Lawmakers and senior military leaders say that military pay needs to be based more on the role and responsibilites of troops, and not simply their age.
Guardsmen and women are constantly serving their country without earning federal benefits, despite performing the same jobs as their active-duty counterparts, says the author of this commentary.
Atmospheric nuclear weapons testing exposed more states and more people to radiation fallout and resulting cancers and other diseases than the federal government currently recognizes, Western governors said.
Unless Congress acts this week, Coast Guard members likely won't get paid at all in January, and retirees will start missing out on benefits next month.
The 2.6 percent increase in basic pay that took effect Tuesday, the largest boost since the 3.4 percent pay hike in 2010, is 0.3 percentage points above last year's raise.