Military Raises OKd by Senate

The Senate put money behind its words of support for the U.S. military Wednesday, approving a $600-million benefits package that would increase combat pay and family separation allowances.

If approved by the House, the provision would increase the “imminent danger” stipend that troops receive to $225 a month from the current $150, and the “family separation allowance” to $250 a month from $100.

The raises, approved unanimously in the Senate, would be retroactive to Oct. 1. Combat pay was last increased in 1991.

The benefits package was attached to an emergency spending bill moving through Congress designed primarily to pay for the war in Iraq, aid to allies and homeland defense. The final measure will probably total $78 billion to $80 billion.

The salary proposal was the latest in a string of support-the-troops measures moving through Congress during wartime. Others include a bill providing tax relief to military personnel and their families, and the “Troops Phone Home Free Act,” which would offer free telephone calling time to members of the armed forces.

“We have a responsibility not just to pass resolutions in support of our troops,” said Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), calling the proposed pay raises a “clear demonstration that our commitment to these troops goes beyond words.”