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handle is hein.crs/govepgo0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FY2025 NDAA: Military Basic Pay Reform
Proposal
Updated June 14, 2024
In 2023, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) established a Quality of Life (QOL) Panel to
develop proposals for an FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (FY2025 NDAA). On April 8,
2024, the QOL Panel released its final report. Several ofthe Panel's recommendations were included in
the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement Act (H.R. 8070). The bill became the vehicle for the
House version of the FY2025 NDAA, known as the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025.
One of the pillars of the Panel's effort was pay and compensation, which included a review of the basic
pay tables. In its final report, the Panel noted concern about the adequacy of junior enlisted pay and
recommended a pay raise of 150% for enlisted servicemembers in paygrades E-1 to E-4 with a smaller
raise for those between E-4 and E-5 to continue to incentivize retention at these higher paygrades.
Congress is considering whether to adopt these initiatives and other related compensation proposals as
part of an FY2025 NDAA.
Background
Congress appropriates funds for military pay and benefits, generally authorized under Title 37 of United
States Code (U.S.C.). Basic pay is typically the largest component of military cash compensation, which
also includes housing and subsistence allowances. The amount of basic pay varies based on a
servicemember's paygrade (rank) and years of military service. The Defense Finance and Accounting
Service (DFAS) publishes pay tables for the calendar year. 37 U.S.C. 1009(c) provides a permanent
formula for an automatic annual increase in basic pay that is indexed to inflation. This inflation-indexed
pay increase generally applies across all paygrades; however, Congress has in the past authorized
alternative pay raises or caps for specific paygrades (see CRS In Focus IF10260, Defense Primer:
Military Pay Raise). The FY2025 President's budget requested a proposed pay increase for all military
servicemembers of 4.5%, consistent with the statutory formula.
The most recent reform of military pay tables was authorized in the FY2007 NDAA (P.L. 109-364). It
included targeted pay raises for warrant officers and enlisted members serving in the mid-career (E-5 to
E-7) grades and extended the basic pay table to 40 years, providing longevity step increases for the
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN12367
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress

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