Bills would let more troops get mail for free

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Bills would let more troops get mail for free
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 28, 2009 12:34:25 EST

Just as talk gets serious about cutting U.S. troop levels in Iraq, Congress also appears to be getting serious about providing limited free mailing privileges so that letters and small packages can be sent by friends and family to deployed service members.

Two free military mail bills were introduced in the House on Tuesday. One, HR 704, is the reintroduction of a bill sponsored by Reps. Peter King of New York and Gus Bilirakis of Florida, both Republicans, that previously won support in the House as an amendment to the annual defense authorization bill but was rejected in negotiations with the Senate.

That bill likely will be pushed aside in favor of a second, broader bill, HR 707, introduced by Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., a member of the House Armed Services Committee who has a collection of 103 bipartisan co-sponsors — including Bilirakis — for her legislation.

Castor is calling her bill the Home Front to Heroes Postal Benefits Act.

In a letter to other members of the House seeking co-sponsors, Castor said the government already provides free mail from combat zones, so service members don’t need postage to write home, but there is no corresponding benefit for mail sent from the home front to the troops.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/01/military_freemail_bill_012809w/%2e