The standard Republican criticism of the Democratic Party is that they are somehow against the military, or at least that they don't have their best interest at heart. In yet another example of apparent partisan politics, Republicans and Democrats are at odds, with members of the military stuck in the middle.
Obama gives a raise
Last summer, President Obama ordered a 1.3 percent raise for members of the military, which resulted in silence from his Repubican critics. On Wednesday, Obama sent a letter to Congress and informed that the military would receive a raise of 1.6 percent in 2017, up from the previous year.
Republicans, however, expressed their anger that the raise wasn't higher. As reported by The Military Times on August 31, the 1.6 percent rate was done for financial reasons.
Obama orders 1.6 percent military pay raise for 2017 https://t.co/N7dvIzrqqk pic.twitter.com/QLk60EKLKW
— Military Times (@MilitaryTimes) August 31, 2016
Republicans often tout that they are the party of fiscal responsibility, but it appears it doesn't apply when the president takes the same course of action. In the letter to Congress, Obama explained why the raise would be capped at the new rate. "We must maintain efforts to keep our nation on a sustainable fiscal course," the letter read. The announcement doesn't come as a surprise, as it was first outlined in the president's budget proposal for 2017.
Republican opposition comes mainly from the House, where they called for a 2.1 percent military raise, allocating a part of the war fund to cover the costs. In return, the Senate has stuck with the 1.6 percent as called for by the president.
When Obama ordered the military pay raise last summer, he also included a 1 percent raise for civilian workers.
The decision came after Democrats in the House and Senate had previously proposed a raise of as high as 3.8 percent, but was shot down by congressional Republicans. The raise Obama has called for would be the highest since 2010, as the American economy continues to bounce-back from the recession of 2009, as pointed out by USA Today last August.
Feds will get 1.3% raise in 2016, Obama says: It's the largest annual cost-of-living increase for federal empl... http://t.co/jwhwmhnwlu
— UskeusNews (@Uskeus) August 28, 2015
Obama's last days
In less than five months, Obama will leave the White House having concluded his second term in office. Since making history in 2008 by becoming the first African-American president in American history, Obama has implemented a drastic change in the nation's health care system, cut the unemployment rate in half, while adding nearly 10 million jobs to the economy in the process. While there have been missteps along the way, it appears Republicans will continue to deny any of the success Obama has had over the last seven and half years.
