By SVETLANA SHKOLNIKOVA STARS AND STRIPES • December 18, 2024
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday approved a $895 billion defense policy that in April will give junior enlisted troops a historic 14.5% pay raise and all other service members a 4.5% pay bump in January.
The National Defense Authorization Act passed the Senate in an 85-14 vote despite opposition from some Democratic senators over a provision that bans coverage of certain gender-affirming care for the transgender children of troops.
“This year’s NDAA is not a perfect bill, but it nonetheless has some very good things,” said Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The bill outlines $850 billion in expenditure for the Pentagon, including the significant pay increase for E-1 to E-4 service members. It also authorizes $33.5 billion for nuclear weapons programs in the Energy Department, and $11.6 billion for defense-related spending across other agencies.
The Senate Armed Services Committee had sought to add another $25 billion to the total $895 billion spending plan, but lawmakers ultimately stuck to the amount requested by President Joe Biden and mandated by last year’s debt limit deal.
Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the top Republican on the committee, led the push for a higher top line, arguing it was needed to fund missile defense, shipbuilding, counter-drone technology and other modernization programs. “We are currently experiencing the most dangerous national security moment since World War II — one need only scroll through the headlines summarizing this year’s world events,” Wicker said Wednesday.
“Congress needed to respond in kind at every possible opportunity.” Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican minority leader, said the legislation represented a “tremendous missed opportunity” to boost defense spending and forced lawmakers to give junior troops a large pay raise at the expense of investments in critical weapons and munitions. “If this NDAA offers any valuable lesson, it’s that we have a tremendous amount of work to do,” he said.
The 14.5% pay raise for junior troops was a compromise between the Senate and the House after months of negotiations. House lawmakers had lobbied for a 19.5% pay hike, citing steep inflation and the rising cost of living, while the Senate countered with a 5.5% pay raise. The White House opposed singling out junior troops for extra pay, warning of billions in added costs and premature changes to military pay tables that are due to be revised next year. Junior enlisted service members now earn as little as $24,000 in basic pay but are also provided various allowances, including housing. The Pentagon announced last week that the housing allowance will increase by an average of 5.4% next year.
Lawmakers drafting this year’s defense policy bill made a concerted effort to focus on improving troop quality of life. Other provisions to meet that goal include investments in new barracks and family housing, child care centers and health care.
The bill also authorizes spending on military hardware. It approves two Virginia-class attack submarines despite the Navy only wanting one and authorizes three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers instead of the two the Navy had requested. Funding authorization for the Constellation-class frigate was cut from a requested $1.2 billion to $50 million as part of $31 billion in cuts to programs and systems lawmakers deemed too obsolete and costly.
They also refused to expand troop access to in vitro fertilization and require women to register for the Selective Service should there be a military draft — all measures Democrats had advocated for.
More than 20 Democratic senators this week unsuccessfully attempted to amend the final bill to remove a controversial provision that limits treatment for underage children of service members who suffer from gender dysphoria. The provision bans Tricare, the military’s health care program, from covering treatments “that could result in sterilization” and was inserted into the defense legislation by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. At least 4,000 minor children of service members are receiving gender-affirming care.
“I, for one, trust these service members and their families to make their own decisions about health care without politicians butting in,” said Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. “It’s flat out wrong to put this provision in this bill and take away a service member’s freedom to make that decision for their families.” Most Democrats in the House voted against the defense bill last week due to the provision.
The House’s version initially contained other divisive measures targeting troop abortion access and Pentagon diversity initiatives, but they were dropped during negotiations with the Senate. Some divisive culture war provisions remained, however. The bill continues a hiring freeze for diversity-related positions at the Defense Department and bars military academies from teaching critical race theory, an academic concept that argues racism is systematic.
There was bipartisan agreement to give the Air Force permission to transfer Air National Guard units that perform space missions into the Space Force without gubernatorial consent. The provision affects 578 personnel and was strongly opposed by Guard officials and all state governors. The bill next heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature and is expected to become law by the end of the year.
