Pentagon does not know if troops will be paid on June 1st

About two weeks ago, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that paychecks for service members may be disrupted if the United States defaults on its debts. View the testimony here at the 00:29:25 mark.

Austin stated, “What it would mean realistically for us is that we won’t, in some cases, be able to pay our troops with any degree of predictability, and that predictability is really, really important for us. But this would have a real impact on the pockets of our troops and our civilians.”

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As the end of the month approaches, the DOD has not issued any updates if the troops will get paid next month. When we reached out to a Pentagon spokesperson, they advised there was no new information. Additionally, they stated this was an unprecedented situation, like they have never encountered before.

“We understand the concern, we understand the uncertainty.” -Pentagon spokesperson Jeff Jurgensen to Pop Smoke Media

“Tremendous amount of uncertainty” if troops will be paid

They also advised there was not any information as to when a follow-up would be provided. We asked when the thousands of troops who needed to pay rent in a few days would be updated, Jurgensen expressed his understanding, but said he did not know. He also assured us that the moment there was an update, the information would be disseminated to our troops and media outlets. Noting, this was not like previous circumstances, and has caused a “tremendous amount of uncertainty,” at all levels.

Critics have voiced concern over previous “alarmist” statements made by the current administration regarding military, and veteran benefits. However, the current unprecedented circumstances, and the subsequent lack of information, have left many troops wondering whether or not they will be able to afford rent next week.

According to the House of Representatives, “Currently, there are 82 Members in the U.S. House of Representatives who are veterans.”

Editor’s note: This is an ongoing story, any and all updates will be provided as they arrive. Please contact your Representatives, and they can better explain why this is happening.