THIS HAS TO PASS

At issue, whether soldiers can keep unused leave days beyond the "peace time limits' if deployed for long periods in the Global War on Terror.

Though they differ on much in the 2004 defense spending bill, both houses of Congress agree that servicemembers fighting America’s war on terrorism should be able to carry 120 days of leave to the next fiscal year.

For almost two years, troops engaged in the war on terrorism have been able to seek waivers to carry up to 90 days of annual accrued leave, a month more than the 60-day peacetime limit.

But the war on terrorism has committed more and more troops to regions far from home, and now the Army is calling for yearlong deployments to missions in Iraq, prompting some lawmakers to seek ways to better compensate those deployed troops, said aides for both the House and Senate armed service committees.

The measure is tucked into the 2004 defense budget proposal, now in conference as the House and Senate work out differences. The bill won’t be worked again until House members return from their summer recess on Sept. 2.