House Armed Services Committee Democrats Introduce the “Give Our Troops A Raise Act”
Washington, DC – Today, Reps. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Tom O'Halleran (D-AZ) introduced legislation to revise the rules that dictate pay raises for members of our military in order to provide more generous increases in compensation.
Under the Give Our Troops a Raise Act, members of the military would receive a well-earned 2.9% raise in the coming fiscal year – an increase from the current 2.4%. That's because this critical legislation would amend the permanent formula under Sec 1009 of Title 37 for automatic annual increases in basic pay, increasing the annual raise by 0.5 percent for the next two fiscal years – a return to the formula as it existed between 2000 and 2006.
"After 16 years of combat overseas and at a time when our economy is improving and the ranks of our Armed Forces are expanding, the moment has come for Congress to revisit the pay raises we provide our brave men and women in uniform," said Rep. Gallego, a Marine Corps veteran.
"Through reforms to the basic allowance for housing, TRICARE and other programs, America's political leaders have nickel and dimed our service members. And to make matters worse, both President Obama and now President Trump have requested pay raises in their budgets that were below the rate of inflation in private-sector compensation. Especially with the introduction of a new retirement system in 2018 that will require service member contributions, now is the time to boost military pay.
"Our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines deserve pay increases that are competitive with opportunities in the private sector and that better reflect the gravity of their sacrifices on behalf of our nation. We should demonstrate our respect for their service not just in speeches and public gestures, but in their paychecks."
Rep. Tom O'Halleran said, "Every day, our brave service members fight to protect our country and defend our freedoms, and as a nation, we owe them a debt of gratitude. For too long, we have allowed political gamesmanship to get in the way of giving them the pay raise they need and deserve.
"I am proud to support this commonsense legislation that gives the men and women of our Armed Forces a raise and puts a formula in place to ensure they are adequately compensated in the future."