{"id":41324,"date":"2018-05-09T20:39:42","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T20:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/09\/new-bill-in-congress-would-speed-up-national-guard-promotions\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:31:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:31:39","slug":"new-bill-in-congress-would-speed-up-national-guard-promotions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/05\/09\/new-bill-in-congress-would-speed-up-national-guard-promotions\/","title":{"rendered":"New bill in Congress would speed up National Guard promotions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A bipartisan group of senators and representatives have co-authored a bill that would fix the lag time between National Guard<\/a> promotion selections and confirmations, which can take over a year and deny officers their pay bumps in the mean time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Guard Promotion Accountability act would repay officers the difference in their salaries once their promotions are federally confirmed<\/a>, for time spent serving in a corresponding job, according to a Tuesday release from Sen. Elizabeth Warren<\/a>, D-Massachusetts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not right to make our junior officers wait months and months to receive the pay and benefits they have earned because of bureaucratic delays,\u201d Warren wrote. \u201cI\u2019ve heard from Massachusetts Guard members who are frustrated by these delays \u2015 our bipartisan bill takes simple steps to fix the problem and do right by our dedicated men and women in uniform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FILE – In this Feb. 24, 2015 file photo, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Corinthian 100 \u0093strikers\u0094 who are refusing to pay back their loans have created a test case for how the department handles such borrowers. The former for-profit students want the department to discharge their loans, and provide relief to others who have been \u0093subjected to illegal practices by their schools.\u0094 Their effort is backed by thirteen U.S. senators led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren. (AP Photo\/Susan Walsh, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Warren teamed up with Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana; Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-New Hampshire; and Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Mississippi, to sponsor the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s shameful that they have to wait around for government to do its job to be compensated for the work they have done and sacrifices they have made,\u201d Daines said in the release. \u201cThis bipartisan bill will right this wrong and ensure Montana\u2019s National Guard members are paid promptly and fairly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill comes on the heels of a question Warren posed to Army Secretary Mark Esper in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe numbers are too long and unacceptable \u2014 and, frankly, in my time in the Guard, I had a similar action happen to me,\u201d Esper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, National Guard officers are promoted by a board decision, and in some cases immediately begin serving in billets to match. However, their pay grades are not updated until the board\u2019s list is cleared by the Air Force or Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2017 survey by the National Guard Association of the United States found that half of respondents had waited more than six months for their promotions to officially go through, losing thousands in pay. Policy mandates the services aim for turnaround in 180 to 195 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pentagon data shows that 7,000 officers are caught in this limbo, according to a Wednesday release from NGAUS, with an average wait time of 285 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\t