(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The U.S. House today gave final approval to S. 2057, a version of legislation Congressman Dennis Moore (Third District--Kansas) introduced to reimburse troops in Iraq and Afghanistan who paid for their Rest and Relaxation (R&R) travel out of their own pocket. The bill now goes to the President for his signature.

“We owe this to the men and women who have served our country, and I urge the President to sign this important piece of legislation,” Moore said. “I’m pleased my colleagues agree that after making a sacrifice for our country, our troops should not have to bear any more burdens – financial or otherwise.”

In November 2003, Congress passed an amendment sponsored by Moore and Congressman Jim Ramstad (R-Minnesota) that earmarked $55 million to pay for R&R travel. The DOD began using the money for military travel in January 2004, and says it cannot reimburse soldiers who paid their own way and traveled before December 19th, 2003. This outcome is contrary to the original intent of the amendment.

“We talk a lot about values in Congress. Our policies need to reflect them,” Moore said. “Picking an arbitrary date to provide full coverage for airfare costs and failing to reimburse those soldiers who flew home before December 19th violates the spirit of the amendment that Congressman Ramstad and I authored. This legislation is the right thing to do for those who put their lives on the line for our country and our freedom.”

S. 2057 is Senator Norm Coleman’s version of H.R. 3731, which was introduced by Moore and Ramstad on January 27, 2004. The Senate passed S. 2057 on March 3, 2004. If signed into law, it would provide $13 million to retroactively reimburse approximately 29,000 military personnel who paid for domestic travel expenses under the R&R program.

The Pentagon began giving soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan two weeks of leave in September 2003. The troops were flown to airports in Baltimore, MD, Atlanta, GA, and Dallas, TX, by the Department of Defense and then required to pay their own way to take connecting flights to their hometowns all across the country.

The R&R program was designed to boost morale for military personnel serving on 12-month tours in Iraq and neighboring counties by briefly reuniting wives and husbands, parents and children, and friends of loved ones.