By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 passed Wednesday would raise military salaries by 4.5 percent, and for junior enlisted the raise is a substantial 14.5 percent.
“I am happy to see this much-deserved raise for many of our own from American Samoa,” said Rep. Aumua Amata, American Samoa’s delegate to Congress. “A lot of our enlisted Toa o Samoa will be better off with a 14.5 percent raise, while officers and senior enlisted will also receive a 4.5 percent increase.”
The House passed the NDAA on a 281-140 vote.
In June, the House passed its version of the NDAA, known as the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, while the Senate passed their version in July, leading to a Conference Committee to reach a final bill, an amended Senate bill.
Each year the NDAA is the largest Defense authorization bill, comprising all aspects of the Pentagon’s operations.
The Senate and House aligned the two bills, which both included pay raise proposals at different rates and various other differences. The agreement pays junior enlisted (E-1 through E-4) a 14.5 percent increase.
“We must keep our military strong and ready, including a focus on the Indo-Pacific region, which this bill does,” Amata said.
“In this bill, Congress has expressed many important priorities supporting our service members and military families, making improvements to their housing, training, readiness, equipment, cost of living, medical care, and all operations, along with an important boost in Pacific security.”
Subscribe to
our digital
monthly edition
Comments