Will the military officers stuck in Tommy Tuberville's 10-month hold be paid? Senate passes back pay push

WASHINGTON — Military officers whose confirmations were left at a standstill for over 10 months because of Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville's protest of a Pentagon abortion policy may be getting back pay for the time they spent time waiting to be confirmed.

The Senate Thursday passed legislation led by Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., that provides the pay for military officers whose promotions were delayed. The bill also adjusts the affected service members' time in grade, or the time a service member has continuously served, as well as other administrative fixes.

"These men and women are true American heroes and the least we can do in Congress is restore the benefits they have earned and deserve," Manchin said in a statement.

The bill received 36 bipartisan co-sponsors, including Tuberville.

Rounds opposes the Pentagon policy on abortion Tuberville targeted that reimburses out-of-state travel for service members who receive abortions, but he said service members should not be caught in partisan politics.

“The men and women who wear the uniform of the United States of America should not be negatively impacted by political squabbles,” he said in a statement.

Tuberville recently caved after blocking the promotions of over 400 military officers since February in protest of the Pentagon's policy. The Alabama lawmaker lifted the holds last week for nominees three stars and below.

"It's been a long fight. We fought hard. We did the right thing for the unborn and for our military," he told reporters after making the announcement.

Just hours after Tuberville's announcement that he would lift the holds, the Senate voted to confirm more than 400 military promotions. Now, only 11 four-star nominees' confirmations are pending.

Senate leaders from both sides condemned Tuberville for blocking the nominations. The situation escalated in November when a group of senators took to the Senate floor urging Tuberville to lift the hold. The lawmakers, over the course of five hours, highlighted the names, biographies and pictures of military nominees and called for individual votes on each.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tuberville blockade: Are military officers stuck in hold getting paid?