Rather than having separate active duty and reserve components, each of the service’s 9,400 members would be part of a single structure, with some serving on “sustained duty” - the rough equivalent of active status in the other services. Under the proposed system, the Space Force would become the first military service to manage all of its personnel within a single component. Since those surveys often lag behind actual housing prices, officials say the change would make it much easier for DoD to quickly increase the allowances in housing markets where rent costs are skyrocketing in any particular area in a given year.Īnd both bills would create a brand new personnel system for DoD’s newest military service - the Space Force - an idea the Defense Department has been pushing for the past two years.

The House included a similar provision that would remove the requirement that DoD calculate junior members’ housing allowances based on annual local rent surveys. The Senate version includes a measure that would “delink” the allowance rates from specific housing types and make it easier to raise the allowances in areas with high housing demand, according to a summary provided by the Senate Armed Services Committee. In addition, Greg Schlichter of TransUnion will provide an industry perspective.įor junior enlisted military members, both bills also have provisions that could raise their housing allowances. Insight by TransUnion: During this exclusive webinar, moderator Jory Heckman and guest James Ross of the VA Office of Inspector General will explore fraud investigation and data protection strategy at the VA Office of Inspector General.

A provision to achieve that could still be added when the bills reach the House and Senate floors, however, a large faction of House Republicans is pushing an alternative plan that would make all civil servants’ pay increases “merit based.” The Senate Armed Service Committee’s bill, approved behind closed doors on Friday, would authorize $844 billion next year, while the House version, debated in a public session a day earlier, would match the administration’s request.Īnother area of commonality: both committees endorsed the administration’s proposed pay increase for military service members, making it highly likely that they’ll receive a 2024 increase of 5.2%, the largest military pay raise since 2002.įor now, the measures do not include language that would grant the administration’s request for the same pay raise for federal civilian workers. The Senate Armed Service Committee’s bill, approved behind closed doors on Friday, would authorize $844 billion next year, while the House version, debated in a. The House and Senate armed services committees each finished their work on their versions of next year’s defense authorization bill within a day of one another, with both key committees approving overall funding levels that closely match the Biden administrations 2024 funding request of $842 billion in discretionary DoD spending.

Enlisted pay