Barletta Votes to Give Troops Biggest Pay Raise in Nearly A Decade

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Lou Barletta (PA-11) voted in favor of H.R. 5515, the Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes crucial funding for Pentagon programs and for the members of our Armed Forces who keep Americans safe every day.  Importantly, the bill authorizes a 2.6 percent pay raise for military personnel - the largest in nine years, extends special pay and bonuses for service members in high-demand fields, and boosts our military’s readiness by authorizing increases to the size of  the Army, Navy, Air Force, Naval and Air Reserve, and Air Guard.  In total, the bill provides $717 billion in essential resources for training, equipment modernization, aircraft and vessel acquisition and procurement, and other Pentagon activities.  H.R. 5515 passed with broad bipartisan support by a vote of 351 to 66 and now awaits consideration in the U.S. Senate.

“The most basic responsibility of the federal government is to protect our nation and citizens,” said Barletta.  “When we fund our military, we do just that.  By ensuring our troops are supplied with the resources they need to carry out their missions and preventing another round of base closures, this bill also protects the men and women serving our country, as well as their families, and the many military installations in Pennsylvania.  This legislation strengthens our military readiness at a time when it is essential we do so.”

In addition to preventing an additional round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), the legislation makes important investments toward maintaining and modernizing military equipment, further increasing the readiness of our troops.  Specifically, the bill includes additional funds to accelerate technology development on aircraft and speeds up the federal acquisition process at the Pentagon by providing more precise language for acquisition terminology and modernizing outdated reporting requirements.  It also allows for increased training rotations at Combat Training Centers, additional flying hours, and improvements to the inspection process aboard ships.

###