But this page isn't about me, its sole purpose for being here is to show my great respect and support for all military guys and girls around the world, with out their courage and determination this world would be a very differant place, and if this page can make you think of them, even just for a moment, then it is doing what I set out to do.
I just wanted to say a word about the brave people (men and women)
that serve for their countries. It wasn't until I came on the net that I realized
how badly some are treated, especially in the US. With out them we would
be at the mercy of whoever wanted to take advantage. They risk life,
relationships and much more to defend our countries and ourselves. I think
it is time they got the recognition they truly deserve. I don't know who
this lady is but, she sure has the right idea.
This is a very moving statement regarding the pay of young enlisted personnel.
Statement of Representative Helen Chenoweth May 20, 1999 Regarding a Better
Quality of Life for America's Defenders
Mr. Speaker, in today's military a young enlisted person serving out his
or her first contract can expect to make one thousand, seventy-five dollars
and eighty cents a month. Over a forty-hour work-week, this averages to six
dollars and seventy cents an hour.
But most of our military personnel don't work forty-hour weeks. We all remember
the famous Army slogan-"We do more before 9:00 a.m. than most people do all
day." Mr. Speaker, it's true. These young enlisted personnel can expect to
be at work before first light and not home again until long after dark. And,
Mr. Speaker, we don't pay them overtime.
These young people train for weeks at a time away from home. They keep themselves
in a state of top physical readiness. They live their personal lives according
to the high standards of integrity and honor we mandate for them. These young
servicemen must uproot their families on a moment's notice, moving to a new
duty station across the country, or across the globe. They do it all on six
dollars and seventy cents an hour.
For members of the military with families, the situation is worse. Despite
a modest living allowance, 12,000 families currently serving our Armed Services
are dependent on food stamps. Food stamps. We have government employees living
off of government subsidies. Mr. Speaker, why don't we skip the intermediary
step and just pay them properly the first time. During the holidays at the
Mountain Home Air Force base in Idaho, a network of military spouses work
together to collect donations of money and toys for the enlisted families
who cannot afford to give their young ones Christmas or Thanksgiving. Last
November and December, the Mountain Home Warm Heart organization, run by
the spouses of servicemen, distributed over eighteen thousand dollars worth
of food, toys and cash to needy military families. Where did this money come
from, Mr. Speaker?
From the pockets of servicemen who already had very little to give. If this
were not bad enough, many military families have more serious concerns than
just Christmas and Thanksgiving. At the Mountain Home Air Force Base, 459
women and children are receiving regular food assistance, 107 of those are
infants. The Mountain Home Air Force Aid Society made $131,000 in emergency
assistance loans to Military families.
I am very concerned about what will happen to these families when the money
runs out and they still have to make monthly payments on the loans.
In the 18th Century, citizen soldiers won our independence and secured our
liberties. We hailed them as heroes and revered the courage and commitment
they demonstrated in defense of our nation. Today that nation is protected
by citizen soldiers with the same integrity and sense of duty. Only in 20th
Century America, we don't even pay them a living wage. We should be ashamed
of ourselves.
From 1988 to today there have been thirty-two deployments of our military.
In the previous sixty years there were only ten deployments. Put another
way, Mr. Speaker, prior to this Administration, the military was deployed
an average of once every six years. During the Clinton Administration the
military has been deployed an average of four times every year. Furthermore,
since 1987, we have depleted our ranks by eight hundred thousand servicemen.
In practical terms, that translates into more frequent deployments and
dangerously long hours. It is illegal in this country for truck drivers to
be on the road longer than eight consecutive hours without rest. We have
pilots patrolling the Mediterranean in fourteen hour shifts. In short, this
Administration is expecting our servicemen to do one hundred times as much
and place their lives at risk one hundred times as often with eight hundred
thousand fewer people. For as little as six dollars and seventy cents per
hour.
Mr. Speaker. I recently paid a plumber $90 an hour to unstop my garbage disposal.
An auto mechanic can expect $50 an hour. A teenager working as a bagger in
a grocery store can earn up to $12 dollars an hour. None of these jobs require
24-hour dedication to duty and a constant threat to life.
Mr. Speaker, one young Marine I know of has taken a second job to supplement
his income. Every night, this Lance Corporal goes home and trades his Marine
uniform for a blue and red t-shirt and matching hat from Dominoes. This young
Marine, this hardworking father of two, delivers pizza because he is too
proud to accept welfare. He is not alone in this endeavor. But it is nearly
impossible to know how many young servicemen are in this position because
most of them hide it from their commanders.
A young Lance Corporal serving in the Marine Corps today can anticipate being
combat-deployed at least once in a four-year enlistment. I wonder what this
Lance Corporal's family will do when he is away and they have to make do
without the supplemental income from Dominoes.
I am humbled by this young Marine, and the many others like him who work
so hard to protect us. I am ashamed that we don't do right by them. I urge
this body to seriously consider the ethics of our government's continued
over-extension of our military in light of our complete lack of gratitude
for their service.
Mr. Speaker, I have a request to make of the members of this body. Tonight
when you go home to your families, to the security and comfort of your homes;
when you tuck your children in to bed; say a prayer for the men and women
of our armed forces. As you sleep, approximately one-hundred thousand of
them stand watch, away from their own loved ones, ready to give their very
lives to protect you. For as little as six dollars and seventy cents an hour.
I think we should ALL take notice of her closing
statement.
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