Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) recently cosponsored legislation that would block pay for accused Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan and other members of the military arrested for any capital or sex-related offense.
Rooney is a former member of the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps and served as a prosecutor at Fort Hood. He said he wants to make it illegal for anyone awaiting trial for a serious crime to continue collecting their salary from American taxpayers. Hassan is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 29 others on Nov. 5, 2009.
“How can we justify the fact that the victims of the Ft. Hood attack and their families are fighting to get the benefits they deserve while taxpayers have paid Nidal Hasan almost $300,000 to sit in a jail cell?” Rooney said. “This is unconscionable.”
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), the chairman of the Appropriations Commerce Justice Science Subcommittee, said the bill is about more than just addressing the issue of Hassan’s pay.
“This bill would correct a huge oversight that has allowed military personnel charged with a serious crime to continue to receive their pay while awaiting trial,” Wolf said. “Does anyone think military personnel charged with sexual assault – a growing problem in the military – should continue to receive taxpayer dollars while awaiting trial, especially if other federal employees, like FBI agents, DEA agents and U.S. Marshals can have their pay suspended under current law?”
Federal civilian employees, under current law, may have their pay suspended if there is reasonable cause to believe the employee has committed a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment may be imposed. The Uniform Code of Military Justice, however, omits the condition for members of the military.