{"id":2125196,"date":"2023-12-14T15:52:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T20:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-moves-to-compensate-troops-affected-by-tuberville-protest-but-not-those-punished-for-refusing-covid-jab\/"},"modified":"2023-12-14T15:56:35","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T20:56:35","slug":"congress-moves-to-compensate-troops-affected-by-tuberville-protest-but-not-those-punished-for-refusing-covid-jab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-moves-to-compensate-troops-affected-by-tuberville-protest-but-not-those-punished-for-refusing-covid-jab\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress to compensate troops impacted by Tuberville protest, but not those penalized for refusing Covid vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcongress-moves-to-compensate-troops-affected-by-tuberville-protest-but-not-those-punished-for-refusing-covid-jab%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2125196&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Congress is preparing to pass legislation to financially compensate U.S. military members affected\u2064 by Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville\u2019s promotion holds. However, disappointingly, it does nothing\u2064 for those who were unfairly punished for refusing the Covid jab.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rounds.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/rounds-manchin-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-provide-back-pay-for-officers-impacted-by-military-promotion-hold\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Introduced<\/a> \u2062 by Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., the Military Personnel Confirmation Restoration Act aims to provide back pay to military officials whose promotions were delayed\u2064 due to Tuberville&#8217;s protest against the Pentagon&#8217;s unlawful abortion policy. The Defense Department\u2062 started using taxpayer dollars to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-republicans-prepare-to-hand-democrats-abortion-victory-over-tubervilles-protest\/\" title=\"Senate Republicans are ready to give Democrats an abortion victory despite Tuberville's objections\">fund service members&#8217; travel expenses<\/a> for abortions \u2063earlier this\u2062 year, prompting the Alabama senator to \u200cplace holds on Biden&#8217;s military nominees, which slowed down the confirmation process \u2064in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Tuberville was practically <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/12\/05\/dont-blame-tuberville-for-dropping-his-pentagon-abortion-protest-blame-his-feckless-gop-colleagues\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">forced<\/a> to abandon most of his holds earlier this month \u200cafter his GOP colleagues threatened to side \u200dwith Senate Democrats in changing\u2064 Senate rules to bypass the protest.<\/p>\n<p>When introducing the bill, Rounds <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rounds.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/rounds-manchin-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-provide-back-pay-for-officers-impacted-by-military-promotion-hold\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">issued<\/a> a statement\u2062 expressing his disagreement with the Pentagon&#8217;s abortion\u2064 policy and his support for Tuberville&#8217;s right to hold any nomination. However, he believes that America&#8217;s men\u2063 and women \u200cin uniform should not be caught in the \u2064middle of partisan politics. Manchin echoed similar sentiments, stating that Congress should at least restore the benefits earned and deserved by military personnel.<\/p>\n<p>According to a Punchbowl \u2063News <a href=\"https:\/\/punchbowl.news\/article\/schumer-to-decide-whether-to-keep-senators-in-town\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> published on Thursday, \u200cthe Rounds-Manchin bill has reportedly\u200b gained 37 co-sponsors and could \u200dreceive Senate approval before the upper chamber departs for Christmas break. This stands in stark contrast to\u2062 the Senate&#8217;s lack of action in financially compensating the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2023\/01\/13\/pentagon-back-pay-troops-covid-vaccine-mandate-00077902\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">over 8,400<\/a> U.S. troops discharged from service for refusing the experimental and risky Covid shot.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier\u200c this year, Sen. Ted\u200b Cruz of Texas and 18 other Senate Republicans <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cruz.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/sen-cruz-introduces-updated-legislation-building-on-vaccine-mandate-ban-to-reinstate-service-members-fired-over-covid-vaccine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">introduced<\/a> the AMERICANS Act, a\u2064 bill that\u200b would require the military to reinstate \u200dservice members \u200cwho were fired for refusing\u2064 the jab, restore their rank, pay, and \u200bbenefits, and expunge any adverse action\u2064 based solely on vaccine status. However, unlike\u2064 Rounds and Manchin&#8217;s &#8220;bipartisan&#8221; measure, the AMERICANS Act has seen\u2062 no action in the Senate and \u200bhas been \u200csitting in \u2062the Senate \u200cArmed Services Committee since\u200b January 24. \u200cNeither Rounds nor Manchin have co-sponsored Cruz&#8217;s bill.<\/p>\n<p>Despite holding a majority in the lower chamber, House Republicans have also failed to advance measures to assist troops wrongfully discharged over\u2064 the shot. Instead of ensuring \u2064the core tenets\u200b of the AMERICANS Act were included in the\u200d 2024 National Defense \u200bAuthorization Act, House GOP leadership settled for language merely <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/4347700-defense-bill-reinstatement-troops-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">directing<\/a> the Pentagon to review the possible reinstatement of service \u2062members \u2062fired\u2063 over the jab in the final negotiated \u2064version of\u2064 the bill.