The end of the year is typically a time when members of Congress look back at their year and review their accomplishments. Looking back an extra year, to 2022, reveals one of the incentives Sen. Lisa Murkowski tried to bestow on military members in Alaska didn’t materialize.
In 2022, Congress passed a Defense bill authorizing cold weather incentive pay for the military. Sen. Murkowski said last December she was proud to get the measure included, one of several aimed at tackling a mental health crisis among Alaska-based troops.
“One of the things that we know happens when it comes to to mental health is when people are stressed financially, it compounds other problems that are going on,” she said. “And so things like the the Arctic pay incentive , additional allowance for for winter gear … are some initiatives that I think are very highly targeted towards our military in Alaska.”
Many news outlets, including Alaska Public Media, produced stories saying Congress was sending extra money to help service members stationed in Alaska and maybe other cold spots.
But a year later, no one has received the Arctic pay bonus. It’s not clear whether the Defense Department is still planning to implement the program or has rejected the idea. Murkowski’s office says it’s pressing for answers. Multiple emails this week to military public affairs officers did not produce any answers either.
Last year’s defense bill authorized cold weather incentive pay, with no end date for the program, but the legislation did not mandate paying the bonus.
The same bill also included provisions to reimburse Alaska-based service members for airfare to their home of record. The Defense Department did change its travel regulations and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson published instructions on how to get reimbursement. Military public affairs offices we contacted this week said they were trying to find out how many trips the program reimbursed for.
But the congressional mandate for that program ends New Year’s Eve. Murkowski’s office says she tried to continue the travel reimbursement in the current Defense bill. The Senate version of the bill included a six month extension. Members of the House who negotiated the bill forced senators to drop it.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
