Defense bill provides pay raises of up to 14.5% but overlooks some health care proposals

Military personnel, including Kitsap’s more than 14,000 active-duty military personnel, could expect a pay raise of at least 4.5 percent and an increase in their basic housing allowance by 5. 4% in the new year.

More precisely, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2025, authorizes a 14.5 percent pay increase for junior military members (ranked E-1 through E-4) and supports a 4.5 percent pay increase for all other military personnel. About 14,798 active-duty military personnel work at Naval Base Kitsap, out of a total workforce of more than 38,000, according to the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance. Kitsap 2023 Best Employers Report.

Although the increase in 2025 is slightly lower than the 5.2% in 2024 and the 4.6% in 2023, this increase is higher than any other year since 2007. For example, the salary increase was 2.7% in 2022 and 3% in 2021.

The $895 billion defense bill passed the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. He is now waiting for President Biden to sign it.

Some Democrats voted against the defense bill, which generally has bipartisan support, after the President voted against it. Mike Johnson (R-La.) added language to the bill that would restrict the use of TRICARE funds for gender-affirming care, according to The Hill. The invoice prohibitions The DoD must provide minors with medical treatments for gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization.

The law was passed in the House of Representatives on December 11. Democrat Derek Kilmer, an outgoing representative from Washington’s Sixth District, voted no on the spending bill, expressing frustration with the process that removed what he called bipartisan measures, while including some controversial partisan measures . .

“There were elements that I was very much in favor of,” including raising military salaries, Kilmer said Wednesday.

Kilmer said he ultimately voted against the final version after leaving out ideas regarding military health care. This included funding that would have expanded health benefits for Kitsap military personnel, including one known as the Midwives Act, which would have helped address the shortage of OBGYN services in the region, a Kilmer said.

The legislation would have increased access to maternity care for military members by expanding TRICARE coverage to other types of certified midwives, he said.

Housing allowance increases by 5.4%, as in 2024

Another change to military benefits in the new year is the increase in their housing allowance. Service members will receive an average 5.4% increase in their Basic Housing Allowance (BAH) in 2025, according to the Department of Defense. announcement on December 13. The new rates will come into effect on January 1.

The Pentagon said the new rates reflect recent trends in the rental housing market in the 299 military housing areas used to calculate the BAH each year.

The 5.4% increase in BAH is the same as in 2024.

This article was originally published on Kitsap Sun: Military pay and housing allowances will increase in 2025