5.5% Pay Raise for Junior Troops: Senate Defense Spending Bill Announced
A Senate panel has endorsed a proposed 5.5% pay increase for junior enlisted troops in 2025.
The Senate version of the 2025 Pentagon spending bill offers a raise for E-1s through E-3s and a 4.5% raise for all other ranks (officer and enlisted). The bill is worth over $850 billion and covers much more than just paychecks.
“I do want to emphasize that the bill does not just focus on aircraft, ships, weapons, and equipment, critical though those are. It also gives our brave, highly skilled service members the pay and benefits they deserve,” said Senator Susan Collins, the vice chair of the Appropriations Committee. Collins was speaking at a meeting to consider the spending package.
The proposed increase is a counteroffer to the House’s suggestion of a 19.5% raise for junior enlisted personnel. That suggestion created controversy, especially when it came to the logistics of paying for it. But clearly, some action is necessary.
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Lawmakers on both sides have concerns that military pay has not kept up with inflation or private-sector wages. This factor has contributed to difficulties in recruiting new troops an retaining current ones.
The House version of the 2025 defense spending proposal released earlier in 2024 included a 19.5% raise for E-1s through E-4s, with a 4.5% raise for all higher-ranking service members. However, the White House has opposed this plan, saying it is premature pending completion of a review of military pay and related issues.
There is also the issue of reconciling higher pay for junior troops without a commensurate rise in mid-level manager pay. According to some sources, under the House plan, some junior troops could earn as much as a Staff Sergeant if steps aren’t taken to reconcile the math.
Despite a bipartisan agreement worth over $20 billion in emergency defense money, budget constraints may prevent Senate lawmakers from approving a raise as large as the House proposal.
Reconciliation between the House and Senate versions could be an issue. Members of the Senate and House of Representatives must compromise over the details of both proposed defense budget bills before that budget can be properly finalized and sent to the President’s desk for signature or veto.
With a September 30 deadline looming and Congress may approve a stopgap spending bill to extend current funding levels, the timeline for reaching an agreement is unclear. Sound familiar? That’s because in the previous year, the House and Senate had difficulty reaching an agreement on defense spending and government funding overall.
In the meantime, the future of that big House pay raise is unclear. Multiple sources report a potential veto of the House version due to a thorough review of enlisted pay. Until that review happens, radical pay increases for junior troops are likely proposals without hope of becoming law.
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About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
