Veterans For America (VFA) strongly applauds Wisconsin Reps. Kagen and Moore for
co-sponsoring H.R. 6205, the Stop-loss Compensation Act, authored by
Rep. Betty Sutton of Ohio. The bill requires that U.S. servicemembers
whose tours of duty are involuntarily extended, commonly known as
"stop-loss," receive special pay for the duration of their extension.

More than 70,000 Soldiers have been stop-lossed since 2002. During the recent Iraq troop "surge," the number of troops stop-lossed
reached 12,235. Such orders harm the morale of our fighting men and
women and are nothing more than a short-term crutch for maintaining
force levels. As Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, recently said "we need to move away from [stop-loss]
as rapidly as we can."