House lawmakers want 5.2 percent pay raise for troops

House Armed Services Committee lawmakers are backing a plan to bump service members’ paychecks by 5.2 percent next year, the largest raise in decades.  

Military personnel would see the raise — the largest such boost in 22 years — beginning in January, according to budget plans on the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), unveiled by Republican members of the committee on Monday. 

Junior members could see an additional pay bump under the plan, which also seeks to create a yet unspecified monthly bonus for troops rank E-6 and lower to help them counter inflation on everyday necessities including food and housing.    

In addition, the draft bill looks to give junior enlisted service members higher housing stipends in areas where rent prices have risen and improve how the military calculates the Basic Needs Allowance, a stipend created in 2021 and meant for military families near the poverty line to stretch their take-home dollar.  

Combined, the measures would mean junior enlisted troops would see at least a $1,500 bump in their annual pay, while senior enlisted and junior officers would get closer to $3,000. 

The military has had pay raises that matched private sector increases every year for the past seven years, but smaller raises from 2014 to 2017 combined with recent inflation means service members are still behind their civilian counterparts. A 5.2 percent raise would keep military pay squared with the raise in civilian wages, according to federal estimates. 

The pay raise wanted by House GOP lawmakers appears to have bipartisan support as it mirrors President Biden’s recommendation for a 5.2 percent pay hike, included in the Pentagon’s budget proposal released earlier this year.  

Lawmakers this week will begin the process for crafting and reconciling the House and Senate versions of the NDAA before sending the final bill to Biden’s desk later this year. 

The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to unveil its NDAA draft next week.  

The NDAA, a massive policy measure that lays out spending guidelines for the military as well as operational changes, is considered a must-pass bill that has been signed into law for the past 62 years. 

Congressional appropriations committees are in charge of allocating the dollars for the spending plans, though such details have not been released.