Senate Approves Back Pay for Military Officers Affected by Tuberville’s Hold

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) speaks at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on April 27, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The U.S. Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would grant pay back to military officers whose promotions had been delayed for months due to Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) unprecedented legislative blockade.

The bill, proposed by Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), was unanimously passed on Dec. 14. This passage came after Mr. Tuberville dropped his blockade of military promotions on Dec. 5.

Speaking on the Senate floor on Dec. 14, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the bill’s passage signifies the stance that military service members “don’t deserve to be penalized in any way at all.”

“Finally, we are able to right the wrong of Senator Tuberville’s illogical, hurtful, and dangerous holds and the massive impacts the holds had on military families,” Mr. Schumer remarked.

“These men and women have worked so hard for our country for so long. [And] because of Senator Tuberville, in a really nasty and whimsical holding back of their promotions, they weren’t getting paid.

“Tonight at long last we are giving these military families, families that have already sacrificed so much, the justice they deserve: their back pay,” he added.

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) welcomed the Senate approval and said that military officers “do not serve any particular political party,” but rather the nation as a whole.

“They serve our nation as a whole – working to defend our national interests and the values that we hold sacred as Americans. As such, we owe it to the members of our military to prevent them from becoming pawns in any political game,” they said in a joint statement.

‘Confirmations Are Long Overdue’

Mr. Tuberville had previously blocked military nominations in protest of Pentagon policy that allows travel reimbursement when a service member has to go out of state to get an abortion.

The senator and other conservatives argued that the new policy violates a federal law that bars the use of federal tax dollars to pay for abortions, though the Department of Health and Human Services does so indirectly with substantial funding of the procedure to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

His hold lasted for 10 months. The Pentagon argued Mr. Tuberville’s move has harmed military readiness. Mr. Tuberville ended the blockade on Dec. 5 but said he will continue his holds for four-star general nominees.

The Senate approved 425 promotions shortly after Mr. Tuberville announced the withdrawal of his blockade. President Joe Biden said the Republican’s hold of military nominations was “politically motivated.”

President Joe Biden adjusts his microphone during a meeting with the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology in the State Dining Room of the White House, in Washington on April 4, 2023. Patrick Semansky/ AP Photo

“These confirmations are long overdue, and should never have been held up in the first place. Our service members are the backbone of our country and deserve to receive the pay and promotions they have earned,” President Biden said on Dec. 5.

“Senator Tuberville, and the Republicans who stood with him, needlessly hurt hundreds of service members and military families and threatened our national security—all to push a partisan agenda. I hope no one forgets what he did,” he added.

Defense Policy Bill

Meanwhile, the Senate on Dec. 14 passed a defense policy bill authorizing $886.3 billion in annual defense spending and a 5.2 percent pay raise for service members.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes funding for the multiyear procurement of 10 Virginia class submarines and the development of nuclear-armed cruise missile.

It also includes a trilateral nuclear-powered submarine pact with Britain and Australia (AUKUS), initiatives to counter Russia in Europe, foil China in the Pacific, and aid Israel in the Middle East, and investments in Space Force and technologies including artificial intelligence and hypersonics.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said the NDAA will strengthen the U.S. military posture in the Indo-Pacific and secure the nation’s interests “against China’s expanding ambitions.”

“The bill will reinvigorate our industrial base and provide our military services with the cutting-edge platforms and technologies they need to keep Americans safe,” Mr. Reed said in a statement.

Mark Tapscott, Samantha Flom, and John Haughey contributed to this report.