The Pentagon’s “economic hardship bonuses” for U.S. military troops are expected to be distributed starting this month. However, a new report claims that the average bonus for U.S. troops will only be $20 per month.
According to Military.com, while the Pentagon has indicated that it is prepared to distribute the “economic hardship bonuses” that Congress authorized to help U.S. service members navigate inflated prices and higher costs of living, the bonuses are unlikely to have a significant impact.
An anonymous senior defense official told Military.com on Friday that U.S. troops in junior ranks E-1 to E-3 will receive bonuses in their paychecks starting this month and continuing through December and that the average bonus for U.S. troops will be $20 per month.
The anonymous official told Military.com, “The monthly bonus amounts, on average, will total approximately $120 [over the six months] … and they’re based on the funding Congress has made available.”
Military.com reported that while U.S. lawmakers initially authorized the troop bonuses in December under the National Defense Authorization Act to provide the bonuses to troops in ranks E-1 to E-6, Congress did not provide the funding until the end of March.
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The anonymous defense official told Military.com that the Pentagon ultimately decided to only provide bonuses to troops in ranks E-1 to E-3. The bonuses are expected to be distributed to roughly 266,000 troops at the end of each month.
The official explained, “We chose the paygrades because of the amount of money that Congress appropriated and what we could pay and what would fit within that appropriation.”
In response to the Pentagon’s plan to distribute the bonuses to U.S. troops, Justine Tripathi, a House Armed Services Committee spokesperson, told Military.com, “While it’s welcome news that the department will provide some junior enlisted service members with temporary bonus pay, as authorized by [last year’s] NDAA, more must be done.”
The House Armed Services Committee spokesperson emphasized that the need to do more for U.S. troops is “why the [upcoming] NDAA provides junior enlisted service members with a 19.5% pay raise.”
According to a press release, the House of Representatives passed legislation in June that would gives all U.S. troops a 4.5% pay raise and would give junior enlisted troops an additional 15% pay raise. On the other hand, Military.com reported that the Senate introduced legislation in June that would provide all troops with a 4.5% pay raise, while junior enlisted troops would receive a 5.5% pay raise.
President Joe Biden’s administration previously issued a statement explaining that it “strongly opposes making a significant, permanent change to the basic pay schedule before the completion of the Fourteenth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation.”
