By: The Seattle Times editorial board
The Seattle Times: Congress must boost pay for troops at WA military bases, elsewhere
Soldiers, sailors and other new military recruits in Washington, as elsewhere, earn a pittance of about $5 less per hour than Washington’s minimum wage. Exempt from state law, men and women in uniform begin at $2,017.20 per month, or about $11.64 an hour.
Congress has shown signs of progress in lifting the youngest troops from levels near poverty in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2025. The bill calls for a 14.5% pay increase for junior enlisted members and 4.5% for the rest of the military. The 1,800-page bill, which passed the House last week, cleared the Senate Monday 83-12, including “yes” votes from Washington Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray.
That’s a good start, but more will be needed to ensure those defending the nation in a time of global instability can put food on the table at home, despite a growing cost of living that has driven the youngest troops to local food banks. Roughly a quarter of all service members, especially those newest to the military, are food insecure, according to a recent RAND study. Many rely on federal programs and food banks to survive, including in Washington, whose more than 55,000 active-duty members make it the state with the sixth most such personnel in the country.
The result has also been historically fewer new entrants to the military. In 2023, the branches of the armed services missed their recruitment targets by 41,000 members.
With Puget Sound’s high cost of living, men and women in uniform struggle to find affordable off-base housing, health and child care in the areas around critical defense installations like Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Naval Base Kitsap. Rent in the region has increased by at least 50% since 2015, according to the Puget Sound Regional Council. This year’s defense authorization also funds renovations and construction of new barracks at JBLM and elsewhere.
The Times editorial board supported the efforts of Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Tacoma, who serves on a House committee aimed at improving service members’ quality of life. She’s pushed to increase the housing allowance for military members and their families this year. Such a hike was excluded from the final defense authorization bill. But a boost in pay is a necessary start.
Disappointingly, the Defense Authorization Act’s passage was marred by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who inserted a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender children in military families. This last-minute maneuver rightfully angered many House Democrats, including those in Washington, who voted “no” on what is a must-pass bill.
That included U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Bellevue, the ranking member of the House Armed Forces Committee, who called Johnson’s move “pandering to the most extreme elements of his party to ensure that he retains his speakership.” Even the committee’s chairperson, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., was puzzled by Johnson’s maneuver.
Nonetheless, the bill will go forward, and the good work of Smith, Strickland and others seeking to improve the quality of life of those in uniform should continue.