With the military facing a “once-in-a-generation recruiting crisis,” the White House said it “strongly opposes” a proposal to raise pay for junior soldiers by nearly 20 percent.
“The number one priority for our military is getting the recruitment crisis under control, and increasing pay is a good way to do that,” Veterans on Duty chairman Jeremy Hunt said on “Fox & Friends” Thursday.
“The administration is committed to taking care of our service members and their families. [House Armed Services Committee’s] “While we are sensitive to the needs of our lowest-ranking enlisted personnel, we strongly oppose making significant, permanent changes to base pay prior to the completion of the 14th Military Pay Quadrennial Review,” the White House said in a statement.
Hunt vehemently denounced this opposition. “It’s really surprising to me. … President Biden approved over $100 billion in student loan forgiveness. But when it comes to America’s most precious resource, our military, we’re complaining about military pay raises?
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U.S. soldiers disembark at Camilo Osias Naval Base in Santa Ana, Cagayan province in the northern Philippines, on Monday, May 6, 2024, after taking part in a joint military exercise.
“It’s a national embarrassment that we can’t give our soldiers a pay raise,” Hunt said. “Inflation has gone up 20 percent since Biden took office. The best thing Biden can do is give our soldiers a pay raise to keep up with the inflation he’s created.”
Hunt said the left tries to force “irrelevant nonsense” through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) every year, and there are other things they could cut to reduce spending instead.
“When I was a platoon leader in the 3rd Infantry Division, I was an intelligence officer, and some of my Soldiers were living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to provide for their families,” Hunt said.
“Now I think: Why is that still an issue in our country? This should be the No. 1 issue that lawmakers and the commander in chief have to address.”
Members of both parties on the Armed Services Committee supported raising pay for junior soldiers. According to Military.com:
Soldiers from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) LLV Monterey prepare for deployment to the Gaza Strip, March 12, 2024, at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, Virginia. (AP Photo/John C. Clark)
“One of the big features of this is a 19.5% pay increase for junior soldiers. [troops]”Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the committee’s ranking member, said at a House Rules Committee meeting.
“That’s really the problem. Housing costs are rising, so many junior soldiers are struggling to pay for housing. Their pay hasn’t kept up. This is a bold step to ensure we support them, and incidentally, it will also help with recruitment and retention.”
According to the Department of Defense, the Army is 23.4% short of its fiscal year 2023 recruiting goals, the Navy is 19.8% short and the Air Force is 10.7% short.
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