Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District
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Military Pay Raise and Benefits:
I supported the 2001 Defense Authorization Act, which includes several important quality of life provisions that I believe are well overdue. Specifically, the bill authorizes a 3.7% pay increase for 2001. Special pay and retention bonuses have also been addressed, with the most significant increases going to increased uniform allowances, education reimbursements, reenlistment bonuses, and special duty pay. Lastly, the bill authorizes funding for military personnel to participate in the federal Thrift Savings Plan. This important benefit, which is enjoyed by all other federal employees, will go far in bringing military retirement benefits on par with those offered in the private sector.
I also voted for H.R. 1401, the Defense Authorization Bill, which would have provided a 4.8% pay increase in Fiscal Year 2000, and required that future military pay raises be calculated using the full Employment Cost Index (ECI). Current law uses a ‘by law’ model which allows military employees to be given raises half a percentage point below the average increase in the private sector. This provision alone will be a major step in ensuring that military pay rates do not once again fall behind the pay rates of the private sector.
Increased Housing Allowances:
The total budget increase for this program will reduce out-of pocket housing costs by approximately 3%, bringing such overall expenses to a new low of about 16.5%.
| H.R. 1401 Benefits At A Glance |
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Retirement Pay Reform:
The retention of motivated, skilled personnel is an issue of national security. In order to encourage mid-career personnel to continue to serve, changes in the military retirement system are necessary. H.R. 1401 will change the current law by allowing personnel covered by Redux to choose between the following:
- Retiring under the pre-1986 military retirement plan at 2.5% of basic pay per year of service over 20 years (up to a maximum of 75% of basic pay) or;
- Accepting a one-time $30,000 bonus after 15 years of service and remaining under redux retirement plan that reduces the percentage of base paid to retirees before 62 by 1% for each year of service. Servicemembers accepting the bonus would be obligated to serve the remaining five years to become retirement eligible.