to do, even though taking on the Pentagon bureaucracy is a hard thing to do.
I have been very outspoken about Washington politicians who treat this shutdown as a game. It's not. I know this shutdown has serious implications for the lives of our men and women in uniform and the people at the Rock Island Arsenal who provide so much support and assistance to you.
As I walked to the Capitol to vote this week, I passed many protestors in front of the Capitol chanting, "Shut it down! Shut it down!" This is a costly, irresponsible political stunt. Our troops and their families lives and economic security are on the line. This is not a game.
When we were debating the original spending bill in February, I voted for $450 billion in cuts. Some of those cuts were for weapons systems that the Pentagon has told us they don't want or need, yet some members insist on continuing these programs. I'm ready to make tough cuts to reduce the deficit.
Politicians often talk about "shared sacrifice." There's nothing shared about cutting off payments to our troops while extending tax bonuses to millionaires and billionaires, which add billions of dollars to our deficit.
Thanks for sharing these important insights.
Congressman Bruce Braley
Jake,
ReplyDeleteThat was very nice for the congressman to write to you. However, he is still a politician. Your blog was well written and spoke for many while his response was more of a "look at me and what I've done" rather than really address your concerns. A well written letter from a politician who will surely be getting paid while you, an American Fighting Man in a war, is left hoping. He's as pathetic as the rest of them in Washington and his response to you is evidence of that.
I'm proud of you.
Jason
I have no idea what to even say, but had to post to offer my support. As I read this tears are running down my cheeks. Your family's financial well being should be a given while you are on this mission. I'm sorry it appears that the govt is failing you. THANK YOU for your service!
ReplyDeleteI too have tears. If this all goes down, please reach out to your friends. We are here to help you and Em while she is waiting for your return. Whatever we can do.
ReplyDeleteAnita said it perfectly. Congress is failing you. They're failing America.
ReplyDeletePS: Shame on you Braley for your grandstanding even in this situation. You don't need to turn this into a soapbox, just get to work:
ReplyDelete"Politicians often talk about "shared sacrifice." There's nothing shared about cutting off payments to our troops while extending tax bonuses to millionaires and billionaires, which add billions of dollars to our deficit."
Not a word about your own paycheck during this shutdown, huh? AGAIN, SHAME ON YOU AND ALL OF OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS. I say if the shutdown does occur, the American people need to say "enough is enough" and vote out all incumbents in 2012. In addition, I believe in term limits from now on. Term limits would prevent "career politicians" and force our elected officials to stay focused on the business of the people, rather than their own re-election.
Well said Zach. Braley would have better off to just leave this blog alone. Reminds me of a kid riding a a bike with no hands saying "look at me" while all along falling off of his bike. Mr. Braley it would have meant more if you simply said "thank you Jake and Emily for your sacrifice" and nothing else at all. Rather you fed your political crap to save face. Don't insult any more service people with your political speaches and letters. We as Americans have grown tired of it.
ReplyDeleteJason Gillaspie
From Hugh Pries:
ReplyDelete"What needs to be made clear beyond the grandstanding of that d--khead Braley, is how this mess got started in the first place. One of many facts that absolutely needs to be made is that Republicans passed a bill in the house to continue military pay thru September. Obama threatened to veto it. So much for the CinC supporting our troops. Dems in the Senate refused to pass their own version of a budget, thus a budget could not be put together. Combine that with the fact that while Dems controlled both houses of Congress in 2009 and 2010 they refused to pass a budget while elections were looming. Now a group of responsible elected officials are trying to do their duty and they are roadblocked at every turn by Dems - including the CinC Obaama. What every service person will need to remember next election is how theieir commander in thief stabbed them in the back while they were expected to put their lives on the line."