Washington, D.C. — Following U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff’s push, the Senate voted today to authorize a historic pay increase for junior-enlisted personnel in Georgia.
Today, the U.S. Senate passed a historic 14.5% pay increase for junior-enlisted personnel across Georgia as part of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The NDAA will deliver a basic pay increase of 4.5% to all servicemembers, while the most junior servicemembers across all branches of the Armed Forces will receive an additional 10% increase in pay.
“Young people are not going into national service and national security for the money. They’re doing it because they care about defending the United States and the American people, and they are terribly underpaid,” Sen. Ossoff said. “I made it one of my highest priorities to pass a record pay raise for junior-enlisted personnel in the military, and bringing Republicans and Democrats together, we got it done.”
Sen. Ossoff continues to champion Georgia’s servicemembers and military families.
In June, Sen. Ossoff launched a push to pass the bipartisan READINESS Act, legislation he co-sponsored to strengthen career flexibility for military spouses during a Permanent Change of Station, or when servicemembers are relocated to another installation.
In May, Sens. Ossoff and Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced the bipartisan Relocation Assistance for Military Families Act of 2024, which would require the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to evaluate current relocation assistance programs, listen to feedback from family support advocacy organizations, and to report improvements and publish a best practices guide.
In January, Sen. Ossoff’s bipartisan Junior Enlisted Housing Affordability Act with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) was signed into law to update how the Department of Defense (DoD) calculates housing allowances for junior enlisted servicemembers with dependents to more accurately assess their housing costs.
###
