The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

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Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:21 PM

Military Members Receive Highest Payment Increase Since 2010

Military members will see their paychecks rise by the largest percent increase since 2010 this week.

At the end of December, President Donald Trump, by way of executive order, mandated a 2.4% pay hike for uniformed service members and a 1.9% raise for federal workers. The Trump administration’s initial budget blueprint called for a 2.1% pay increase, while the House and Senate suggested the 2.4% figure, which was eventually adopted by the president.

In 2017, the Obama administration issued a 2.1% increase. This year’s raise will be the largest for the military since 2010, when wages jumped 3.4% under the previous administration.

The new pay increase went into effect on Jan. 1, however, this is the first full week that paychecks will reflect the higher amounts. The raise is in line with private sector wage growth, according to Militarybenefits.com.

Even though Trump signed the raises into law through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in December, the government still needs to agree on how to fund the act during the budget process, since it is over the cap imposed by the defense sequester. With a Friday deadline looming for Congress to reach a deal to keep the government funded, the military stands to be impacted by a potential shutdown in a number of ways.

If the government fails to pass a budget by midnight on Friday, both civilian and active troop members are unlikely to receive paychecks. Active duty members are expected to continue to perform their tasks and all civilian personnel who are essential to supporting them will also be required to go to work.

The government is currently funded through a temporary continuing resolution (CR), which was passed to avoid a government shutdown on Dec. 21. The CR allows for the continuation of funding levels as stipulated under the fiscal year 2017 budget.