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Here we go again. It now looks like military members are going to have to wait until the very last minute before they know for sure whether or not they will receive a pay raise on time, and what that raise will be.

In fact, the targeted pay raise that everyone has taken for granted for FY 2003 ultimately may not be approved at all, or may be approved months late. In the latter case, whether or not "back pay" would be included is anyone's guess.

There are two separate laws that need to be passed each year in order for military pay raises to take effect. The first is the Defense Appropriations Act. This is the yearly law that actually allocates the funds for the military to operate. The good news is that the FY 2003 Defense Appropriations Act is already law. It was passed by Congress on October 15th, and signed into law by President Bush on October 23.

The bad news is that the Defense Appropriations Act is only one-half of the battle. While the money is allocated, separate legislation is required to actually change the military pay tables, which allows the Department of Defense to pay the new amounts. This legislation is known as the Defense Authorization Act, and it is currently stalled -- dead in the water.

Why is it stalled? At issue is the elimination or reduction of "concurrent receipt." Under current law, military members who receive VA disability pay must give up an equal amount of their military retired pay. In other words, a military retiree who receives $200 per month in VA disability compensation must relinquish $200 per month in military retired pay (Note: VA Disability Compensation is not taxable, while military retired pay is).

Congress wants to change that, and (both the House and the Senate) have included provisions to eliminate or significantly reduce the concurrent receipt penalty. In a nutshell, a majority of the members of Congress feel that a member's retirement pay should not be penalized if they receive VA Disability Compensation.

So, what's the problem? Eliminating and/or reducing concurrent receipt will be very expensive, and the Bush Administration has threatened to veto the entire FY 2003 Defense Authorization Act if it contains provisions to eliminate or significantly reduce the current concurrent receipt requirements.

To make matters worse, Congress has closed up shop because of the November elections, and any "lame duck" Congress, convened before the new congressional members take their posts is unlikely to have much negotiating power.

If Congress doesn't act, the President does have the authority to implement a straight-across 4.1 percent raise, but it would not include the targeted provisions (where some members would receive up to 9.5 percent) of the original legislation. Additionally, Congress could pass separate legislation for the military pay raise, but it is doubtful that they would do so. It seems more likely that Congress would hold the entire package as "hostage" to persuade the President to accept the legislation as a whole.

So, what's the deal? Well, we don't know yet. Just another year where our military members will have to wait until the very last minute to find out what's going to happen with their pay.

Fiscal Year 2003 Proposed Base Pay Charts.