Senate Backs 1.6% Troop Pay Raise, BAH Cuts

The U.S. Senate has approved a fiscal 2017 defense authorization that calls for a 1.6 percent military pay raise, reduced housing allowances and changes to the health care system. The upper chamber of Congress on Tuesday voted 85-13 in favor of the legislation, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which sets policy and spending targets for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. The $602 billion bill would curb the military's Basic Allowance for Housing, or BAH, for new entrants beginning in 2018 by only covering what they actually pay in rent and also reduce the combined value of the benefit received by military couples or roommates, according to text of the legislation. For more details, see this Military.com article.