President Joe Biden’s administration reportedly failed to send National Guard troops their final paycheck of the year during the week of Christmas, according to a letter sent to troops obtained by The Post Millennial.
The National Guard troops’ paychecks were disrupted due to congressional drama surrounding the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that Congress recently approved. After weeks of negotiation, Congress came to a deal on the omnibus spending package. Included in the spending bill is, among other things, a $45 billion aid package for Ukraine. The $45 billion is on top of the $66 billion taxpayer dollars that have already been used to fund Ukrainian aid.
The federal government was set to shut down on Friday after Congress passed a week-long continuing resolution (CR) to continue funding the government after the initial shutdown date of December 14.
The Senate passed the 4,155-page bill on Thursday, and the House approved it on Friday, sending it to Biden’s desk for final approval.
According to the letter sent to members of the National Guard, there has been an ongoing “pay issue that has been plaguing the unit and the division as well.”
The letter states that “many Soldiers were due pay today,” but rather than getting paid, they only received their Leave and Earning Statement (LES), which are pay stubs, but funds did not accompany those pay stubs.
The paycheck issue is “nation wide,” according to the letter, and it “seems to be at” Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) and is “related to the CR.”
The National Guard Bureau was “not made aware of the issue” before Friday, but they are “currently working the issue with DFAS time now,” according to the letter. They are hopeful that the paycheck problem will be “rectified today or tomorrow.”
“This is unfortunate and can cause serious issues and aggravation across the formation which are understandable. Especially 2 days before Christmas,” the letter continued. “I think the messaging is important that it’s understood the issues are at the highest levels and that everyone in the Division and State are pushing for immediate resolution.”
