In yet another bit of craptastic news, new military recruits are apparently having to sign papers acknowledging they may not get their sign-on bonuses. Why? The Dee-Dee-Dees in Congress have yet to fix the 2008 Defense Authorization Act.

I am a detailed Army recruiter. We just had a kid sign up today. He was promised a 25k bonus. However, he had to sign a piece of paper saying that since Congress has not set aside any money for bonuses for the military (the deadline was 31 Dec 07) he may not get what was promised in his contract.

I know this may sound pretty small, but we often tell people that are interested in the Army that we’re not going to promise anything that is not in the contract. By not setting aside funds for us Congress is essentially forcing the Army (and probably the other services) to figuratively put asterisks on enlistement contracts.

Apparently, it was originally funded in the 2008 Defense Authorization Act. President Bush had to veto it because it exposed the new Iraqi government, duly elected by the Iraqi people, to lawsuits and liability for the acts of the Saddam Hussein regime. Congress has yet to fix the bill.