David Ariosto
CNN
7/31/2011
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said Sunday during an unannounced visit to Afghanistan that he doesn’t know whether soldiers will continue to receive paychecks if an agreement over the U.S. debt ceiling cannot be reached.
“I certainly hope it gets solved,” Mullen told reporters.
America’s highest-ranking military officer said soldiers had recently asked him about the crisis, saying “here we are, halfway around the world, fighting our country’s wars, and I’ve got to worry about a paycheck.”
Mullen said August 15 would be the first payday jeopardized if the United States defaults. Soldiers normally get paid in two-week increments, making the last assured payday on August 1, he said.
Senate leaders said Sunday that progress had occurred in the talks on a deficit reduction deal that would raise the debt ceiling and cut spending. However, the deadline for the United States to face possible default on its obligations is midnight Tuesday, and political wrangling in Congress has held up an agreement so far.
On Friday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta issued a statement to remind military personnel that they should plan to come to work as scheduled in the coming week, regardless of whether a deal gets worked out. Panetta pledged to do “everything possible to ensure that our national defense is protected.”
H/T GatewayPundit where you can watch video of the Admiral addressing the troops. Jim Hoft writes:
For the record, there will enough money to pay the troops even if an agreement is not reached.
As Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, head of the Republican Study Group, said last week:
The government has more than enough money to make payments on its debts in August as well as take care of senior citizens and military servicemen.
rachelabombdotcom
YouTube
7/31/2011
CAJ note: Earlier this year the President used our troops’ pay and benefits to blackmail Speaker Boehner and others, in our opinion, into passing a budget deal then, too. This is not behavior befitting a Commander in Chief; it is the cheap bullying tactics of those schooled in The Chicago Way™.
