Increased troop pay deemed 'unnecessary', Fossella silent

via the Army Times;

Troops don’t need bigger pay raises, White House budget officials said Wednesday in a statement of administration policy laying out objections to the House version of the 2008 defense authorization bill.

snip

Bush budget officials said the administration “strongly opposes” both the 3.5 percent raise for 2008 and the follow-on increases, calling extra pay increases “unnecessary.”

“When combined with the overall military benefit package, the president’s proposal provides a good quality of life for service members and their families,” the policy statement says. “While we agree military pay must be kept competitive, the 3 percent raise, equal to the increase in the Employment Cost Index, will do that.”

I think we are all agreed that the President in suggesting extra troop pay is "unnecessary" is rather unsupportive of our troops. The question though is where is Rep. Vito Fossella's outrage over this? I know he flies on planes with the President and the two are BFF (best friends forever, its an internet slang thing, ask your kids) but every once in a while you could actually stand up and support the troops when they need it. Does anyone else think Fossella will suddenly find his voice in 2008 if there is a Democrat sitting in the White House? Eight years of Fossella's silence and indifference will cost us dearly.