The FY 2005 Military Authorization Act, and FY 2005 Military Appropriations Act, are now law. The last bill, HR 400, the FY 2005 Military Authorization Act was signed into law by President Bush on October 28, 2004. The act includes an across-the-board 3.5 percent base pay raise for all military personnel.
This is the first time in five years that Congress did not "target" the pay raise by giving some ranks a higher raise percentage than other ranks. In FY 2004, the average pay raise was 4.1 percent, but some members received as little as 3.7 percent, while others received as much as 6.25 percent. In 2005, all members will receive a base pay raise of 3.5 percent.
This is the sixth consecutive year that Congress will approve a pay raise larger than the level of private sector pay raises. Once implemented, this raise is expected to decrease the "pay gap" from 5.5 percent to 5.1 percent.
