House vs. Senate: Lawmakers debate your 2010 pay and benefits
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
The 2010 military pay and benefits package taking shape in Congress is fairly meager compared with previous years — and may end up being the last time service members get a pay raise that is bigger than the average private-sector increase. Military advocates said the House and Senate Armed Services committees found themselves unable to do much in terms of improving military compensation in their versions of the 2010 defense authorization bill.
The Senate bill is S 1390. The House bill is HR 2647. Once negotiators work out differences, the final bill should be ready for President Barack Obama’s signature by Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year. “By and large, it was a tough year for the Armed Services committees,” said retired Col. Steve Strobridge of the Military Officers Association of America, a former director of compensation for the Air Force. When negotiators meet next month to reconcile differences on specific proposals, one thing not in question is a 3.4 percent pay raise, which is larger than the 2.9 percent average private-sector increase in 2008. This will be the 11th consecutive year that Congress will provide a bigger military raise — but it could be the last, Strobridge warns, because one thing negotiators are considering is a study to compare military and civilian wages. This would not be the first such study, but the results, due next year, would come at a time when Congress will be pressed to further cut overall government costs and the military budget.
Associations representing troops and their families do not like the idea of a pay review, Strobridge said, because it would put a price tag on military benefits. Advocates feel that’s an unfair comparison because many of the benefits are intended to offset the great sacrifices of military life, Strobridge said. Here are some of the major pay-and-benefits issues on the table for 2010, with predictions of the outcome of negotiations: Pay and allowances [and] Pay raise
What: A 3.4 percent across-the-board raise in basic pay and drill pay is included in the House and Senate bills, half a percentage point greater than the hike proposed by the Obama administration.
If enacted, the increase would reduce the perceived gap between military and private-sector pay —calculated by comparing pay raises since 1981 — to just 2.4 percent, the lowest level since 1982, according to the Military Officers Association of America. At its peak in the late 1990s, the gap stood at 13.5 percent.
• When: The raise would take effect Jan. 1, and first appear in mid-January checks.
• Prediction: A sure thing.
Pay assessment
• What: A study comparing military and private-sector pay, intended to put to rest disputes about the existence of the pay gap, is ordered by the Senate bill. The House did not pass a similar provision.
The study, to be done by the U.S. Comptroller General, would compare military pay and benefits, including fringe benefits and tax advantages, with the pay, bonuses and benefits of civilians of similar age, education, experience and occupation.
• When: The study would be completed by April 1, 2010, in time to influence the 2011 defense budget.
• Prediction: A sure thing.
Basic Allowance for Housing
• What: The 2010 budget assumes an average 5 percent increase in housing allowances, although rates, which vary by rank, location and family status, won’t be determined until later this year.
Nothing that would interfere with the 2010 increase is included in either version of the defense policy bill, but the House bill contains a provision that might change payments for senior enlisted members starting in 2011.
It would require a Pentagon report by July 1, 2010, to review the standards on which housing allowances are based. It would look specifically at whether the type of housing covered by the monthly pay meets the needs and expectations of service members.
This provision is a response to complaints that current payments assume that E-9s are the only enlisted paygrade to merit a single-family home. The Defense Department housing standard assumes other enlisted grades are living in apartments, town houses or duplexes.
• When: The 2010 increase takes effect Jan. 1, with rates to be announced in December.
• Prediction: The 2010 increase is a sure thing, but the budgeted 5 percent average increase might be high considering falling housing prices in many regions of the U.S. As to future hikes in housing allowances for enlisted members, the requested study does not resolve the biggest hurdle: allocating more money.
Basic Allowance for Subsistence
• What: The 2010 budget assumes a 3.8 percent increase in Basic Allowance for Subsistence, but the actual rate increase — based on Agriculture Department reports on food prices — won’t be determined until later this year. Neither the House bill nor Senate bill contains provisions changing the fixed formula for increases.
• When: Effective Jan. 1.
• Prediction: A sure thing.
