Posted on 05/15/2010 7:06:50 AM PDT by SandRat
A House panel has voted to give the military a 1.9 percent pay raise next January. That would be a half percentage point higher than what the Obama administration wanted simply to match private sector wage growth.
The House armed services subcommittee on military personnel panel also endorsed increases next year in hostile fire pay and family separation allowance, enough to restore the relative value of these payments to what they were in 2004 when they last were adjusted. But the same panel said the money tap is off for expanding entitlements to reserve personnel, disabled retirees or widows.
“The subcommittee continues to be frustrated by direct spending barriers that prevent us from making progress on … concurrent receipt of military retirement pay and VA disability, the widow’s tax on the survivor benefits program annuity, and reform of retirement for reserve members,” said Rep. Susan Davis D-Calif., the panel’s chairwoman.
In voting to continue a 12-year string of annual military raises set higher than wage growth nationally, the subcommittee ignored pleas from Defense officials not to drive up personnel costs this way and thereby squeeze dollars available for equipment, supplies and other readiness needs.
But Davis said the extra half percent raise will continue to narrow a pay gap with civilian peers, which stood at 13.5 percent in 1999 but will be down to 1.9 percent in January.
Days earlier, outside pay experts told the Senate personnel subcommittee that the “gap” argument ignores the hefty gains made to military housing allowances over the last decade. Military pay, they said, already is very competitive, particularly in this distressed economy.
But Davis indicated nine years of war allow other facts to hold sway. It is, she said, “painfully apparent that the extraordinary high operations tempo has exacted a high penalty on our service members and their families.”
Support for one more bump in military pay was unanimous on the 14-member subcommittee. Rep. Joe Wilson, S.C., ranking Republican, said “growing opposition” to adding an extra half percent “on the assertion that military pay now exceeds that of comparable civilian jobs. That’s a false comparison. I would challenge anyone to find a civilian job that has the same set of requirements and risks” as military personnel face.
As to the assertion that personnel costs are crowding out funds for other defense priorities, Wilson said the answer is bigger defense budgets, not “asking military personnel to take less.”
Both Davis and Wilson expressed regret that dollars couldn’t be found for other personnel priorities involving expansion of entitlements for reservists, disabled retirees and certain widows drawing survivor benefits.
Money couldn’t be found, for example, to support President Obama’s call again to allow concurrent receipt of retired pay and disability compensation to 103,000 “Chapter 61” retirees who were forced by disability to leave service short of full 20-year careers. Obama has asked that these retirees be allowed to draw Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay. However, his budget request failed to earmark money to pay for this initiative with its estimated cost of $5.4 billion over its first 10 years. The House personnel subcommittee couldn’t find the money either.
Nor could the panel find money to lower from 60 the age at which reserve retirement begins, or to end the offset of Survivor Benefit Plan payments for widows who choose to draw VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. DIC is payable to a surviving spouse if a service member dies on active duty and if the member dies in retirement from service-connected ailments or injuries.
“I intend to attempt to address these issues at the full (armed services) committee mark-up,” Wilson said. But offering amendments to make these changes to the defense bill become mere gestures if hundred of millions of dollars can’t be found to pay for them.
When the full committee takes up the bill later this month, details will become available on planned increases to hostile fire pay and family separation allowances. The House bill also would authorize TRICARE to extend health care coverage to dependent children out to age 26, and to restore housing allowances for dual military couples serving on sea duty.
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Wow,a whole 1.9%.So generous for our bravest of brave..
Why aren’t the puke teacher’s unions in New Jersey (where my new hero Chris Christie lives) complaining about a 1.9% raise for our folks in uniform?
The military desrevres a raise much more than NJ teachers.
and not a mite for reserve personnel, disabled retirees or widows.
Nine years of war? This is crazy. End it now. If our government does not allow our military to fight this war the way a war should be fought, get out. Even Ancient Rome knew that if you fought a war for too long, you will loose in the long run. All the best to our troops and we should apologize to them for our government.
“That would be a half percentage point higher than what the Obama administration wanted”
The Pentagon was asking for a higher increases and Obama shot it down. So they float a low-ball number about and give it a half a point more, and Obama takes credit for giving more that was asked for.
I fully support the military but we are broke. I support compensation increases only for areas of critical need without the ability to recruit without the increases.
Then lets get rid of entitlements for illegals and the lazy. After all these people benefit from the military by living in a country that provides freedom and liberty.
All cost of living increases for government employees, including the military, should be frozen. Raising military basic pay is politically popular, but it’s fiscally irresponsible. Basic pay increases have a decades-long impact on the budget.
The military is already well paid. Compare pay and benefits for an E-4 or E-5 with 4 years of service versus someone in the private sector who also doesn’t have a college degree. They aren’t even close. I’m not saying they should be, but government doesn’t have a bottomless pit of money.
If combat is the concern, then double or triple combat pay and family separation allowances. That would help reimburse those who are making greater sacrifices without blowing the budget over the long haul.
Okay, but let us be honest.
What exactly does a company like Haliburton pay an American civillian with no college degree to work in a middle eastern warzone?
I think you had better have both items at least be on the same continent in your comparisons
Watch what happens to the VA healthcare system once Ocare really comes into effect...Because the VA which supports those who served in the military will be dumped into Ocare.
It is time for FRs to check and see if their congressional representative voted against this and get after them reminding the candidates their supporting to bring this up as an issue.
. The whole socialist agenda is anti military Look at ROE (rules of engagement) its putting our guys on line in danger...
While its not as bad as Germany’s...German troops in Afganistan can’t fire unless fired upon even if they see a bunch of jhadis comming toward them with guns exposed and drawn. That decision was a holdover from the socialist party...Germany is currently being run by a conservative coalition (which because of the Greek bailout. Merkel’s party lost a majority in a major state in their bundesrat (lower house) because its voters refuse to look into a mirror during a recent election.).
I am being honest. Basic pay increases apply to military no matter where they are posted. I won’t demean any military specialty here by saying some deserve less others. Someone slogging through the hills of Afghanistan deserves to make more (for the same grade) than someone sitting in an office in the US. I think combat pay in particular should be very generous. Plus, combat pay won’t continue to inflate the budget once war is over.
WOW a whole 1.9% pay raise to risk you life daily! Is this the Gates pay raise cut? He said their health care COSTS TO MUCH.
So will the retired over 65 on Tricare for Life + Medicare B.
I know my commie rep voted for this piece of garbage.
TN just lost a Son this past week. Rest in peace SPC Jeremy Brown. Thank you for your service. (tears)
http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13517
DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Spc. Jeremy L. Brown, 20, of McMinnville, Tenn., died May 9 at Contingency Outpost Zerok, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) public affairs office at 270-798-9962
Coalition Military Fatalities By Year
It should also be Income Tax free both state and federal.
People in Kuwait were getting combat pay along with people serving in the streets of Mosul....combat pay is a nice idea but it is blanket coverage.
I am not against it I just understand it is not always used by those facing adversity.
Bear in mind you might be the guy in the rear with the gear at times or the guy in the streets playing with Haji.
I’ve mostly been the former but I’ve had the honor of being the latter in a bunch of different situations.
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