Watch the Military Raise

The next development on the raise front could come in the context of the military raise; the Armed Services Committees of both the House and Senate are due to begin drafting in the upcoming weeks the annual Defense Department authorization bill, which traditionally sets a military raise figure. Some on Capitol Hill and certain interest groups have been advocating for a military raise higher than the 2.2 percent the White House proposed, and various formulas are circulating for setting military raises. However, it’s uncertain if Congress will attempt to legislate a long-term policy on military pay this year, since a special DoD compensation commission is still working on the issue and likely won’t report until late in the year.