Jon L. Christensen: “last week Democrats and Republicans came together in a strong bipartisan fashion to approve a defense authorization that…”

“last week Democrats and Republicans came together in a strong bipartisan fashion to approve a defense authorization that prioritizes the immediate needs of our military personnel. While the President believed that a 3 percent pay raise was suitable for our troops in combat, Democrats and Republicans in this House said our military personnel deserved more, and approved a bill that gives them a 3.5 percent raise. The President's response, a threatened veto. How exactly is the President supporting our troops when he threatens to veto a bill that he says gives our troops too large a pay raise? Has the President forgotten how much he's asked them to sacrifice over the last 4 years? Troops were initially told that their stays in Iraq would last a year, only to be informed at the end of that year that those stays were being extended by several months as a result of the President's troop escalation plan. Mr. Speaker, if President Bush really wants to support our troops, he would reconsider his veto threat and help us give our troops a much deserved pay raise.”