Washington D.C.— Today, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee released a new report on incentives, benefits and medical care for deploying federal civilians to the battlefield:

A one-page summary can be found here, and the full report can be found at http://armedservices.house.gov/pdfs/Reports/CiviliansonBattlefieldReport.pdf.
 
 “How we compensate and care for today’s deployed federal civilians will be noted by those who are considering the nation’s calls for future volunteers—such as the Civilian Reserve Corps that the President announced in his January 2007 State of the Union Address.  The success of the transition from conflict to stability will depend heavily on the efforts of government civilians.  If our nation asks them to volunteer for these hazardous missions, then we are responsible for their well-being,” said Subcommittee Chairman Vic Snyder (D-AR).

 He continued, “Just as there is work needed to improve how our federal government organizes and conducts interagency missions, we must ensure that there is a coordinated effort to provide civilian volunteers for deployments with equitable and sufficient incentives and benefits.  And for those who are wounded, injured, or taken ill in a combat zone, we must certainly improve the quality and administration of their medical care as well as the support they receive to help them return to work.”

 Subcommittee Ranking Member Todd Akin (R-MO) commented, “Government civilians are playing an increasingly important role in today’s war zones and we must make sure that we reward their service and care for them properly. When civilians are deployed to battlefields it is imperative that contingencies are in place for medical treatment if it is needed.  The continuity of care is also an important issue.”  

 “This report helps us better understand how we have been supporting our civilians when they are doing government work under battlefield conditions, as well as where more effort is needed to ensure that we stand behind those who sacrifice for the country alongside our warfighters.”

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