Junior enlisted pay bump to cost as much as two new aircraft carriers

House plans for a massive pay bump for junior enlisted troops will cost more than $24 billion over the next five years, more than the price tag for two new aircraft carriers, congressional analysts confirmed on Monday.

The calculation comes as both House and Senate leaders debate how to help young military families avoid financial difficulties while ensuring the armed forces have sufficient funding for maintaining operations.

House lawmakers will vote on the enlisted pay raise plan — which would guarantee nearly every service member a base pay of $30,000 a year — in coming days as part of the chamber’s draft of the annual defense authorization bill.

The measure outlines policy and spending targets for nearly $885 billion in national security programs, including an across-the-board 4.5% pay raise for all troops in 2025 and a further pay raise of up to 15% for troops in ranks E-4 and below. E-5s with less than 10 years service will see an average bump of 7%.

For an E-2 with two years of military service, that increase will mean about $5,000 in extra pay next year. For an E-4 with four years of military service, it’s almost $7,500 more.

House appropriators have already signaled they intend to fund the plan in their budget bills later this month, but the financial investment is significant. The Congressional Budget Office on Monday estimated the plan will add $24.4 billion in extra defense spending from fiscal 2025 through fiscal 2029.

The White House on Tuesday put the five-year estimate at just under $22 billion, and at a cost of $3.3 billion next year alone.

Defense planners have balked at similar pay plans in the past because of the significant monetary strain such moves put on the entire military budget.

In recent months, they have lobbied lawmakers behind the scenes to delay any action on junior enlisted pay until next year, when a Pentagon analysis on service member compensation is complete. White House officials on Tuesday issued a new statement of opposition to the pay plan, citing the cost.

For the two aircraft carrier comparison, the USS John F. Kennedy is scheduled to be completed next year at a total construction cost of about $11.4 billion. The USS Enterprise, meanwhile, is set to be finished in 2028 at a price tag of around $12.3 billion, according to statistics from the Congressional Research Service.

The pay plan also approaches the total cost of the Space Force budget for fiscal 2025, estimated by service leaders to be $29.6 billion.

But House lawmakers have argued the investment is necessary to ensure that the military services can keep pace with recruiting and retention goals, and to properly reward young troops and their spouses for the sacrifices of military life.

The House plan also includes a boost in service member housing stipends and more money for on-base daycare services. The plan received bipartisan support in the House Armed Services Committee last month but faces a difficult path on the chamber floor because of potential social issue amendments on issues such as abortion and transgender medical care.

Senate Armed Services officials thus far have been noncommittal on the House’s ambitious enlisted raises. They are expected to unveil the first draft of their service member quality of life ideas on Wednesday, with a committee vote on their draft of the authorization bill later in the week.

A compromise between the separate House and Senate versions of the authorization and appropriations bills is not expected until sometime this fall or winter, possibly leaving the fate of the pay raises unsettled until just a few weeks before the start of 2025.

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

国会分析人士周一证实，众议院计划大幅提高初级士兵的工资，未来五年将耗资超过 240 亿美元，超过建造两艘新航空母舰的价格。

这项计算出炉之际，众议院和参议院领导人正在辩论如何帮助年轻的军人家庭避免经济困难，同时确保武装部队有足够的资金来维持运作。

众议院议员将在未来几天对士兵加薪计划进行投票表决，该计划将保证几乎每位军人每年获得 3 万美元的基本工资，这是众议院年度国防授权法案草案的一部分。

该法案概述了近8850亿美元国家安全项目的政策和支出目标，其中包括2025年所有军人普遍加薪4.5%，以及E-4及以下军衔的军人最高加薪15%。服役不满10年的E-5军衔军人平均加薪7%。

对于服役两年的E-2级军官来说，明年的加薪幅度约为5000美元。对于服役四年的E-4级军官来说，加薪幅度则接近7500美元。

众议院拨款委员会已表示，他们计划在本月晚些时候的预算案中为该计划提供资金，但这项财政投入数额巨大。国会预算办公室周一估计，该计划将在2025财年至2029财年期间增加244亿美元的国防开支。

白宫周二估计，五年内的总成本将略低于 220 亿美元，仅明年一年的成本就将达到 33 亿美元。

国防规划人员过去曾对类似的薪酬方案持反对态度，因为此类举措会给整个军费预算带来巨大的财政压力。

近几个月来，他们一直在幕后游说议员，要求推迟对初级士兵薪酬的任何行动，直到明年五角大楼完成对军人薪酬的分析。白宫官员周二发表了一份新的声明，反对这项薪酬方案，理由是成本过高。

就这两艘航母的比较而言，根据国会研究服务处的统计数据，约翰·F·肯尼迪号航空母舰计划于明年完工，总造价约为114亿美元。而企业号航空母舰则计划于2028年完工，造价约为123亿美元。

该薪酬方案的总成本也接近太空部队 2025 财年的预算总额，据军方领导人估计，该预算总额为 296 亿美元。

但众议院议员们认为，这项投资是必要的，以确保军队能够跟上征兵和留住人才的目标，并适当奖励年轻士兵及其配偶为军旅生涯所做出的牺牲。

众议院的方案还包括提高军人住房津贴，并增加对基地内托儿服务的拨款。该方案上个月在众议院军事委员会获得了两党支持，但由于可能涉及堕胎和跨性别医疗保健等社会议题的修正案，其在众议院全体会议上的通过之路将充满坎坷。

参议院军事委员会官员迄今为止对众议院提出的雄心勃勃的士兵加薪方案未作明确表态。预计他们将于周三公布其关于提升军人生活质量方案的初稿，委员会将于本周晚些时候就其授权法案草案进行投票表决。

众议院和参议院分别提出的授权法案和拨款法案的妥协方案预计要到今年秋季或冬季才能达成，工资增长的命运可能要到 2025 年初前几周才能确定。

利奥为《军事时报》报道国会、退伍军人事务部和白宫的新闻。自2004年以来，他一直报道华盛顿特区的新闻，重点关注军人和退伍军人政策。他的作品荣获多项荣誉，包括2009年波尔克奖、2010年国家头条新闻奖、国际退伍军人协会新闻领导力奖和美国退伍军人协会新闻媒体奖。