Bush Nixes Higher Pay for Troops

Roberta Carrow-Jackson reports that President Bush has “pocket vetoed” pay raises for U.S. service members.

The slightly bigger military raises are intended to reduce the gap between military and civilian pay that stands at about 3.9 percent today. Under the bill, the pay gap would be reduced to 1.4 percent after the Jan. 1, 2012, pay increase. Bush budget officials said the administration “strongly opposes” both the 3.5 percent raise for 2008 and the follow-on increases, calling extra pay increases “unnecessary.”

The bill that the President rejected included higher pay for troops and better medical benefits for veterans. The measure also contained language by Senator Mary Landrieu calling for the capture or killing of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, as well as the destruction of the al Qaeda terrorist network.