Brian Jones: “Under title IX of this bill there is $412 million labeled ``incentive pay'' for Afghan soldiers. Also under title IX…”

“Under title IX of this bill there is $412 million labeled ``incentive pay'' for Afghan soldiers. Also under title IX, there is $13 million labeled ``incentive pay'' for American soldiers. This is a problem for our military. My amendment, which is supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, is very simple. At all does it move some incentive pay from Afghan soldiers to American soldiers. Last month the Department of Defense published their review of military compensation, a report required by law every 4 years. The report concluded that our system of combat pay is broken. I quote: ``There is little correlation between exposure to danger and compensation pay.'' A recent article on the report by the Marine Corps Times outlined how a Navy captain assigned to Bahrain received more than $1,000 a month while a Marine lance corporal patrolling the streets of Helmand province received much less in combat pay. That's not right. {time} 1850 If you look in this bill and compare the $412 million for the Afghans against the $13 million for our troops, the inequity is clear. My amendment simply moves the incentive pay for the Afghan soldiers to the American soldiers. This money should go to the junior enlisted servicemembers facing the most risk in Afghanistan. My amendment does not touch Afghan base pay. That $450 million is still in the bill. It does not touch their pay for food and subsistence. That $71 million is still there. It doesn't touch their recruiting money either.…”