The courage and bravery of our young men and women fighting overseas continues to inspire all of us, and indeed inspire the free world and those yearning for freedom.

Our military deserves leadership that matches their service and patriotism. Getting our troops the pay raise they deserve is the very least we can do to show how much we value everything they do for us.

We owe our troops the opportunity to serve in the best-planned, best-equipped, and best-led military force in the world, and we owe them the peace of mind that comes from knowing that they and their families will be taken care of if they sacrifice life, limb or the ability to sleep without war's nightmares. We owe them not just thanks and best wishes, but action, and action in our nation's capital.

They are playing politics with this issue, and sending mixed signals to our troops and the enemy. That is irresponsible.

We all agree we want money for our troops. ... This is not about the troops.

Supporting the troops means paying attention to their needs both in the field and at home. It means understanding their lives both as warriors fighting for our nation, and as husbands and wives, parents, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters struggling to take care of their families.