Signaling how serious lawmakers are about boosting quality of life in the military, the leaders of the House Armed Services Committee unveiled a bill Thursday focused on improvements to troops' lives as the first step in crafting this year's must-pass defense policy bill.
The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement Act would enact most of the key recommendations from the military quality-of-life report released last week by a committee subpanel, including giving junior enlisted service members a 15% raise in their base pay.
The bill will serve as the base text when the Armed Services Committee begins debating the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, next month, the committee said in a news release.
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“The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement Act will serve as the foundation for everything we do in the FY25 NDAA,” committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said in a statement Thursday evening announcing the introduction of the quality-of-life bill. “Service members should never have to worry about making ends meet, putting food on the table, or affording housing. Improving the quality of life for our service members and their families is my number one priority — we're going to get this done.”
Usually, the committee's NDAA process starts with the introduction of a bare-bones bill, the text of which is later…
