Harkin Praises Soldier Families Bill

2007-10-02

Source: KWWL News

Senator Tom Harkin today praised the Senate's passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a key provision he authored to increase support for families of those deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially members of the National Guard and Reserve. Harkin's measure, first introduced as the Coming Together for Guard and Reserve Families Act, works to strengthen the family assistance program and ensures that there are adequate resources for Guard and Reserve families throughout the deployment cycle. The Senate passed NDAA by a vote of 92-3.

Harkin was inspired to introduce this measure after the President decided to escalate the number of troops deployed in Iraq. Soon thereafter, more than 600 Iowa soldiers with the 133rd Infantry of the Iowa National Guard were notified that their combat tours in Anbar Province would be extended to 16 months. Harkin received scores of anguished letters and calls from their family members, who were already struggling - largely in isolation - with the stress of having their loved ones deployed in one of Iraq’s most violent regions.

"The Iraq war has required our national guardsmen and their families to make tremendous sacrifices. As I saw so clearly in the letters I received from the families of Iowa’s 133rd Infantry, the stress these deployments wreak upon soldiers' families can be devastating," Harkin said. "Today, the Senate passed a bill that honors our national guardsmen by ensuring their families have support they need during their loved one's deployment. We owe it to our brave soldiers abroad to ensure that we do all that we can to support their families here at home."

Included in the Senate's NDAA bill are Harkin's measures to expand and strengthen the existing family assistance program.

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