(PatriotWise.com) — The Pentagon recently announced that it would be paying the “economic hardship bonuses” Congress authorized in 2023 to offset the rising cost of living for troops in need of assistance. However, the bonuses are so small that they are unlikely to make a difference.
A senior Pentagon official told Military.com earlier this month that junior ranks would receive the bonus automatically as part of their paychecks beginning this month and continuing through December but on average, the bonus amounts to about $20 a month.
The official, who spoke anonymously, said the total “economic hardship bonus” comes to roughly $120 based on the amount of funding made available by lawmakers.
Congress allocated $43 million in the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act to provide bonuses to lower ranks up to E-6. However, the NDAA did not pass Congress until late March, which delayed the implementation of the bonuses.
Given the delay, the Pentagon determined how many military service members could be paid with the $43 million allocated before the funding ran out. As a result, the bonuses were not distributed to every rank below E-6 but to those up to E-3, which amounted to roughly 266,000 troops.
The official told Military.com that the bonus would only be included in one of the two paychecks service members receive each month.
House Armed Services Committee spokeswoman Justine Tripathi said that while the temporary bonuses that were authorized in the NDAA were “welcome news,” more assistance was required for junior enlisted service members. Tripathi said that this is why the upcoming NDAA includes a 19.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted service members.
The House last month advanced a version of the NDAA that included a 15 percent raise for E-1 to E-4 in addition to the 4.5 percent raise for all military personnel.
However, the Senate version only increases the pay for junior enlisted service members by 5.5 percent on top of the 4.5 percent raise for all ranks.
The Biden administration opposes any targeted pay raises for junior enlisted personnel until after it completes its study on military compensation.
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