Lawmakers push for a bigger military pay raise and 27,000 more troops

House lawmakers want loosely backed a 2.1 percent military pay raise for next year and a force expansion totaling troops in 2017 and pushed for a boost military end strength by 27,000 troops beyond the over Pentagon's requests, according to in their first draft of the annual defense authorization bill released Tuesday.

Lawmakers' 2.1 percent pay raise recommendation matches the expected jump in private sector wages for 2017, and technically surpasses goes above the White House’s call plan for a 1.6 percent pay hike next year. The House Armed Services Committee staff said they are confident lawmakers can override any possibility the president will substitute his preferred rate. But they’ll need the Senate's support.

If, ultimately, they are unsuccessful, a 1.6 percent pay raise in 2017 would be the highest for troops since 2013, and would continue a six-year streak of military pay hikes that fall below 2.0 percent. Defense Department officials have said the lower-than-expected raise will save the department more than $300 million in fiscal 2017, and more than $2.2 billion over the next five years.

But the differences in the pay plans can have a noticeable big effect on military families’ finances.

For The gap between the White House pay raise plan and the expected 2.1-percent boost for an E-4 with three years of service, the gap between the two pay raise plans totals about $136 a year in pay. For an E-7 with 10 years, it’s almost $228.

Among officers, the lower pay raise plan would drop the annual earnings of an O-2 with two years service by roughly $234 in 2017. An O-4 with 12 years would effectively lose about $425.  

Troops' And outside advocates have argued emphasized that such losses are significant, saying is a real loss, since the military pay won’t keep up with private sector wages and costs. They estimate the pay gap between civilian paychecks and military salaries will increase to more than 5 percent if the administration's White House's 2017 plan becomes law.

The Army, Marine Corps and Air Force all would see personnel growth end strength boosts over current levels under the House measure, a stark contrast from White House plans to trim each of the services.

Lawmakers want 25,000 more soldiers for the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. Additionally, the Under the House plan, Army's active-duty force end strength would rise from 475,000 to 480,000 soldiers, instead of dropping to 460,000 under planned Pentagon cuts. House Republicans in the House have roundly criticized that drawdown, saying the move will leave the service degraded and potentially unprepared.

Air Force personnel would grow by 285 individuals instead of shrinking by almost 4,000, to 317,000.

The But the House plan does not specify how it would they’ll pay for the personnel increases, and Defense Department officials have said they cannot provide adequate training and equipment for those force levels without hefty increases elsewhere in the defense budget.

Defense officials repeatedly have pushed for one, arguing that post-war military cutbacks have left the services with too much costly infrastructure. But lawmakers have regularly opposed the idea, citing the still-ongoing costs associated with the last round of base closures 2005 base closing round and potential risk of losing loss of surge capabilities.

It also includes a Pentagon-led overhaul of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including changes such as expanding the statute of limitations for child abuse offenses and fraudulent enlistment. The changes also adds new offenses to the UCMJ code, including improper use of government computers and enhanced penalties against individuals who victimize military recruits and trainees.

Leaders from both chambers have expressed optimism that a final authorization bill can be sent to the president before end end of the fiscal year ends, Sept. 30. But that has only happened a few times in the last three decades, and both chambers are scheduled to leave Capitol Hill for a two-month break this summer in advance of the November elections.