To follow up for a moment on yesterday’s post about Bush embracing some of the Dems’ proposal to increase death and survivor benefits for American troops, there were two quick additions.
First, some correspondents reminded me that I neglected to mention that the last time the “death benefit” was raised — from $6,000 to $12,000 — congressional Dems embraced the move, but faced opposition from the Bush White House. From a July 2003 editorial in the Army Times:
[T]he White House griped that various pay-and-benefits incentives added to the 2004 defense budget by Congress are wasteful and unnecessary — including a modest proposal to double the $6,000 gratuity paid to families of troops who die on active duty. This comes at a time when Americans continue to die in Iraq at a rate of about one a day.
Second, I noted that congressional Dems are arguing that the scaled-down Bush plan doesn’t go far enough, and it was encouraging to see the top military brass agrees.
Military leaders took issue yesterday with a Pentagon plan that would limit higher death benefits to troops killed in designated combat zones or operations, saying the extra payments should apply to all troops who die on duty.
In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the vice chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps welcomed the recommended rise in government payments and life insurance proceeds, calling it a step in the right direction. But each also expressed concern that the Pentagon plan announced Monday is discriminatory, establishing different death benefits for troops based simply on where the deaths occur.
“We would do great harm to our servicemen and -women, all of whom serve our great nation magnificently, if we were to make such distinctions,” said Gen. William L. Nyland, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps.
[…]
Added Gen. T. Michael Moseley, the Air Force’s vice chief of staff: “I believe a death is a death, and our servicemen and -women should be represented that way.”
I could be wrong, but I’m predicting that Bush will flip-flop on this (again), embrace the Dem plan, and then take credit for coming up with the idea in the first place. Naturally, the right will celebrate their commander-in-chief’s bold stand on behalf of America’s troops, the media will ignore the background, and most Americans will never know that Bush resisted expanding the “death benefit” twice.