Rubio, Tester move to raise active duty military salaries

Looking to nearly double a proposed pay hike for service members, Sen Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Jon Tester (D-MT) today introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would raise the salaries of active duty military personnel by 1.8 percent.

The current $625 billion defense spending bill, S1197, calls for a 1 percent increase as requested by President Barack Obama. In a media release, Rubio points out that Obama’s recommendation is counter to a 2004 law requiring military pay be linked to the Economic Cost Index, which would be 1.8 percent this year.

“The men and women of our military make huge sacrifices for our nation and have earned the chance to be compensated accordingly. Passing this amendment will have a direct positive impact on our military volunteers and their families,” said Rubio in a release.

“Congress and the President should be following the laws already on the books to provide appropriate compensation to the members of the armed forces. As we continue to deploy troops all around the world to fight terrorism, respond to disasters and defend our interests, we have a duty to take care of them and their families,” he said.

“This amendment ensures our military men and women receive a pay raise consistent with current law and in line with growth in the private sector,” said Tester. “Though our military makes up just 1 percent of our population, service members and their families shoulder tremendous burdens and make great sacrifices to keep us safe and maintain our freedom. We owe it to them to make sure they can take care of their families.”