House adds troop bennies to 2009 budget bill

[unhappycamper]

House adds troop bennies to 2009 budget bill
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 23, 2008 5:57:49 EDT

The House of Representatives passed amendments that would improve dental care for reservists, provide free postal services for deployed and hospitalized troops, and allow dual-service parents of minor children to defer deployments to a combat zone.

Approval of those amendments came as House lawmakers wrapped up work on their version of the 2009 defense authorization bill before leaving town for a Memorial Day recess.

This is far from final action. The Senate won’t even begin debate on its version of the $612 billion defense policy bill until sometime in June, and differences between the bills — each more than 600 pages — have to be reconciled before a final vote on a compromise version.

Free postal benefits for troops serving in Iraq or Afghanistan or receiving treatment as inpatients in military hospitals is something the House has approved before, only to have the initiative die in negotiations with the Senate.

The plan approved Thursday by voice vote would allow service members to receive one package from home at no cost for every two months of deployment. The Defense Department would have to reimburse the U.S. Postal Service for the costs.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/military_personnelamendments_052208w/