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1 Atlas of Military Compensation, 2024 [1] (January 30, 2025)

handle is hein.congrec/asomrycsn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ATLAS OF MILITARY COMPENSATION,' 2024 Compensation for military personnel is found in both the defense and nondefense parts of the federal bud- get. Defense funding, in the Department of Defense's (DoD's) budget, is mostly for current military personnel. Nondefense funding in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is mostly for former military personnel. Since 2000, the total budget for military compensa- tion has been rising steadily, even though the number of military personnel and veterans has been declining. Spending by VA has accounted for most of that in- crease, rising from a small fraction of the total to about 61 percent of military compensation in the President's 2025 budget request. In the 2025 budget request, total military compen- sation is $600 billion. (Of that total, $236 billion is for DoD and $365 billion is for VA.) That amount represents an increase of 162 percent since 1980 (and 151 percent since 1999). Military Compensation: Defense and Nondefense Spen ling Most military compensation in DoD's budget is funded through the appropriations for military personnel. That funding accounted for 28 percent of DoD's total budget in 2025, down from 34 percent in 1980 (because of reductions in the size of the force). Some elements of compensation (for medical care and family programs) are funded through the operation and maintenance (O&M) and family housing accounts. Budget of the Department of Defense Billions of 2025 dollars 500 rL Large-scale - operations in Iraq --- and Afghanistan Budget of the Department of Veterans Affairs Billions of 2025 dollars 500 r Operation and maintenance 400 300 Mi itary personnel Procurement Research, development, test, and evaluation Military construction 1985 1995 2005 2015 200 100 0 - 1980 2025 request , VA's total budget 1985 1995 2005 2015 2025 request VA's budget funds income security programs (mostly disability compen- sation but also pension and survivors' compensation), medical care (in VA's facilities as well as at private-sector facilities), and other benefits and activities (mostly educational benefits but also administrative activities). The budget mostly funds benefits for veterans, but some benefits (such as VA-guaranteed home loans) can be accessed while serving in the military. After experiencing very little growth from 1980 to 1999, VA's budget has more than quadrupled in real terms since 1999. The budgets for income security and medical care account for most of that growth; in the 2025 budget request, each of those programs is approaching the size of DoD's military personnel budget. VA's funding has grown since 2000, though the number of veterans has been declining. Furthermore, the number of combat veterans has been decreasing as a share of veterans who receive dis- ability compensation-even though the United States was engaged in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than 10 years. Because of pol- icy changes, veterans who served after 9/11 (known as Gulf War II veterans) are more likely to get benefits, whether they served in combat or not. 400 300 200 100 0 1980

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