Lawmaker pushes 3.9% military raise in 2009

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Lawmaker pushes 3.9% military raise in 2009
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Feb 26, 2008 22:08:15 EST

A Republican lawmaker assigned by his party to work on military and veterans’ issues has become the first member of Congress to introduce legislation providing a bigger pay raise to troops in 2009 than proposed by the Bush administration.

Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and chairman of the veterans’ affairs task force of the House Republican Policy Committee, introduced a bill on Monday to provide a minimum 3.9 percent increase in basic pay and drill pay for reservists.

The Bush administration is asking for a 3.4 percent pay increase for the military, an amount that equals the average private-sector pay increase last year. Bilirakis wants slightly more, to continue closing the gap that grew between military and private-sector pay in the 1990s, when military raises lagged those of non-government workers.

“It is critical for the continued growth and morale of our armed forces that we work toward improving the existing military and private sector pay gap,” Bilirakis said in a statement. “While I applaud the administration’s efforts to boost military pay, I believe we can and should do better.”

Bilirakis’ pay raise bill, HR 5481, was referred to the House Armed Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over military pay and benefits. The armed services subcommittee on military personnel held a hearing Tuesday on recruiting, retention and compensation for service members, but the pay raise received only a passing mention.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/military_bigger_payraise_022608w/