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Today, Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) introduced H.R. 1508, the Assure Service Members are Paid Act of 2011 (ASAP Act), a bill to require that in the event of a government shutdown, our military men and women defending our nation continue being paid without delay.

“Our military service members are committed to defending our nation up to and including laying down their lives,” said Congressman Posey. “Military service is not the same concept as public service or civilian employment. Our men and women in uniform should continue to be paid as we work through our differences on budget issues, especially if they have been ordered into battle.”

The United States enjoys the benefits of an all volunteer, professional military force. Many of the families of junior enlisted service members are surviving paycheck to paycheck. Any interruption in their pay would be a serious hardship, forcing them to choose between feeding children and paying rent.

“This situation takes attention away from the military mission of our troops serving in harm’s way and it is unacceptable to put our military families in this position. This bill would remove military paychecks from being used as bargaining chips in future political showdowns,” said Posey.