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FY2025 NDAA: Military Basic Pay Reform

Proposal



Updated September 10, 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). Several of the
Panel's recommendations from the final report 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.
The Panel's effort included a review of the military basic pay tables. In its final report, the Panel noted
concern about the adequacy of junior enlisted pay and recommended pay raises for E-1 through E-4
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 as published by the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service (DFAS) 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 occasionally authorized alternative pay
raises or caps for specific paygrades (see CRS In Focus IF10260, Defense Primer: Military Pay Raise).
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
highest officer, warrant officer, and enlisted grades. The committee report to accompany the bill stated the
targeted raises would allow these groups to achieve a level of income that is more comparable with their
private sector peers.


                                                                Congressional Research Service
                                                                  https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                      IN12367

CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress

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