Wastebook - Senator Tom Coburn - U.S. Senate

Wastebook 201323. Terrorist Who Killed 13 and Injured 32 at Fort Hood Continued to CollectGovernment Paycheck – (Army) $52,952When retired Army Specialist Logan Burnett is asked to describe the Fort Hood shooting he useslanguage that evokes both the immediate horror of combat and how the trauma of that day still echoesin his life. He remembers blood everywhere—his blood, and the blood of fellow soldiers—andthinking he was going to die. 296,297Now three years later, Burnett and other victimsof that day are still dealing with the repercussionsof the worst terrorist attack on American soilsince 9/11. 298Thirteen people were murdered and 32 others werewounded in the one-man terrorist attack on FortHood, Texas, in 2009, making it “the worst massmurder at a military installation in U.S. history.” 299While the families of the survivors and victimswere fighting to receive military benefits, the Fort Hood shooter Major Nadal Hasan was cashing hispaycheck. Since the shooting, Hasan has received over $278,000 in military benefits because theMilitary Code of Justice doesn’t allow a soldier to be suspended until they are found guilty. 300“[It] makes me sick to my stomach,” said Burnett of theHassan salary payments. 301 “There have been times whenmy wife and I cannot afford groceries… gas in our car… timeswhere we ate Ramen noodles for weeks on end.” 302While soldiers like Burnett and others victims of the FortHood terrorist attack have had to fight the DefenseDepartment tooth and nail to receive benefits, taxpayershave spent more than half a million dollars – $548,000, intotal – on Hasan’s imprisonment, and that number doesn’tinclude his military benefits. 303These soldiers and the victims of the Fort Hood terroristattack deserve better.They deserve to know that their country values respectsthem more than it respects the man who tried to end theirlives.Retired Army Specialist Logan Burnett hasfaced physical, psychological, and economichardships since surviving what was thelargest terrorist attack since 9/11 at FortHood, while the perpetrator continued toreceive a paycheck (and other militarybenefits) from the Army.While Hassan was found guilty in August, Congress needs to act to ensure this type of mistake willnot be made in the future.42