Plans for a massive pay boost for junior enlisted troops this spring and a 4.5% salary hike for all service members are set to become law after Senate officials finalized the annual defense authorization bill on Wednesday.
The $850 billion defense spending policy measure easily passed the chamber 85-14 despite opposition from some Democratic lawmakers who raised concerns about transgender care restrictions in the legislation. The bill passed the House by a 281-140 margin last week, and now heads to the White House for the president’s signature.
The expansive bill contains a host of authorities for military bonuses, specialty pays and support stipends, and is considered must-pass each year. The Senate vote marks the 64th consecutive approval for the measure, making it one of very few pieces of legislation to regularly navigate through contentious debates in Congress.
The biggest policy change this year is the junior enlisted pay raise. Around 500,000 troops E-4 and below will benefit from the targeted salary hike, which will increase their base salaries by 10% above the annual military-wide pay adjustment.
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Currently, many of those troops earn less than $30,000 in base pay, although they receive other financial compensation like housing stipends and free health care. The targeted raise will bring nearly all of them above that $30,000 mark.
Troops ranked E-2 with two years service would see their base salary rise from about $27,000 now to $31,000 in 2025. Troops ranked E-4 with three years in the ranks would see their pay rise from $35,000 a year to more than $40,000 next year.
The extra 10% pay boosts for junior enlisted will go into effect in April, while the 4.5% raise for all troops would go into effect in January.
The 4.5% raise represents the third consecutive year of across-the-board paycheck boosts of more than 4%. For an E-7 with 10 years military experience, or an O-2 with two years experience, the 4.5% raise means about $200 more each month and roughly $2,600 a year in extra salary.
For an O-4 with 12 years in service, the 4.5% raise would mean about $400 more each month and nearly $5,000 more per year.
More quality of life boosts
The pay raise language is part of a broader service member quality-of-life push within the legislation, designed to help with recruiting and retention by making military life more appealing to families.
Prompted by criticism from advocates on military housing and child care issues, the authorization bill calls for Congress to fund $954 million in new housing maintenance accounts, $569 million for new construction of new family housing units and $1.2 billion for construction of new barracks.
It also requires the Defense Department to designate officials responsible for oversight of unaccompanied housing and increase the frequency of inspections.
Under new rules, military leaders would be able to award larger bonuses and new hiring incentives to boost the number of medical personnel in military health care facilities, as well as hike child care workers’ salaries to improve staff availability at classrooms on military bases.
Lawmakers also included language to make it easier for military spouses to transfer professional licenses between states and mandate improved reading and literacy rates for Defense Department schools, also aimed at improving quality of life for military families.
“Every single man and woman who serves in our Armed Forces made the selfless decision to serve and protect our nation. It is vital that we ensure that our service members and their families are taken care of,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said in a statement after his chamber’s passage of the bill.
Transgender troubles
A host of controversial social issues — such as eliminating the Pentagon’s abortion access policy — were stripped from the draft authorization bill during negotiations between the House and Senate.
But language barring the military health care system from providing specialized care for minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria was left in the measure, upsetting activists and House Democrats.
Last week, a coalition of nearly 300 advocacy groups publicly decried the “anti-military family, anti-trans provision” as forcing some troops “to choose between their military careers and providing health care for their loved ones.”
The language would not apply to adults seeking treatment for gender dysphoria, only dependents under 18. Congressional negotiators said the goal is to prevent TRICARE from covering any “medical interventions that could result in sterilization” of minors.
On Tuesday, ahead of the Senate vote, advocates rallied outside the Capitol to push for a change in the language or a presidential veto of the legislation.
“A bill that is supposed to be about pay increases and improvements to their quality of life has been hijacked by anti-LGBTQ+ animus,” said Brandon Wolf, press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. “This stuff does not belong in the bill.”
Several Senate Democrats also spoke out against the language this week, but it was not enough to prevent passage of the measure. President Joe Biden has spoken out in favor of the rights of transgender individuals but is expected to sign the authorization bill into law.
President-elect Donald Trump has been critical of pro-transgender services in the Defense Department and Department of Veterans Affairs and could push for further restrictions when he takes office next year.
Spending plans
The authorization bill serves as a guideline for funding and spending priorities, but Congress will still have to approve a full defense appropriations bill before money for many of the programs is available.
As part of the compromise bill, lawmakers authorized a second Virginia-class attack submarine and a third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer for the Navy. It includes plans to buy 58 F-35 aircraft, 10 fewer than what Pentagon planners had requested.
The legislation calls for a reduction in the number of active-duty personnel for the Army (442,300, down 4,700 from FY24 authorization levels) and Navy (332,300, down 5,500), but a slight increase in Space Force end strength (9,800, up 400).
It also would allow Pentagon officials to transfer some Air National Guard units into the Space Force without the permission of governors, despite strong opposition from state and Guard officials.
White House officials have not yet said when Biden could sign the measure into law.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
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