Benefits statement
• What: Service members would get comprehensive statements at certain points in their careers explaining all of the pay and benefits they have earned, under a provision of the Senate bill. The goal is to ensure people who are getting out of the service, especially for medical reasons, know what benefits they have available. That emphasis would set these statements apart from the annual pay and benefits statements now provided, which are intended to show military people the full value of military compensation — to encourage staying in, not getting out.
No similar proposal is in the House version.
• When: Effective when the bill is signed into law. The statements would be issued every two years and upon separation or retirement.
• Prediction: Details about the statements and when they would be issued might change, but there is a good chance of approval.
Supplemental subsistence
• What: The current $500 monthly maximum supplemental subsistence allowance would increase to $1,100 under the Senate bill. The allowance is paid to service members whose families otherwise would be eligible for food stamps, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Families receive just enough in allowance so they do not fall below SNAP income caps.
Fewer than 400 families are expected to qualify.
• When: Payments would increase effective Oct. 1.
• Prediction: A good chance, but not a sure thing. The biggest thing in its favor is the support of first lady Michelle Obama.
Bonuses and special pays
Stop-loss allowance
• What: Two provisions involving the $500 monthly stop-loss allowance are included in the Senate bill. First, the Sept. 30 expiration date for the allowance would be extended to July 1, 2011. Second, National Guard and reserve members would be eligible for stop-loss payments for pre-deployment and post-deployment duties, an expansion of current law that covers only months in which a person is on active duty.
• When: Both provisions would apply to time spent under stop-loss orders beginning Oct. 1, 2008.
• Prediction: Neither provision is a sure thing, but there is a chance they could pass only because the Pentagon says it is phasing out stop-loss — so no one would receive the extra payments.
Prorated special/incentive pays
• What: Monthly payment of hostile fire pay, imminent danger pay, hazardous duty pay, assignment pay and special duty pay could be prorated to reflect the actual time that active-duty members performed qualifying service during the month, under a provision of the House bill.
The provision also would clarify that Guard or reserve members be paid a skill incentive bonus in the same manner as active-duty members and that the monthly payment of the bonus may be prorated to reflect actual time served in a critical skill. The Senate bill has no similar provision.
• When: Effective three months after the bill becomes law.
• Prediction: A 50-50 chance.
Catastrophic injury pay
• What: A new special pay for catastrophically injured or ill service members would be created under the Senate bill. This pay would go to members with combat-related injuries who need help with everyday tasks and are expected to be retired or separated from the military because of their disability.
The amount of pay is not set by the provision; that would be left to the Defense Department and could vary based on the amount of assistance needed. The amount could not exceed the so-called aid and attendance allowance paid by the Veterans Affairs Department, which is as much as $1,400 a month in some cases.
An unusual feature of the pay is that it would continue for up to 90 days after separation or retirement from the military, allowing time for veterans’ disability benefits to kick in.
• When: While authorized as soon as the bill is signed into law, the Defense Department would decide when and if any payments would occur.
• Prediction: A sure thing to become law, but payments may not start until 2011.
Afghanistan extension pay
• What: Service members who agree to serve six years in Afghanistan or for the duration of the U.S. operations there, whichever is less, would be eligible for up to $1,000 a month in special pay under a pilot program included in the House bill. Who would be eligible and the conditions of payment would be determined by the Defense Department, but the provision specifically mentions service members proficient in the languages of Pashto and Dari. No similar provision was approved by the Senate.
• When: Authorized when the bill is signed, but any payments would begin only if the Defense Department chooses to establish the program. The benefit would expire at the end of 2012.
• Prediction: Unlikely.
Recruit referral bonuses
• What: Both the House and Senate bills would extend the $2,000 recruit referral bonus paid for having a non-family member enlist in the military, a program due to expire at the end of 2009. The Senate bill allows payments to continue into 2010 for referrals made before the cutoff date. The House bill extends the bonus program for three years, until the end of 2012.
• When: Applies to payments made beginning Jan. 1.
• Prediction: The Senate provision that ensures payments are made appears likely.
Travel allowances
Specialty care reimbursement
• What: Travel reimbursement for people receiving specialty care from the military health system would be available for distances of 50 miles or more, under the Senate bill. Under current law, at least 100 miles must be traveled before reimbursement begins. The House bill does not address the issue.
