Columns
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
don’t nickle-and-dime our troops!
As a Navy veteran, I know the meaning of the popular saying, “freedom is not free.” In war, the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces willingly pay the price for our freedom. Some of them pay the ultimate price. Others return home with wounds that require many months of hospitalization. Unfortunately, those who are hospitalized for wounds sustained in combat are obliged to pay yet another price: $8.10 cents a day. This is the amount that U.S. service members hospitalized with combat injuries are required to pay for their hospital food. This meal charge has been in effect for military officers since 1958 and for enlisted service members since 1981. It has been justified on the grounds that all service members receive a daily meal allowance of $8.10 in their paychecks; because patients don’t buy meals while in the hospital, they should reimburse the government accordingly. In other words, with one hand our government gives the service member a Purple Heart, and with the other hand it presents a bill for food consumed while the service member recovers from his or her wounds. This is not right. I am proud to be cosponsoring a bill that will end this practice. Both the Senate and House have recently approved this measure, and within weeks it will go to the President for his signature. In my view, this cannot happen too soon. Almost every day, mammoth C-17 military transport jets fly into Andrews Air Force Base not far from Washington on medical evacuation missions. They are bringing home ill and wounded service members from Iraq and Afghanistan. These brave men and women deserve to be treated with utmost generosity. After all, they have already paid a great price for our freedom. They do not owe us. We owe them. In Congress, I live by a lesson I learned during my time in uniform: never, ever leave a buddy behind. This means ensuring that current service members have the very best training, equipment, and leadership. It also means being generous with our veterans, providing them with the very best medical care. You can do your part, as well. When you see a man or woman in uniform, take the time to thank them for their service. Send a letter or e-mail to a soldier serving overseas. And when veterans from your local VFW Post walk the flag down Main Street in a parade, put your hand over your heart.