<\/p>\n<p>The Pentagon has\u200c offered nothing to these 8,400-plus discharged \u2064troops except <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/us\/army-s-letter-to-soldiers-discharged-for-refusing-the-covid-vaccine-won-t-make-things-right\/ar-AA1lt6C0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letters<\/a> pleading for their return. With\u2062 such treatment, it&#8217;s no wonder \u2063that only 43 of these soldiers have chosen to rejoin and work for\u2063 leaders who clearly have no regard or appreciation\u2063 for \u2062their service.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist\u2063 and a graduate of the University of \u2063Mary Washington. He previously served as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/unredacted-fbi-memo-contradicts-christopher-wrays-claim-only-a-single-field-office-targeted-traditional-catholics\/\" title=\"Unredacted FBI memo disproves Wray's claim on targeting traditional Catholics.\">state content\u200d writer<\/a> for Convention of States Action, and his work has been \u200dfeatured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and\u200d Conservative Review.\u200d Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-image data-amount=\"5\">\n<h2>Popular<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> Why \u2062hasn&#8217;t\u2064 the AMERICANS \u2063Act, which aims to reinstate and restore benefits for service members discharged\u2063 for refusing the Covid vaccine, made any progress\u200c in the Senate<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Nate Armed Services Committee since\u200d January.<\/p>\n<p>It is deeply concerning to see\u2062 a \u200cclear discrepancy in how\u200c Congress is \u2063addressing the \u200cconcerns of military personnel. On one hand, we have the Rounds-Manchin \u2062bill \u200cswiftly gaining support \u2063and potentially receiving Senate approval to \u200cfinancially compensate military\u2062 officials\u2062 affected by Senator Tuberville&#8217;s protest\u200c holds. On the other hand, \u200cthere seems to be a lack \u2063of action in\u2063 assisting\u2064 the thousands of troops who\u200d have been discharged from service for refusing the Covid vaccine.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200dPentagon&#8217;s \u200bdecision to use taxpayer dollars to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/editor-daily-rundown-energy-starved-europe-dims-the-lights-cuts-the-a-c\/\" title=\"Editor Daily Rundown: Energy-Starved Europe Dims The Lights, Cuts The A\/C\">fund travel expenses<\/a> for abortions is a controversial\u200b issue, and Senator \u200cTuberville&#8217;s protest\u2062 holds were his way of expressing his disagreement with this policy. While \u2062one\u200d can \u2064debate the effectiveness or appropriateness \u200bof \u2064his actions,\u200d it is crucial to recognize that military personnel should not be caught in the crossfire of partisan politics. They\u200d deserve fair treatment and recognition for their service.<\/p>\n<p>The Rounds-Manchin bill\u200c acknowledges this by aiming to\u200d provide the back \u2062pay that military officials who experienced promotion delays deserve. Both Senators Rounds and Manchin express their disagreement with the Pentagon&#8217;s abortion \u2064policy but emphasize the importance of\u2064 separating politics from \u200dthe military&#8217;s well-being. It is commendable\u2062 that they prioritize fair compensation for the affected \u200dofficials.<\/p>\n<p>However, it is disheartening\u200d to see \u200cthat a\u200c similar level\u2063 of urgency\u2062 and support has not been given to the\u200b troops discharged for refusing the Covid\u200c vaccine. The consequences for these service members have been severe, with their careers abruptly cut short and \u200btheir \u2064benefits\u200d stripped\u200c away. Senator Cruz and his Republican colleagues introduced\u2064 the \u200dAMERICANS Act earlier this year, which aims to reinstate these service members, restore their rank, pay,\u200b and benefits, and remove \u2063any \u2063adverse actions solely based on vaccine \u200bstatus. \u200bYet, \u200cthis crucial bill has seen no \u200bprogress in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2064discrepancy between how \u200bCongress addresses \u200dthese two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/un-womens-group-ignores-horrific-assault-on-israeli-women-celebrates-trans-lesbians-instead\/\" title=\"UN Women's Group overlooks brutal attack on Israeli women, prioritizes celebration of 'Trans Lesbians' instead.\">issues raises concerns<\/a> about the \u200dprioritization of military\u2063 personnel&#8217;s rights and \u200dfair treatment.\u2064 While the\u2064 Pentagon&#8217;s abortion policy is undoubtedly \u2064contentious, it is \u2063puzzling that\u2062 the discharge of over 8,400 troops\u200d for refusing the \u2062Covid vaccine does not \u200breceive the same\u200d level of attention and support from lawmakers.<\/p>\n<p>Military personnel risk their lives \u200cto protect our country and our freedoms. They deserve to be\u200d treated fairly and with respect. Congress has a responsibility to ensure that their rights\u200b are not \u200cinfringed upon and that they receive the compensation and benefits they deserve. It is time for lawmakers to \u2064address the issue of compensating troops discharged\u200c for vaccine refusal with the same urgency and dedication\u200d they\u2064 have shown in the Rounds-Manchin \u200dbill. Only when all military personnel are treated \u2062equally can\u2064 we truly honor their sacrifices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congress is preparing to pass a bill compensating U.S. military members impacted by Sen. Tommy Tuberville&#8217;s promotion delays. However, it fails to address the issue of unfair punishment for those who chose not to receive the Covid vaccine. The Military Personnel Confirmation Restoration Act, introduced by Sens. Rounds and Manchin, aims to address this matter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2125197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2125196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2125196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2125197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2125196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2125196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2125196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}