The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee blasted President Obama Thursday evening for undercutting members of the military by suggesting a 1.6 percent annual pay raise, which falls below the 2.1 percent figure mandated by law.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said federal workers and the military have historically received 2 to 3 percent raises, but the Obama administration has cut those annual bumps in recent years.
“Few people are more deserving of a full pay raise than our men and women in uniform,” Thornberry said. “Yet, at the same time President Obama is proposing significant increases in military deployments and expanding existing missions, he is cutting the pay raise for our troops for the fourth year in a row.”
Thornberry pointed at the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2017, which mandates the 2.1 percent increase and would block the president’s ability to reduce troop pay in the future.
He said that giving military individuals and families only a 1.6 percent bump would hurt them in the long haul.
“The lower pay increase mandated by the president means a young military family would receive about $336 less this year than the law provides. Over four years of a lower rate, the family will have lost between $1,500 and $2,000,” Thornberry said.
Obama informed House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday of his plan to propose a 1 percent increase in federal workers’ base pay. He added he would later decide on the exact pay increases for localities, but said it would not exceed 0.6 percent.
Federal workers have previously been given 2 or 3 percent annual raises.
