The effort by Congress to provide back pay to high-ranking officers whose promotions were delayed for months by Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s hold has moved to the House, with a new bill filed Wednesday night.
The House bill mirrors bipartisan legislation unveiled on the Senate floor on Dec. 7 and would pay hundreds of officers who waited for the better part of year for the Senate to approve their promotions and new paygrades. Tuberville, who single-handedly blocked the approvals over a Pentagon abortion policy, finally relented last week, and the Senate quickly promoted 425 service members.
“For months, our officers were left waiting for promotions while Sen. Tuberville used them to pressure the Pentagon to follow his extreme position on abortion,” Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., one of the members who introduced the bill, said in a statement. “Military personnel should not be pawns for partisan officials. That’s why I’m proud to lead this bipartisan bill to ensure our military leaders are not deprived of the benefits they deserve.”
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The bill, known as the Military Personnel Confirmation Restoration Act of 2023, was also introduced by Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and would offer back pay, retroactive promotion dates and other administrative solutions to military officers whose promotions were delayed.
If passed, it would get…
