thedrifter
09-11-07, 08:03 PM
MOAA: 3.5% raise tells troops they are valued
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Sep 11, 2007 18:28:13 EDT
It isn’t about the money, but rather about the symbolism of a bigger raise, the head of a major military association says about the political debate between the Bush administration’s preferred 3 percent military pay raise and the 3.5 percent raise taking shape in Congress.
“It is all about sending the signal they are valued,” said retired Vice Adm. Norbert Ryan Jr., president of the Military Officers Association of America. “It is not about the difference in pay of a 3 percent or 3.5 percent raise.”
Ryan made his remarks Tuesday in a conference call with reporters to talk about issues pending before Congress that are particularly important to service members.
The Bush administration appears to be fighting a losing battle with Congress over the size of the raise. The administration asked for a 3 percent raise, effective Jan. 1, 2008, which would be enough to keep pace with the average increase in private-sector wages last year. The Bush raise would apply equally to all ranks and years of service.
The House has passed authorization and funding for a larger 3.5 percent raise, enough to not just match the private sector but to slightly close the estimated 4 percent gap that remains between average military and private-sector raises, calculated by comparing pay increases since 1981.
The House version of the 2008 defense authorization bill also proposes that military pay raises in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 also be 0.5 percentage point above average private-sector salary increases, which would continue to close the so-called pay gap.
On Tuesday, the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee included full funding for a 3.5 percent raise in January. Next week, the Senate is expected to return to debate on its version of the defense authorization bill, which sets policy. That bill already includes a 3.5 percent Jan. 1 pay increase, and an amendment is pending that also would authorize the four additional years of bigger pay raises to close the pay gap.
Ellie
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Sep 11, 2007 18:28:13 EDT
It isn’t about the money, but rather about the symbolism of a bigger raise, the head of a major military association says about the political debate between the Bush administration’s preferred 3 percent military pay raise and the 3.5 percent raise taking shape in Congress.
“It is all about sending the signal they are valued,” said retired Vice Adm. Norbert Ryan Jr., president of the Military Officers Association of America. “It is not about the difference in pay of a 3 percent or 3.5 percent raise.”
Ryan made his remarks Tuesday in a conference call with reporters to talk about issues pending before Congress that are particularly important to service members.
The Bush administration appears to be fighting a losing battle with Congress over the size of the raise. The administration asked for a 3 percent raise, effective Jan. 1, 2008, which would be enough to keep pace with the average increase in private-sector wages last year. The Bush raise would apply equally to all ranks and years of service.
The House has passed authorization and funding for a larger 3.5 percent raise, enough to not just match the private sector but to slightly close the estimated 4 percent gap that remains between average military and private-sector raises, calculated by comparing pay increases since 1981.
The House version of the 2008 defense authorization bill also proposes that military pay raises in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 also be 0.5 percentage point above average private-sector salary increases, which would continue to close the so-called pay gap.
On Tuesday, the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee included full funding for a 3.5 percent raise in January. Next week, the Senate is expected to return to debate on its version of the defense authorization bill, which sets policy. That bill already includes a 3.5 percent Jan. 1 pay increase, and an amendment is pending that also would authorize the four additional years of bigger pay raises to close the pay gap.
Ellie