President Trump wants to give the nation’s troops another pay raise not long after their first full jump in pay in years.
The budget released Tuesday would provide all service members the same 2.1 percent raise in 2018 that was recently approved by Congress for the current year. Defense Department civilians would get a 1.9 percent raise, the same as other federal employees.
Trump’s budget plans must still be approved by Congress but would go further toward reversing years of smaller increases under the Obama administration.
The 2.1 percent military raise is mandated by law to keep up with increases in pay in the private sector, but former President Barack Obama ordered smaller increases for five consecutive years.
The move to keep raises low sparked complaints from the military community, which has been stressed by multiple deployments and intense operations
John Roth, the acting Defense Department comptroller, said the move was part of an effort to keep a competitive compensation system for the all-volunteer military.
Trump has vowed to rebuild the military after years of budget caps and heavy workloads.
The budget unveiled Tuesday adds little to the big-ticket weapons buys projected by the Obama administration and instead directs spending increases into shoring up the existing military forces.
