Congressman Cory Mills Leads Accountability Efforts Over Misuse of Millions in Servicemembers’ Pay Contributions
Washington, D.C. — Congressman Cory Mills (FL-07) led a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth regarding the previous administration’s reported misappropriation of millions of dollars collected from our service members intended to pay for food and other nutrition costs. This letter asks Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to provide transparency and accountability for sustenance pay that is being taken from our servicemembers’ paychecks. Cosigners include Congressmen Sam Graves (MO-06), Derrick Van Orden (WI-03), Morgan Luttrell (TX-08), and Rich McCormick (GA-07).
“As a combat veteran, I’ve once been in the position of a young Army Soldier with limited financial resources. Mismanaging funding for Soldiers’ nutrition is a betrayal of those who sacrifice to defend our freedom. For junior enlisted Soldiers, the $465 monthly flat rate for BAS can make up as much as 18% of their total pay. This misappropriation of funds directly reduces the financial support they rely on for their basic needs. The fact that nearly 50% to 80% of the $225 million collected from Soldiers' BAS pay last year was redirected elsewhere demands an immediate investigation and swift accountability. We cannot achieve military readiness by robbing those who serve of the resources they’ve been promised,” said Congressman Cory Mills (FL-07).
“I trust that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will thoroughly investigate this issue. His leadership and unwavering commitment to our warfighters is evident. Under his guidance, we have a real opportunity to address these oversights and strengthen our armed forces, retention, and lethality.”
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"As a Marine Officer, I understand what it means to take care of our junior enlisted service members. It’s unacceptable that funds collected from hard working soldiers for food are not being used for its intended purpose. This extreme lack of accountability is unacceptable, and I demand immediate action to stop this fraud and investigate the misappropriation of these funds. Our troops sacrifice so much for our nation; I will always have their six. Thank you to my friend Rep. Cory Mills for his leadership on this." said Congressman Rich McCormick (GA-07).
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Read the full letter HERE.