The House Armed Services Committee has advanced its 2025 National Defense Authorization Act draft to the House floor.
A 19.5% pay increase for junior enlisted military members is included in that draft, which now goes under review in the House of Representatives as the next steps in the NDAA approval process begin.
A Near-Unanimous Vote
The House Armed Services Committee debated the pay raise, one of the largest ever for junior troops, and approved it on a 57-1 vote. In typical years, military quality of life has been a feature of the NDAA, but in the current draft, the focus on these issues extends to the bill’s name itself.
This year, the committee released its draft of the NDAA under the title, the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act.
Related: Military Money 101
What the Proposed 2025 NDAA Contains
The House Armed Services Committee’s version of the 2025 NDAA goes to the House floor for debate with the following provisions:
- A 4.5% basic pay increase for all servicemembers regardless of rank.
- A 15% basic pay increase for junior enlisted troops between the ranks of E1 and E4.
- A proposed expansion of the Basic Allowance for Housing to cover 100% of all housing expenses instead of the current 95%.
- Proposed expansion of the Basic Needs Allowance to include more troops in the program.
- An oversight requirement for the DoD to report on the costs of military housing maintenance.
- Automatic Selective Service registry for all males aged 18 to 26 years old.
- A proposed separate branch of military service dedicated to cybersecurity.
Related: Military Pay Charts
What Happens Next
None of the above measures have been signed into law. They are all contained in the draft of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which has been approved by the House Armed Services Committee and is on the House floor to be debated further.
Once the House version of the NDAA is approved, the Senate must approve a version of the Act, and a House/Senate compromise version is needed before the NDAA heads to the President’s desk for signature.
This is a process where many early versions of the proposed NDAA are revised along the way. Some of the early provisions, including the 19.5% pay raise for junior troops, are often subject to major changes along the way.
The early versions of the NDAA, such as this one, are potentially quite different once they make it to the President’s desk to be signed into law. This is an ongoing story.
Related: Military Money 101