White House Submits 2027 Budget Proposal Including 7% Military Pay Raise

Joe Wallace

The White House has released its Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal. It contains a plan to increase national defense spending to $1.5 trillion, a 44 percent surge that stands in contrast to a proposed $73 billion reduction in non-defense discretionary spending.

White House Submits 2027 Budget Proposal Including 7% Military Pay Raise

The proposal includes a 7% military pay raise with 3 separate tiers for military personnel. This structure provides the largest percentage increases to junior service members.

• 7% increase for personnel ranked E-5 and below.
• 6% increase for personnel ranked E-6 to O-3.
• 5% increase for personnel ranked O-4 and above.

If approved by Congress, these raises would take effect on January 1, 2027. The budget allocates a total of 234 billion dollars for military personnel costs to support these increases and other workforce requirements.

You can see what your pay would look like for 2027 on our Military Pay Calculator found on our 2026 Military Pay Charts page.  Just use the drop-down and locate the 2027 Proposed Pay increase.

But this proposed budget includes more than just military spending, though that is an important part. The administration’s request includes $1.15 trillion in discretionary spending and $350 billion in mandatory funding.

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2027 Defense Budget

The 2027 Budget for the Department of Defense includes these specific spending initiatives and allocations:

• 1.5 trillion dollars in total national defense funding.
• 1.15 trillion dollars for the base discretionary budget.
• 350 billion dollars in mandatory funding via a proposed reconciliation package.
• 234 billion dollars for military personnel costs.
• 7% pay increase for personnel E-5 and below.
• 6% pay increase for personnel E-6 to O-3.
• 5% pay increase for personnel O-4 and above.
• 244 billion dollars for equipment procurement and modernization.
• 190 billion dollars for research, development, testing, and evaluation.
• 478 billion dollars for operations and maintenance.
• A $200 billion supplemental request for military operations involving Israel and Iran.
• 66 billion dollars for a shipbuilding program to construct 18 battle force and 16 non-battle force ships.
• 17.5 billion dollars for a CONUS-based missile defense system.
• 3.4 billion dollars for the procurement of 32 F-35 aircraft within the base budget.
• 5.6 billion dollars for the procurement of 53 F-35 aircraft within the reconciliation package.
• 1.47 billion dollars for border operational requirements, including sensors and surveillance.
• 216 million dollars for a National Guard Reaction Force.
• 315 million dollars for the National Defense Stockpile to acquire critical minerals.
• 41 billion dollars for the National Nuclear Security Administration.
• Funding for the construction of battleships and next-generation frigates.
• Investment in AI-enabled defense technologies.
• Resources for the Military Health System to focus on combat medical readiness.
• Funding for twelve critical munitions and domestic industrial base expansion.

The Navy gets $65.8 billion for shipbuilding, there is $32.8 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the administration wants to cancel some $15 billion in climate initiatives, including spending from previously authorized funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Also targeted? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which faces a $1.6 billion reduction. The proposal targets NOAA’s educational grants and research programs, which the administration characterizes as spreading “environmental alarm.”

Some may ask why this is mentioned in an article about defense spending, but NOAA’s work is crucial because military pilots rely on weather data for mission planning.

Similarly, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is marked for a $4.6 billion cut, while the Department of Energy’s Office of Science would see a $1.1 billion reduction, which some say effectively ends research into climate change.

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