Saxby Chambliss: “I rise in support of the Chambliss amendment and in opposition to the amendment filed by my friend from Illinois…”

“I rise in support of the Chambliss amendment and in opposition to the amendment filed by my friend from Illinois, Senator Durbin. I am pleased that the Durbin amendment has been filed because it is good to see others share my idea that the retirement system for our Guard and Reserve soldiers needs to be updated to meet the new role these soldiers are playing as part of our Nation's military. By way of introduction, let me say I think it is a very good thing we are debating this issue at this time in the Senate today because not only is this an important issue we need to talk about as policymakers in the Congress, but today we have a majority of the men and women serving in the theater in Iraq who are members of the Guard and Reserve. It is critically important that as we utilize these soldiers, we provide them with benefits that compare to the active-duty soldiers. I would like to compare the military personnel system to a finely tuned machine because that is what it is. The Department of Defense and the individual military services have staffs that devote significant time and energy to determining how to recruit, retain, promote, separate, and retire people in their respective services. The Department recommends incentives, which we in Congress consider and authorize, which shape this process of recruiting and retention according to the needs of the services.…”