A bipartisan congressional panel examining the quality of life for U.S. service members wants to raise the pay for junior military personnel by 15%, expand allowances for housing and food, and increase access to affordable child care.
The recommendations are among several announced this week by the congressional military Quality of Life panel.
Rep. Don Bacon, Nebraska Republican and chairman of the panel, spent nearly 30 years in the Air Force and retired as a brigadier general before getting into politics. He said he was shocked when he saw how some military personnel and their families are forced to live these days. Military pay, especially for the most junior personnel, isn’t keeping up with inflation, and insufficient housing allowances are forcing a growing number of troops to dip into their own pockets to make up the difference.
“We recommend fully funding housing maintenance accounts and strengthening oversight of military housing programs. We recommend fully funding childcare fee assistance programs and mitigating childcare staffing shortages at [Defense Department] facilities,” Mr. Bacon said Thursday.
The panel is also pushing for expanding programs to provide employment support to military spouses, including making it easier for them to transfer professional licenses across state lines. He said 22% of military spouses can’t find good jobs.
“It’s the largest demographic in America for unemployment — military spouses,” Mr. Bacon said.
The all-volunteer force is the foundation of the U.S. military’s strength, he said.
“For this reason, quality of life is a central national security concern. We can no longer ignore the clear warning signs that more must be done to protect and preserve the all-volunteer force,” he said. “To ensure we have a ready, capable, and lethal force to deter China and our other adversaries, it’s vital that we fix these quality of life issues.”
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the panel and an Air Force veteran, said her own experience with child care challenges while in the military showed her that meeting basic needs is critical.
“Our military, the all-volunteer military is the strongest in the world and is deserving of a good wage, safe housing, and food options that men and women want to eat,” Ms. Houlahan said.
Kathy Roth-Douqet, co-founder of the military family advocacy group Blue Star Families, applauded the congressional Qualify of Life panel for listening to their concerns.
“The world is an increasingly dangerous place and our military families are crucial to our nation’s safety. We must create the conditions for their success,” Ms. Roth-Douqet said. “Legislation addressing compensation, housing, spouse employment, child care, and access to health care respond to the on-the-ground challenges our families report.”
The report will be included in the next National Defense Authorization Act, legislation that establishes Pentagon policies.
“If we want to continue to have a professional military, we’re going to have to compete with the private sector and we’re going to have to show these families that we value them,” said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, Alabama Republican. “We intend to get this across the finish lines with these recommendations.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.