From staff reports WASHINGTON, D.C. – It’s not final yet, but Congress is considering a 14.5% pay raise for junior troops in 2025.
The Defense Bill, also known as The Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (FY25 NDAA), passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week (281-140) and now goes to the U.S. Senate for approval. The measure authorizes $895 billion for national defense, which honors the spending cap mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, according to a press release from insidedefense.com.
If approved, all service members will receive a 4.5% pay bump in 2025. The extra raise for junior enlisted troops (ranked E-1 through E-4) would begin in April, according to the bill text reported in a press release from the House Armed Forces Committee.
An Oklahoma-based news organization, Gaylord News, reported that all five of the state’s representatives voted in favor of the spending package that includes other quality-of-life improvements, in addition to the service member pay raises. Oklahoma’s five congressional representatives include Kevin Hern, Dist. 1; Josh Brecheen, Dist. 2; Frank Lucas, Dist. 3; Tom Cole, Dist. 4; and Stephanie Bice, Dist. 5. All are Republicans.
“I am very proud to have supported the FY25 NDAA on the House Floor,” said Cole in a recent press release. “It sends a powerful message to our adversaries: the United States stands strong, and our men and women in uniform are ready and equipped to defend our nation and its people if necessary.” Cole’s congressional district includes Chickasha, Duncan and Lawton.
He also said that the legislation “will guarantee our courageous service members will have the resources they need to be fully prepared and ready to respond when called upon. It enhances the quality of life for our military personnel and introduces much needed oversight at the Pentagon, which will save the taxpayers’ money.”
Military.com reporter Rebecca Kheel wrote last week that other quality-of-life improvements for soldiers are proposed in the defense measure. It would expand eligibility for the Basic Needs Allowance, which is a stipend meant to alleviate food insecurity. The income cap would be raised from 150% of federal poverty guidelines to 200%.
Also on the list are proposals to improve barracks, which includes a requirement for the Pentagon to create a digital system for service members to submit work orders for barracks maintenance requests, a mandate for the Pentagon to provide Congress with more information about its budget needs for barracks and authorization to provide free wireless internet to service members in all barracks.
The article goes on to say that other quality- of-life provisions in the bill include allowing service members to seek some specialty health care without TRICARE referrals and requiring pay for on-base child care workers to be competitive with the private sector. In addition, proposals include measures to make it easier for military spouses to transfer professional licenses between states.
A summary of the FY25 NDAA Provisions by the Armed Services Committee was released by House Democrats and includes more than 60 talking points.
Under the category of Pay and Compensation, the 14.5% potential pay raise for junior enlisted service members and the 4.5% basic pay increase for all other service members is listed at the top. The measure would also require the evaluation of the current calculation methods for Basic Allowance for Subsistence to a realistic allowance for service members’ meals. The proposal would also allow service members and families to ship and store up to two privately owned vehicles during a permanent change of station move to certain overseas locations. It would remove the 5-year time limitation on civilian employees serving in a competitive position overseas, allowing civilian employees to elect to stay in their position longer and would also expand the Junior Reserves Officers’ Training Corps programs.
The Senate is expected to vote on the Defense Bill before the end of December.