COLORADO SPRINGS — A letter signed by 20 lawmakers cites a report which states the Army misused funds meant for food. Among those lawmakers are Colorado Senator's John Hickenlooper (D) and Michael Bennet (D).
According to the letter, all active duty members who live in the barracks receive a basic allowance of subsistence called a BAS payment where roughly $460 a month is withheld from their paychecks to cover the cost of food.
According to the military.com report cited in their letter, these lawmakers say about $151 million withheld from soldiers was not used on food.
"It seems like it's a repetitive meal so, they kind of tend to not go as much from what I've seen," said Sergeant Sgt. Edward Hartman.
Sgt. Hartman said he's served for 10 years.
"My family has been in for generations," he added.
Sgt. Hartman said there are several meal options on base.
"The food on post, it's... pretty good for the most part," said Sgt. Hartman. "Now, the provided restaurants and stuff on posts, it's pretty much staying across the board."
At Sen. Hickenlooper's Virtual Town Hall Wednesday, he did not reference the issue.
"We've received over 1000 questions for this town hall," said Senator Hickenlooper.
___
A family in Colorado City says illegal dumping near their home is becoming a safety issue
One official told News5 the trash piles could be infested with rats or other dangerous factors, so they are waiting to work with the health department to remove trash from the area.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
