U.S. Senate OKs Increase in Military Pay, Benefits

The Senate, rushing to bolster military recruitment and to help stem the drain of mid-career officers and enlisted personnel, voted Wednesday to give servicemen and women a 4.8% raise and sharply expand military retirement benefits.

The emergency authorization bill, expected to be matched by a companion bill in the House, is substantially more generous than a plan President Clinton has proposed, which would provide for a 4.4% pay hike and a far smaller increase in retirement benefits.

Analysts said that, while the pay raise is expected to provide a visible boost to cities such as San Diego, which have a heavy concentration of military personnel, its overall impact on the California economy is likely to be minimal.

After the military cutbacks and base closings of recent years, the state now has only 122,000 active duty personnel and about 200,000 military retirees. The pay hike would add $135 million in extra wages--a small portion of California’s overall payroll of $6 billion.

Although Democrats sided with the administration in criticizing the size of the benefits package, many of them nevertheless joined Republicans in approving the bill, which passed on a vote of 91 to 8. The pay hike still may be cut back by House and Senate appropriations committees.

The rush legislation came in the face of mounting difficulties by the services in recruiting and maintaining the personnel they need to meet U.S. military obligations, both in bases here at home and in deployments worldwide.

Pentagon figures show that the Army fell about 800 people short of its recruiting goals in 1998, while the Navy missed its targets by 7,000. Both services have lowered the standards for recruits in an effort to maintain full complements.

Military leaders have said that at least part of the reason for the recruiting shortfall is that, in the current tight job market, the military cannot compete with private corporations, which can offer experienced officers and highly skilled enlisted personnel higher pay and fringe benefits.

The United States has had an all volunteer military since 1973. Before that, much of the nation’s military strength came from the draft. Moving to an all volunteer force has meant that the services have had to pay substantially higher salaries and benefits.

The pay increase voted Wednesday, which would affect 1.4 million service members, would take effect Jan. 1 and would be the largest such increase since the early 1980s. The bill also would set future pay raises at half a percentage point above the government’s annual employment costs index, a Labor Department statistic that tracks wages and fringe benefits nationwide.

The bill also would revamp the military’s pay structure to allocate the bulk of the increased pay to mid-career personnel, who are facing decisions on whether to stay in or leave for more lucrative jobs in the private sector. Sponsors said they hoped the increase would help narrow the gap.

The measure also would boost benefits for retired military personnel by reinstating a more generous plan that was in effect before 1986. The shift would boost retirees’ pensions to 50% of their highest base pay--from 40% now, or they could keep the current plan and take a $30,000 cash bonus instead.

The bill also would enable military personnel to take part in the federal workers’ thrift savings plan, similar to 401(k) plans for private sector employees, enabling them to save up to 5% of base pay and defer payment of taxes.

It also would significantly enhance benefits under the GI Bill by eliminating a requirement that former service members pay $1,200 out of their own pockets for education costs and by increasing government benefits for tuition and books.

The Clinton administration and some Democrats complained that the measure was far too costly and violated the congressional budget process, which requires that Congress set overall budget limits before approving legislation that probably would bust current budget restrictions.

The Congressional Budget Office warned that the bill would cost almost $12 billion more than the administration’s plan over the next six years. Clinton’s proposal called for less generous pay and retirement increases and contained no provisions for expanding other benefits.

Although Democrats had threatened to try to block the bill if it was too costly, 38 of them joined Republicans in approving the measure.

California’s two senators, Democrats Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, both voted to approve the legislation.

Indeed, senators rushed through a spate of amendments Wednesday that expanded the benefits even further--including provisions that would improve health care benefits for military personnel and open more benefits to reservists and National Guard personnel.

As part of the package, senators also voted to provide an extra $180 a month subsistence allowance for military families whose income is low enough to make them eligible for food stamps.