Baucus, Tester launch effort to make troops aware of extended duty bonuses

Senators Release Public Service Announcement Reminding Service Members to Collect Stop Loss Special Pay before December Deadline

(Washington, DC) – Montana’s U.S. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester released a Public Service Announcement today to raise awareness of bonuses available to military service members who’ve had their service involuntarily extended under military orders known as “stop loss.”  The senators introduced legislation yesterday to extend the date for collecting stop loss special pay by one year and helped pass a more temporary extension to December 3, 2010 last night.

Text of the PSA follows here:

Senator Baucus: Hi I’m Max Baucus.

Senator Tester: And I’m Jon Tester. Some of our troops have been asked to answer an extended call of duty known as “stop loss.”

Senator Baucus: That’s why we secured an extra $500 a month for troops who’ve had their service extended.

Senator Tester: The deadline to claim stop loss special pay is December 3rd.  If you or someone you know qualifies for stop loss pay, visit www.defense.gov/stoploss.

Senator Baucus: To our troops, please remember to claim the pay you’ve earned by December 3rd.  Thank you.

Baucus also sent a letter yesterday to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs urging them to initiate a ‘comprehensive and aggressive outreach campaign’ to make sure every service member and veteran eligible for the bonus pay is notified about the special payment.

Baucus and Tester in 2009 helped secure an additional $500 per month for U.S. troops affected by stop loss, but fewer than half of eligible service members have submitted claims for the additional pay.  Before last night’s extension to December the deadline to collect stop loss special pay was October 21, 2010.  Baucus and Tester are still fighting to pass their bill to extend the deadline for an additional year to give troops more time to collect the pay they’ve earned. 

Production-quality video of the PSA is available at: http://gp1d.senate.gov/sdmc/Baucus/093010_baucus_stoploss.mpg.

Read more about the bill Baucus and Tester introduced yesterday HERE.