Congress should follow Coast Guard motto
When I served in the Army’s Old Guard at Fort Myer, Va., toward the end of the Vietnam era, I had many things to worry about. Being paid was never one of them. Unfortunately, members of the Coast Guard recently learned they cannot be assured of a steady paycheck.
As we entered the new year, our federal government was already nine days into what would become the longest U.S. federal government shutdown in history. I can assure you that The American Legion was not shut down. Nor was the Coast Guard, although its pay certainly was.
Because the Coast Guard is under the Department of Homeland Security, its payroll was not appropriated in advance like the other service branches, which are under the Department of Defense. The latest shutdown was the first ever to cause an entire branch of our military to suffer a pay stoppage.
This occurred despite legislation in both houses of Congress that would have paid these men and women, who continued to defend our shores every single day during that period of deep uncertainty. The fact that the Pay Our Coast Guard Act did not fly through Congress is nothing short of bipartisan failure.
It was politics over patriotism. I am proud that your American Legion provided more than $1 million in temporary financial assistance to thousands of Coast Guard families in need through our Veterans & Children Foundation. This was $1 million more than the government provided them during the same period.
Keep in mind, these are non-repayable grants, not loans. We budgeted only $280,000 for the year, because no one could have anticipated that members of our military would not be paid. While they did receive retroactive backpay, Coast Guard personnel should not have had to face the worry and stress of not knowing when or how their bills would be paid. There’s also the likelihood that Coast Guard recruiting and
retention will take a hit.
Your continuing support for The American Legion’s Veterans & Children Foundation is most appreciated. You can make donations online at legion.org/tfa.
Never again should members of our nation’s military have to visit soup kitchens to feed their families. A junior enlisted member of the military earns less than $23,200 in annual base pay, below the poverty level for a family of four. Unlike other federal workers, he or she does not have the option of simply quitting on the spot and finding another job during a shutdown. Congress and the White House need to ensure that not a single servicemember goes unpaid during future shutdowns. By passing the Pay Our Coast Guard Act, Congress will provide the men and women defending our shores the financial security they deserve.
Despite the 35-day shutdown, the 41,000 men and women of the Coast Guard continued to perform search-and-rescue operations, drug interdictions and maritime security missions every day. Their motto is Semper Paratus – “always ready.” We should expect Congress and the White House to show the same commitment.