• When: Applies to appointments kept based on referrals given after the bill becomes law.
• Prediction: A good chance, but not a sure thing.
Auto shipment
• What: Service members with at least one family member who is eligible to drive could ship two privately owned vehicles at government expense, rather than the current one, if they are moving to nonforeign-duty stations outside the continental U.S. under the House bill. This would include assignments to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam and U.S. territories and possessions. There is no similar provision in the Senate bill.
• When: Would apply to orders issued after the bill is signed.
• Prediction: Unlikely.
Travel for family and friends of wounded service members
• What: Two new benefits are proposed. Under the first, up to three family or non-family members who have a personal relationship could get military travel and transportation benefits to visit a hospitalized wounded, ill or injured service member, under a provision of the House bill. A service member undergoing inpatient treatment could designate which three people would be eligible for up to three round trips to the hospital in a 60-day period. The designee also could be another service member. The Senate bill has no similar proposal.
Under the second provision, also in the House bill, travel and transportation allowances could be provided for nonmedical attendants of seriously wounded, ill or injured service members if medical authorities determine that having someone present would benefit the patient.
• When: Both travel benefits would be authorized when the bill is signed, but the Defense Department would decide whether to use them.
• Prediction: A 50-50 chance.
Survivors’ travel for memorials
• What: The federal government already reimburses travel and transportation for immediate survivors to travel to the funeral of a person who dies on active duty. The Senate bill includes a provision that would also cover travel expenses for a memorial ceremony held on behalf of the deceased service member.
• When: Applies to memorial ceremonies that take place after the bill becomes law.
• Prediction: A sure thing.
Retired pay
Reserve retired pay
• What: About 600,000 National Guard and reserve members mobilized between Sept. 10, 2001, and Jan. 27, 2008, would get credit toward receiving earlier retirement checks, under a Senate provision that would make retroactive a 2008 revision allowing reservists to draw retirement checks 90 days earlier for every 90 days of active duty.
The 90-for-90 rule allows checks to be received before age 60, when traditional retired pay begins for Guard and reserve members. The House bill has no similar provision.
• When: Effective to payments after the bill becomes law. Only the mobilization credit is retroactive, not any payments.
• Prediction: A 50-50 chance.
Concurrent receipt
• What: A temporary increase in retired pay for severely disabled veterans who could not complete 20 years of service was approved by the House. About 121,000 people with disability ratings of 90 percent or greater who are eligible for both military disability retired pay and veterans’ disability compensation would receive both full payments.
The Senate bill has no similar provision.
• When: Payments would begin Jan. 1, 2010, and end on Oct. 1, 2010.
• Prediction: A good chance of approval, but not a sure thing.
The end of bigger military pay raises?
For next year, Congress — as has been its practice for more than a decade — has beefed up military pay raises. For 2010, raises will be 3.4 percent, half a percentage point above the increase in private-sector wages, as part of an ongoing bid to close a perceived gap between what troops earn and what civilians are paid.
But the end may be near for that practice.
The Senate version of the 2010 defense authorization bill calls for a study comparing military and private-sector pay. It is intended to put to rest disputes about the existence of the pay gap that for 11 years has prompted Congress to authorize annual pay raises for the military that outpace civilian wage growth.
At its peak in the late 1990s, the gap — measured by comparing military and private-sector pay raises since 1982 — stood at 13.5 percent. Military associations that track the gap say the proposed 2010 pay raise would cut the gap to 2.4 percent. But some, including Pentagon pay experts, say that when the total military compensation package is considered, there is no pay gap.
The Senate study, which would be done by the U.S. comptroller general, would compare military pay and benefits, including fringe benefits and tax advantages, with the pay, bonuses and benefits of civilians of similar age, education, experience and jobs. The study is to be completed by April 1, in time to influence the 2011 defense budget.
Associations representing troops and their families do not like the idea of a pay review, said retired Air Force Col. Steve Strobridge of the Military Officers Association of America.
The study would put a price tag on military benefits, he said. Advocates feel that’s an unfair comparison because many of the benefits are intended to offset the great sacrifices of military life.
