Omaha City Wire

Washington - Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation Subcommittee and Quality of Life Panel, issued a statement in response to President Biden’s objection to the 15% pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers in the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act.

“It’s outrageous that President Biden doesn’t believe those fighting to protect our country deserve a living wage, all while his Democrat colleagues push for higher minimum wages in states like California, which recently enacted a $20/hour minimum for fast-food workers. The proposal to raise our junior enlisted pay was based on the bipartisan Quality of Life panel report, led by me and Rep. Houlahan. Many of our married junior enlisted are on SNAP and rely on food banks. The best military in the world should have no one on SNAP or be reliant on food banks,” Bacon stated.

A copy of President Biden’s Statement of Administration Policy can be found here, with the objection detailed on page 3 under “Junior Enlisted Pay Increase.”