Barnett dismayed by military budget caps

American Legion National Commander Harold Barnett expressed dismay for a 2017 pay-and-benefits proposal for military members.

According to Military Times, the budget by Congress would increase the existing pay gap between servicemembers and their civilian counterparts due to small pay increases. While the House is in favor of a full pay raise, the Senate opposes it. The proposed budget also includes slashing commissary discounts, forcing military families to pay an enrollment fee for health care, and decreased funding for basic allowance for housing.

"The caps put in place by the Budget Control Act are doubly painful," Barnett said. "We've already warned how these cuts weaken our fighting forces and leave our military unready to fight in a dangerous world. Now we're seeing that they can't even keep up the back-end promises and take care of troops and their families

"This has to stop. We can't keep asking the military to bear the brunt of America's burdens and continue to turn around and ask them to give more."