Getting soldiers their extra pay

Approximately 2,500 members from the Minnesota National Guard 34th Red Bull Brigade Combat Infantry Division are waiting for the extra pay they were promised by the federal government in October 2009.

Rep. Phil Sterner (DFL-Rosemount) sponsors HF2908 that urges President Obama to order the secretary of defense and other responsible federal government officials to promptly issue their claim. The resolution states that many soldiers are especially in need due to “the current economic and employment situation facing all veterans returning to the United States.”

Passed 118-0 by the House Feb. 22, it now goes to the Senate where Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes (DFL-Winona) is the sponsor.

Col. Eric Ahlness, director of government relations for the Minnesota National Guard, told a House committee that the resolution’s intent is to bring the issue to the attention of federal leadership overseeing the payment of benefits in hopes it will expedite the process.

Congress enacted legislation in October 2009 authorizing implementation of the leave benefit pay. It was only recently that military leadership issued guidance on how to implement the process to pay soldiers for the months served between January 2007 and August 2007, Ahlness said. The Minnesota soldiers qualify for the $200 per day for an extra four months of military service.

Rep. Mark Buesgens (R-Jordan) urged members to not vote for the measure because federal leaders recently said the soldiers would be receiving their back pay as soon as March.