Brent Budowsky: Republican Congress Allows Mafia-Like Abuse of Heroic Troops and Military Families

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Brent Budowsky

Independent audits have shown that up to 19% of active duty troops are paid so poorly, and face such financial hardship, that they are forced by necesssity to seek emergency loans from predatory lenders at horrendous interest rates.

Previous audits have shown that rates charged for these "payday loans" regularly rise as high a 300% to 400%. Recent reports now accuse some lenders of grotesquely ripping off heroes who serve and their families with rates as high a 791%.

This is one more example of why military families of America and those they love in service would receive far more fairness, respect and support from Democrats in Congress.

This latest outrage follows a long list of areas of neglect. The Republican Congress did not provide adequate body armor, helmets and bandage to troops under fire. They do not provide adequate support for military and veterans health care programs. There are even attempts to cut back on support for emergency brain trauma injuries for wounded troops. Military pay scales are too low, troop rotations create major problems because of inadequate levels of troop strength and those who serve in the Army, Marine Corps and Reserves have been victimized by involuntary service that borders on a backdoor draft.

A Democratic Congress would work hard and diligently to put an end to these wrong and unfair practices that harm our troops, disrupt their families, and endanger our national security.

This practice of tolerating abusive interest rate gouging of hard pressed active duty troops and miltary famlies must end right now. There has been pressure on the Republican Congress to set a cap on these interest rates, yet, so far, Republicans in Congress have been more interested in going to fundraisers, taking long recesses, using public institutions for politically partisan electioneering, and going on fancy trips to faraway places, than doing the business of standing up for troops and their families.

We should write letters to every newspaper in America pushing for news coverage, editorial support and direct criticism of a Republican Congress that permits those who heroically serve our country, and the families that love them, to be treated worse than Mafia loan sharks treat their victims.

It is sickening, disgusting, nauseating and grotesquely unpatriotic for Americans who bravely serve our country, and for American mlitary families who make enormous sacrifices with the highest patriotism, to be forced to pay interest rates for emergency loans that are 300%, 400%, even close to 800%.

We should demand the Republican Congress act immediately and not take election year recess until they do.

We should call for those who let this shameful abuse continue be defeated by voters in their reelection campaigns.

We should insist that Republicans in Congress who have let this continue return to taxpayers their pay raises for the last three years. If if they fail to support the troops and families, if they allow American heroes to be treated worse than Mafia victimes with abuses such as this, they certainly do not deserve generous pay raises from taxpayers, who support the heroism of our troops, and respect the sacrifice of their families, and not the derelictions of our politicians who let these abuses continue.

Brent Budowsky

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION