White House 'Strongly Opposes' Proposed 19.5% Pay Hike for Junior Enlisted Troops

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im not sure I understand what the issue is....they are doing a military wide compensation review and want that completed BEFORE signing a 19.5% pay hike correct?

"While Tuesday's statement from the White House suggested Congress should wait until the administration's review is done to make any significant changes to military pay, the senior enlisted leaders for all the military services earlier this year urged lawmakers to act immediately to boost service members' pay.

Additionally, a House Armed Services Committee staffer told reporters last month that a 15% raise for junior enlisted service members is among the options the administration's review is considering.

The White House's statement Tuesday cited cost as a concern with the House's plan. A Congressional Budget Office analysis released Monday estimated the increase in pay for junior enlisted troops would cost $24.4 billion from 2025 to 2029.

The administration also argued that service members have already received significant raises in recent years, citing the 5.2% troops got this year and the 4.6% increase last year.

"If the president's FY 2025 request is enacted, service members will have received a 15% basic pay increase in just three years," the statement said, though it would actually add up to 14.3%."

Senior military leaders recommend this. They know lower enlisted troops are struggling.
Bipartisan leadership in the House Armed Services committee recommends this. They have examined the issues.

Lower enlisted troops can’t afford housing. How do you think that’s not problem?

Then housing allowance should be adjusted. Let the formal review be completed and then push this forward. This is all delayed from previous administrations.

Ill also add that the bill the House Committee is trying to push through REMOVES MARIJUANA TESTING FOR RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTED!!!!!

Do you have a citation that this was delayed by previous administrations?

https://www.navycs.com/charts/ https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/12/07/2023-military-pay-raise-will-be-largest-20-years.html
You can see year by year. President, year, increase. It usually matches fed increases.

Obama recession, no one got raises. Clinton balancing the budget- no one got raises. But Bush and Trump both pro-military and the raises were eh.

And you are uneducated if you think that the base pay is all they get. https://www.navycs.com/military-pay.html And most of the allowances are untaxed. So when you talk about 2000 BAH you need to increase it to what it would be for taxed rate because its untaxed.

Dude I retired after 27 years. I am shocked Biden talks about his son and Dr. Jill talks about military families needing support and lower enlisted are struggling to pay their rent.

They arent struggling to pay their rent. They are struggling because the bases are in HCOL and the government doesnt properly adjust for COL. The government also wont regulate housing and who is purchasing housing. The Ft Carson example was talking about people wanting to buy homes because of VA loans and equity but buying a home isnt a guarantee and shouldnt be what we are increasing pay towards. They have 26000 personnel but only 3100 housing units. Why was base personnel expanded without housing expanded? The base command is now advocating for reduction in builder liability so that they can get more condos built......they are all over the place. And then commenting about how some of the families have to have dual incomes to survive........ermmm yes so do most families. I didnt realize that being an enlisted meant you got a SAHP. Are we subsidizing that now?

Id love to see the numbers on how much base housing costs the military to run versus BAH

With skyrocketing rental costs, military personnel being forced to pay out-of-pocket for place to live

The Defense Department's Basic Allowance for Housing hasn't kept pace. The Blue Star Families and House Armed Services Committee called for an increase.

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/national/military-news/with-skyrocketing-rental-costs-military-personnel-being-forced-to-pay-out-of-pocket-for-housing/291-7dce187f-52bb-45d4-90fa-3d0abd71c68b


NORFOLK, Va. — Because there simply isn't enough military-owned housing for the nation's 1.3 million military active-duty members, many of them have no choice but to live off-base.
73% of military personnel who live in civilian housing pay well over $200 per month in housing costs out of pocket—beyond the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) they receive from the government—according to a 2023 survey from Blue Star Families.


A 2022 Blue Star Families survey found that 98% of respondents said finding rental housing within $200 of the service member's BAH was "somewhat difficult" to "extremely difficult."
The findings are drawing the attention of Capitol Hill.
"These housing shortages force military families to strain their budgets and pay more than they can afford or to undergo long commutes," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), during a hearing last week of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee.
At the same hearing, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel Ashish Vaziarni said: "Access to affordable housing certainly will improve the quality of life for military families. We're very focused on that."
Currently, the BAH is calculated at 95% of the local market cost.
Blue Star Families says the allowance needs to return to 100%.



Military families’ housing benefits lag as rents explode: ‘That could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH’


https://fortune.com/2022/08/20/military-families-housing-benefits-lag-as-rents-explode-bah-housing-bubble/

When Kristin Martin found out her husband was being transferred to Naval Base San Diego, securing housing for their family of five quickly took over her life.

On-base housing wasn’t an option — the waitlist for a four-bedroom home in the neighborhoods they qualified for was 14 to 16 months.

Neither were the military-only hotels near base where new arrivals can pay low rates as they get their bearings — those were full, too.

So Martin cast a wide net across San Diego and started applying for rental homes, all sight unseen.

“I was waking up and the first thing I was doing was looking at properties,” Martin said. “I was looking at it midday, before I went to bed. I had alerts set. It became a full-time job.”

More than 30 rental applications later and hundreds of dollars in application fees down the drain, the Martins finally found a home.

But there were caveats. They’d have to start paying rent a month before they actually moved. And, at $4,200 per month, their rent was nearly $700 more than the monthly basic allowance for housing, known as the BAH, that her husband, a lieutenant, receives.

“We’ll probably be here two or three years, so that could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH just for rent,” Martin said after completing her family’s fourth move in 15 years last month.

“It’s affecting us personally but then I think about how we were a junior enlisted family at one point. I cannot imagine the struggles (they) are going through.”

Housing has long been a major benefit for service members, a subsidy to salaries that trail the private sector. But, amid record-breaking spikes in rent, the Department of Defense has neglected its commitment to help military families find affordable places to live, service members and housing activists say.

That’s forced many to settle for substandard homes, deal with extremely long commutes or pay thousands out of pocket they hadn’t budgeted for.

“We have families coming to us that are on exorbitantly lengthy waiting lists and sitting in homes that they can’t afford, like an Airbnb rental, or they’re at a hotel or camping in tents or living in RVs,” said Kate Needham, a veteran who co-founded the nonprofit Armed Forces Housing Advocates in May 2021.

“I don’t think civilians really understand — they might think we’re living in free housing and just having a great time, making lots of money. And that’s not the case at all.”

So I want to be clear here you are advocating for military personnel to receive a paycheck and then for all of the allowances to cover: housing, some utilities, medical care for themselves and their dependents, childcare if available, etc. So their paychecks, which apparently is the only one coming in since enlisted need SAHP are meant to pay for food, cars, savings, and clothing? They get 0% loans, pensions, veterans preference, spousal preference, and lots of funds not taxed and we are arguing about 5% BAH?

That’s what Senior Enlisted leaders and the House Armed Services Committee recommended, bipartisan, both r and d.

That is their recommendation. Do you know better than they do? If so what are your qualifications?

[Anonymous]

One of my employees daughters just enlisted in the Army and is serving. Military service is rough on families. Our soldiers deserve decent pay starting out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my employees daughters just enlisted in the Army and is serving. Military service is rough on families. Our soldiers deserve decent pay starting out.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im not sure I understand what the issue is....they are doing a military wide compensation review and want that completed BEFORE signing a 19.5% pay hike correct?

"While Tuesday's statement from the White House suggested Congress should wait until the administration's review is done to make any significant changes to military pay, the senior enlisted leaders for all the military services earlier this year urged lawmakers to act immediately to boost service members' pay.

Additionally, a House Armed Services Committee staffer told reporters last month that a 15% raise for junior enlisted service members is among the options the administration's review is considering.

The White House's statement Tuesday cited cost as a concern with the House's plan. A Congressional Budget Office analysis released Monday estimated the increase in pay for junior enlisted troops would cost $24.4 billion from 2025 to 2029.

The administration also argued that service members have already received significant raises in recent years, citing the 5.2% troops got this year and the 4.6% increase last year.

"If the president's FY 2025 request is enacted, service members will have received a 15% basic pay increase in just three years," the statement said, though it would actually add up to 14.3%."

Senior military leaders recommend this. They know lower enlisted troops are struggling.
Bipartisan leadership in the House Armed Services committee recommends this. They have examined the issues.

Lower enlisted troops can’t afford housing. How do you think that’s not problem?

Then housing allowance should be adjusted. Let the formal review be completed and then push this forward. This is all delayed from previous administrations.

Ill also add that the bill the House Committee is trying to push through REMOVES MARIJUANA TESTING FOR RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTED!!!!!

Do you have a citation that this was delayed by previous administrations?

https://www.navycs.com/charts/ https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/12/07/2023-military-pay-raise-will-be-largest-20-years.html
You can see year by year. President, year, increase. It usually matches fed increases.

Obama recession, no one got raises. Clinton balancing the budget- no one got raises. But Bush and Trump both pro-military and the raises were eh.

And you are uneducated if you think that the base pay is all they get. https://www.navycs.com/military-pay.html And most of the allowances are untaxed. So when you talk about 2000 BAH you need to increase it to what it would be for taxed rate because its untaxed.

Dude I retired after 27 years. I am shocked Biden talks about his son and Dr. Jill talks about military families needing support and lower enlisted are struggling to pay their rent.

They arent struggling to pay their rent. They are struggling because the bases are in HCOL and the government doesnt properly adjust for COL. The government also wont regulate housing and who is purchasing housing. The Ft Carson example was talking about people wanting to buy homes because of VA loans and equity but buying a home isnt a guarantee and shouldnt be what we are increasing pay towards. They have 26000 personnel but only 3100 housing units. Why was base personnel expanded without housing expanded? The base command is now advocating for reduction in builder liability so that they can get more condos built......they are all over the place. And then commenting about how some of the families have to have dual incomes to survive........ermmm yes so do most families. I didnt realize that being an enlisted meant you got a SAHP. Are we subsidizing that now?

Id love to see the numbers on how much base housing costs the military to run versus BAH

With skyrocketing rental costs, military personnel being forced to pay out-of-pocket for place to live

The Defense Department's Basic Allowance for Housing hasn't kept pace. The Blue Star Families and House Armed Services Committee called for an increase.

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/national/military-news/with-skyrocketing-rental-costs-military-personnel-being-forced-to-pay-out-of-pocket-for-housing/291-7dce187f-52bb-45d4-90fa-3d0abd71c68b


NORFOLK, Va. — Because there simply isn't enough military-owned housing for the nation's 1.3 million military active-duty members, many of them have no choice but to live off-base.
73% of military personnel who live in civilian housing pay well over $200 per month in housing costs out of pocket—beyond the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) they receive from the government—according to a 2023 survey from Blue Star Families.


A 2022 Blue Star Families survey found that 98% of respondents said finding rental housing within $200 of the service member's BAH was "somewhat difficult" to "extremely difficult."
The findings are drawing the attention of Capitol Hill.
"These housing shortages force military families to strain their budgets and pay more than they can afford or to undergo long commutes," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), during a hearing last week of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee.
At the same hearing, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel Ashish Vaziarni said: "Access to affordable housing certainly will improve the quality of life for military families. We're very focused on that."
Currently, the BAH is calculated at 95% of the local market cost.
Blue Star Families says the allowance needs to return to 100%.



Military families’ housing benefits lag as rents explode: ‘That could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH’


https://fortune.com/2022/08/20/military-families-housing-benefits-lag-as-rents-explode-bah-housing-bubble/

When Kristin Martin found out her husband was being transferred to Naval Base San Diego, securing housing for their family of five quickly took over her life.

On-base housing wasn’t an option — the waitlist for a four-bedroom home in the neighborhoods they qualified for was 14 to 16 months.

Neither were the military-only hotels near base where new arrivals can pay low rates as they get their bearings — those were full, too.

So Martin cast a wide net across San Diego and started applying for rental homes, all sight unseen.

“I was waking up and the first thing I was doing was looking at properties,” Martin said. “I was looking at it midday, before I went to bed. I had alerts set. It became a full-time job.”

More than 30 rental applications later and hundreds of dollars in application fees down the drain, the Martins finally found a home.

But there were caveats. They’d have to start paying rent a month before they actually moved. And, at $4,200 per month, their rent was nearly $700 more than the monthly basic allowance for housing, known as the BAH, that her husband, a lieutenant, receives.

“We’ll probably be here two or three years, so that could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH just for rent,” Martin said after completing her family’s fourth move in 15 years last month.

“It’s affecting us personally but then I think about how we were a junior enlisted family at one point. I cannot imagine the struggles (they) are going through.”

Housing has long been a major benefit for service members, a subsidy to salaries that trail the private sector. But, amid record-breaking spikes in rent, the Department of Defense has neglected its commitment to help military families find affordable places to live, service members and housing activists say.

That’s forced many to settle for substandard homes, deal with extremely long commutes or pay thousands out of pocket they hadn’t budgeted for.

“We have families coming to us that are on exorbitantly lengthy waiting lists and sitting in homes that they can’t afford, like an Airbnb rental, or they’re at a hotel or camping in tents or living in RVs,” said Kate Needham, a veteran who co-founded the nonprofit Armed Forces Housing Advocates in May 2021.

“I don’t think civilians really understand — they might think we’re living in free housing and just having a great time, making lots of money. And that’s not the case at all.”

So I want to be clear here you are advocating for military personnel to receive a paycheck and then for all of the allowances to cover: housing, some utilities, medical care for themselves and their dependents, childcare if available, etc. So their paychecks, which apparently is the only one coming in since enlisted need SAHP are meant to pay for food, cars, savings, and clothing? They get 0% loans, pensions, veterans preference, spousal preference, and lots of funds not taxed and we are arguing about 5% BAH?

0% loans?
No one is getting a pension as an E4 or below. You have to put in 20+ years for that.

[Anonymous]

Jill going on about being an Army Mom is pathetic. Our enlisted soldiers deserve a pay raise to be competitive with all of the inflation that the current administration has caused.

[Anonymous]

Our soldiers earn their Veterans preference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im not sure I understand what the issue is....they are doing a military wide compensation review and want that completed BEFORE signing a 19.5% pay hike correct?

"While Tuesday's statement from the White House suggested Congress should wait until the administration's review is done to make any significant changes to military pay, the senior enlisted leaders for all the military services earlier this year urged lawmakers to act immediately to boost service members' pay.

Additionally, a House Armed Services Committee staffer told reporters last month that a 15% raise for junior enlisted service members is among the options the administration's review is considering.

The White House's statement Tuesday cited cost as a concern with the House's plan. A Congressional Budget Office analysis released Monday estimated the increase in pay for junior enlisted troops would cost $24.4 billion from 2025 to 2029.

The administration also argued that service members have already received significant raises in recent years, citing the 5.2% troops got this year and the 4.6% increase last year.

"If the president's FY 2025 request is enacted, service members will have received a 15% basic pay increase in just three years," the statement said, though it would actually add up to 14.3%."

Senior military leaders recommend this. They know lower enlisted troops are struggling.
Bipartisan leadership in the House Armed Services committee recommends this. They have examined the issues.

Lower enlisted troops can’t afford housing. How do you think that’s not problem?

Then housing allowance should be adjusted. Let the formal review be completed and then push this forward. This is all delayed from previous administrations.

Ill also add that the bill the House Committee is trying to push through REMOVES MARIJUANA TESTING FOR RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTED!!!!!

Do you have a citation that this was delayed by previous administrations?

https://www.navycs.com/charts/ https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/12/07/2023-military-pay-raise-will-be-largest-20-years.html
You can see year by year. President, year, increase. It usually matches fed increases.

Obama recession, no one got raises. Clinton balancing the budget- no one got raises. But Bush and Trump both pro-military and the raises were eh.

And you are uneducated if you think that the base pay is all they get. https://www.navycs.com/military-pay.html And most of the allowances are untaxed. So when you talk about 2000 BAH you need to increase it to what it would be for taxed rate because its untaxed.

Dude I retired after 27 years. I am shocked Biden talks about his son and Dr. Jill talks about military families needing support and lower enlisted are struggling to pay their rent.

They arent struggling to pay their rent. They are struggling because the bases are in HCOL and the government doesnt properly adjust for COL. The government also wont regulate housing and who is purchasing housing. The Ft Carson example was talking about people wanting to buy homes because of VA loans and equity but buying a home isnt a guarantee and shouldnt be what we are increasing pay towards. They have 26000 personnel but only 3100 housing units. Why was base personnel expanded without housing expanded? The base command is now advocating for reduction in builder liability so that they can get more condos built......they are all over the place. And then commenting about how some of the families have to have dual incomes to survive........ermmm yes so do most families. I didnt realize that being an enlisted meant you got a SAHP. Are we subsidizing that now?

Id love to see the numbers on how much base housing costs the military to run versus BAH

With skyrocketing rental costs, military personnel being forced to pay out-of-pocket for place to live

The Defense Department's Basic Allowance for Housing hasn't kept pace. The Blue Star Families and House Armed Services Committee called for an increase.

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/national/military-news/with-skyrocketing-rental-costs-military-personnel-being-forced-to-pay-out-of-pocket-for-housing/291-7dce187f-52bb-45d4-90fa-3d0abd71c68b


NORFOLK, Va. — Because there simply isn't enough military-owned housing for the nation's 1.3 million military active-duty members, many of them have no choice but to live off-base.
73% of military personnel who live in civilian housing pay well over $200 per month in housing costs out of pocket—beyond the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) they receive from the government—according to a 2023 survey from Blue Star Families.


A 2022 Blue Star Families survey found that 98% of respondents said finding rental housing within $200 of the service member's BAH was "somewhat difficult" to "extremely difficult."
The findings are drawing the attention of Capitol Hill.
"These housing shortages force military families to strain their budgets and pay more than they can afford or to undergo long commutes," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), during a hearing last week of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee.
At the same hearing, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel Ashish Vaziarni said: "Access to affordable housing certainly will improve the quality of life for military families. We're very focused on that."
Currently, the BAH is calculated at 95% of the local market cost.
Blue Star Families says the allowance needs to return to 100%.



Military families’ housing benefits lag as rents explode: ‘That could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH’


https://fortune.com/2022/08/20/military-families-housing-benefits-lag-as-rents-explode-bah-housing-bubble/

When Kristin Martin found out her husband was being transferred to Naval Base San Diego, securing housing for their family of five quickly took over her life.

On-base housing wasn’t an option — the waitlist for a four-bedroom home in the neighborhoods they qualified for was 14 to 16 months.

Neither were the military-only hotels near base where new arrivals can pay low rates as they get their bearings — those were full, too.

So Martin cast a wide net across San Diego and started applying for rental homes, all sight unseen.

“I was waking up and the first thing I was doing was looking at properties,” Martin said. “I was looking at it midday, before I went to bed. I had alerts set. It became a full-time job.”

More than 30 rental applications later and hundreds of dollars in application fees down the drain, the Martins finally found a home.

But there were caveats. They’d have to start paying rent a month before they actually moved. And, at $4,200 per month, their rent was nearly $700 more than the monthly basic allowance for housing, known as the BAH, that her husband, a lieutenant, receives.

“We’ll probably be here two or three years, so that could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH just for rent,” Martin said after completing her family’s fourth move in 15 years last month.

“It’s affecting us personally but then I think about how we were a junior enlisted family at one point. I cannot imagine the struggles (they) are going through.”

Housing has long been a major benefit for service members, a subsidy to salaries that trail the private sector. But, amid record-breaking spikes in rent, the Department of Defense has neglected its commitment to help military families find affordable places to live, service members and housing activists say.

That’s forced many to settle for substandard homes, deal with extremely long commutes or pay thousands out of pocket they hadn’t budgeted for.

“We have families coming to us that are on exorbitantly lengthy waiting lists and sitting in homes that they can’t afford, like an Airbnb rental, or they’re at a hotel or camping in tents or living in RVs,” said Kate Needham, a veteran who co-founded the nonprofit Armed Forces Housing Advocates in May 2021.

“I don’t think civilians really understand — they might think we’re living in free housing and just having a great time, making lots of money. And that’s not the case at all.”

So I want to be clear here you are advocating for military personnel to receive a paycheck and then for all of the allowances to cover: housing, some utilities, medical care for themselves and their dependents, childcare if available, etc. So their paychecks, which apparently is the only one coming in since enlisted need SAHP are meant to pay for food, cars, savings, and clothing? They get 0% loans, pensions, veterans preference, spousal preference, and lots of funds not taxed and we are arguing about 5% BAH?

0% loans?
No one is getting a pension as an E4 or below. You have to put in 20+ years for that.

+1

this poster doesn’t know what they are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jill going on about being an Army Mom is pathetic. Our enlisted soldiers deserve a pay raise to be competitive with all of the inflation that the current administration has caused.

Were any of Jill's kids enlisted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im not sure I understand what the issue is....they are doing a military wide compensation review and want that completed BEFORE signing a 19.5% pay hike correct?

"While Tuesday's statement from the White House suggested Congress should wait until the administration's review is done to make any significant changes to military pay, the senior enlisted leaders for all the military services earlier this year urged lawmakers to act immediately to boost service members' pay.

Additionally, a House Armed Services Committee staffer told reporters last month that a 15% raise for junior enlisted service members is among the options the administration's review is considering.

The White House's statement Tuesday cited cost as a concern with the House's plan. A Congressional Budget Office analysis released Monday estimated the increase in pay for junior enlisted troops would cost $24.4 billion from 2025 to 2029.

The administration also argued that service members have already received significant raises in recent years, citing the 5.2% troops got this year and the 4.6% increase last year.

"If the president's FY 2025 request is enacted, service members will have received a 15% basic pay increase in just three years," the statement said, though it would actually add up to 14.3%."

Senior military leaders recommend this. They know lower enlisted troops are struggling.
Bipartisan leadership in the House Armed Services committee recommends this. They have examined the issues.

Lower enlisted troops can’t afford housing. How do you think that’s not problem?

Then housing allowance should be adjusted. Let the formal review be completed and then push this forward. This is all delayed from previous administrations.

Ill also add that the bill the House Committee is trying to push through REMOVES MARIJUANA TESTING FOR RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTED!!!!!

Do you have a citation that this was delayed by previous administrations?

https://www.navycs.com/charts/ https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/12/07/2023-military-pay-raise-will-be-largest-20-years.html
You can see year by year. President, year, increase. It usually matches fed increases.

Obama recession, no one got raises. Clinton balancing the budget- no one got raises. But Bush and Trump both pro-military and the raises were eh.

And you are uneducated if you think that the base pay is all they get. https://www.navycs.com/military-pay.html And most of the allowances are untaxed. So when you talk about 2000 BAH you need to increase it to what it would be for taxed rate because its untaxed.

Dude I retired after 27 years. I am shocked Biden talks about his son and Dr. Jill talks about military families needing support and lower enlisted are struggling to pay their rent.

They arent struggling to pay their rent. They are struggling because the bases are in HCOL and the government doesnt properly adjust for COL. The government also wont regulate housing and who is purchasing housing. The Ft Carson example was talking about people wanting to buy homes because of VA loans and equity but buying a home isnt a guarantee and shouldnt be what we are increasing pay towards. They have 26000 personnel but only 3100 housing units. Why was base personnel expanded without housing expanded? The base command is now advocating for reduction in builder liability so that they can get more condos built......they are all over the place. And then commenting about how some of the families have to have dual incomes to survive........ermmm yes so do most families. I didnt realize that being an enlisted meant you got a SAHP. Are we subsidizing that now?

Id love to see the numbers on how much base housing costs the military to run versus BAH

With skyrocketing rental costs, military personnel being forced to pay out-of-pocket for place to live

The Defense Department's Basic Allowance for Housing hasn't kept pace. The Blue Star Families and House Armed Services Committee called for an increase.

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/national/military-news/with-skyrocketing-rental-costs-military-personnel-being-forced-to-pay-out-of-pocket-for-housing/291-7dce187f-52bb-45d4-90fa-3d0abd71c68b


NORFOLK, Va. — Because there simply isn't enough military-owned housing for the nation's 1.3 million military active-duty members, many of them have no choice but to live off-base.
73% of military personnel who live in civilian housing pay well over $200 per month in housing costs out of pocket—beyond the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) they receive from the government—according to a 2023 survey from Blue Star Families.


A 2022 Blue Star Families survey found that 98% of respondents said finding rental housing within $200 of the service member's BAH was "somewhat difficult" to "extremely difficult."
The findings are drawing the attention of Capitol Hill.
"These housing shortages force military families to strain their budgets and pay more than they can afford or to undergo long commutes," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), during a hearing last week of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee.
At the same hearing, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel Ashish Vaziarni said: "Access to affordable housing certainly will improve the quality of life for military families. We're very focused on that."
Currently, the BAH is calculated at 95% of the local market cost.
Blue Star Families says the allowance needs to return to 100%.



Military families’ housing benefits lag as rents explode: ‘That could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH’


https://fortune.com/2022/08/20/military-families-housing-benefits-lag-as-rents-explode-bah-housing-bubble/

When Kristin Martin found out her husband was being transferred to Naval Base San Diego, securing housing for their family of five quickly took over her life.

On-base housing wasn’t an option — the waitlist for a four-bedroom home in the neighborhoods they qualified for was 14 to 16 months.

Neither were the military-only hotels near base where new arrivals can pay low rates as they get their bearings — those were full, too.

So Martin cast a wide net across San Diego and started applying for rental homes, all sight unseen.

“I was waking up and the first thing I was doing was looking at properties,” Martin said. “I was looking at it midday, before I went to bed. I had alerts set. It became a full-time job.”

More than 30 rental applications later and hundreds of dollars in application fees down the drain, the Martins finally found a home.

But there were caveats. They’d have to start paying rent a month before they actually moved. And, at $4,200 per month, their rent was nearly $700 more than the monthly basic allowance for housing, known as the BAH, that her husband, a lieutenant, receives.

“We’ll probably be here two or three years, so that could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH just for rent,” Martin said after completing her family’s fourth move in 15 years last month.

“It’s affecting us personally but then I think about how we were a junior enlisted family at one point. I cannot imagine the struggles (they) are going through.”

Housing has long been a major benefit for service members, a subsidy to salaries that trail the private sector. But, amid record-breaking spikes in rent, the Department of Defense has neglected its commitment to help military families find affordable places to live, service members and housing activists say.

That’s forced many to settle for substandard homes, deal with extremely long commutes or pay thousands out of pocket they hadn’t budgeted for.

“We have families coming to us that are on exorbitantly lengthy waiting lists and sitting in homes that they can’t afford, like an Airbnb rental, or they’re at a hotel or camping in tents or living in RVs,” said Kate Needham, a veteran who co-founded the nonprofit Armed Forces Housing Advocates in May 2021.

“I don’t think civilians really understand — they might think we’re living in free housing and just having a great time, making lots of money. And that’s not the case at all.”

So I want to be clear here you are advocating for military personnel to receive a paycheck and then for all of the allowances to cover: housing, some utilities, medical care for themselves and their dependents, childcare if available, etc. So their paychecks, which apparently is the only one coming in since enlisted need SAHP are meant to pay for food, cars, savings, and clothing? They get 0% loans, pensions, veterans preference, spousal preference, and lots of funds not taxed and we are arguing about 5% BAH?

0% loans?
No one is getting a pension as an E4 or below. You have to put in 20+ years for that.

...so they do or dont ? and 0 down loan 100% VA loans.

Also not arguing with anyone but the WHO isnt being a stick in the mud to ask for the compensation review to be completed before passing legislation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im not sure I understand what the issue is....they are doing a military wide compensation review and want that completed BEFORE signing a 19.5% pay hike correct?

"While Tuesday's statement from the White House suggested Congress should wait until the administration's review is done to make any significant changes to military pay, the senior enlisted leaders for all the military services earlier this year urged lawmakers to act immediately to boost service members' pay.

Additionally, a House Armed Services Committee staffer told reporters last month that a 15% raise for junior enlisted service members is among the options the administration's review is considering.

The White House's statement Tuesday cited cost as a concern with the House's plan. A Congressional Budget Office analysis released Monday estimated the increase in pay for junior enlisted troops would cost $24.4 billion from 2025 to 2029.

The administration also argued that service members have already received significant raises in recent years, citing the 5.2% troops got this year and the 4.6% increase last year.

"If the president's FY 2025 request is enacted, service members will have received a 15% basic pay increase in just three years," the statement said, though it would actually add up to 14.3%."

Senior military leaders recommend this. They know lower enlisted troops are struggling.
Bipartisan leadership in the House Armed Services committee recommends this. They have examined the issues.

Lower enlisted troops can’t afford housing. How do you think that’s not problem?

Then housing allowance should be adjusted. Let the formal review be completed and then push this forward. This is all delayed from previous administrations.

Ill also add that the bill the House Committee is trying to push through REMOVES MARIJUANA TESTING FOR RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTED!!!!!

Do you have a citation that this was delayed by previous administrations?

https://www.navycs.com/charts/ https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/12/07/2023-military-pay-raise-will-be-largest-20-years.html
You can see year by year. President, year, increase. It usually matches fed increases.

Obama recession, no one got raises. Clinton balancing the budget- no one got raises. But Bush and Trump both pro-military and the raises were eh.

And you are uneducated if you think that the base pay is all they get. https://www.navycs.com/military-pay.html And most of the allowances are untaxed. So when you talk about 2000 BAH you need to increase it to what it would be for taxed rate because its untaxed.

Dude I retired after 27 years. I am shocked Biden talks about his son and Dr. Jill talks about military families needing support and lower enlisted are struggling to pay their rent.

They arent struggling to pay their rent. They are struggling because the bases are in HCOL and the government doesnt properly adjust for COL. The government also wont regulate housing and who is purchasing housing. The Ft Carson example was talking about people wanting to buy homes because of VA loans and equity but buying a home isnt a guarantee and shouldnt be what we are increasing pay towards. They have 26000 personnel but only 3100 housing units. Why was base personnel expanded without housing expanded? The base command is now advocating for reduction in builder liability so that they can get more condos built......they are all over the place. And then commenting about how some of the families have to have dual incomes to survive........ermmm yes so do most families. I didnt realize that being an enlisted meant you got a SAHP. Are we subsidizing that now?

Id love to see the numbers on how much base housing costs the military to run versus BAH

With skyrocketing rental costs, military personnel being forced to pay out-of-pocket for place to live

The Defense Department's Basic Allowance for Housing hasn't kept pace. The Blue Star Families and House Armed Services Committee called for an increase.

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/national/military-news/with-skyrocketing-rental-costs-military-personnel-being-forced-to-pay-out-of-pocket-for-housing/291-7dce187f-52bb-45d4-90fa-3d0abd71c68b


NORFOLK, Va. — Because there simply isn't enough military-owned housing for the nation's 1.3 million military active-duty members, many of them have no choice but to live off-base.
73% of military personnel who live in civilian housing pay well over $200 per month in housing costs out of pocket—beyond the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) they receive from the government—according to a 2023 survey from Blue Star Families.


A 2022 Blue Star Families survey found that 98% of respondents said finding rental housing within $200 of the service member's BAH was "somewhat difficult" to "extremely difficult."
The findings are drawing the attention of Capitol Hill.
"These housing shortages force military families to strain their budgets and pay more than they can afford or to undergo long commutes," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), during a hearing last week of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee.
At the same hearing, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel Ashish Vaziarni said: "Access to affordable housing certainly will improve the quality of life for military families. We're very focused on that."
Currently, the BAH is calculated at 95% of the local market cost.
Blue Star Families says the allowance needs to return to 100%.



Military families’ housing benefits lag as rents explode: ‘That could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH’


https://fortune.com/2022/08/20/military-families-housing-benefits-lag-as-rents-explode-bah-housing-bubble/

When Kristin Martin found out her husband was being transferred to Naval Base San Diego, securing housing for their family of five quickly took over her life.

On-base housing wasn’t an option — the waitlist for a four-bedroom home in the neighborhoods they qualified for was 14 to 16 months.

Neither were the military-only hotels near base where new arrivals can pay low rates as they get their bearings — those were full, too.

So Martin cast a wide net across San Diego and started applying for rental homes, all sight unseen.

“I was waking up and the first thing I was doing was looking at properties,” Martin said. “I was looking at it midday, before I went to bed. I had alerts set. It became a full-time job.”

More than 30 rental applications later and hundreds of dollars in application fees down the drain, the Martins finally found a home.

But there were caveats. They’d have to start paying rent a month before they actually moved. And, at $4,200 per month, their rent was nearly $700 more than the monthly basic allowance for housing, known as the BAH, that her husband, a lieutenant, receives.

“We’ll probably be here two or three years, so that could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH just for rent,” Martin said after completing her family’s fourth move in 15 years last month.

“It’s affecting us personally but then I think about how we were a junior enlisted family at one point. I cannot imagine the struggles (they) are going through.”

Housing has long been a major benefit for service members, a subsidy to salaries that trail the private sector. But, amid record-breaking spikes in rent, the Department of Defense has neglected its commitment to help military families find affordable places to live, service members and housing activists say.

That’s forced many to settle for substandard homes, deal with extremely long commutes or pay thousands out of pocket they hadn’t budgeted for.

“We have families coming to us that are on exorbitantly lengthy waiting lists and sitting in homes that they can’t afford, like an Airbnb rental, or they’re at a hotel or camping in tents or living in RVs,” said Kate Needham, a veteran who co-founded the nonprofit Armed Forces Housing Advocates in May 2021.

“I don’t think civilians really understand — they might think we’re living in free housing and just having a great time, making lots of money. And that’s not the case at all.”

So I want to be clear here you are advocating for military personnel to receive a paycheck and then for all of the allowances to cover: housing, some utilities, medical care for themselves and their dependents, childcare if available, etc. So their paychecks, which apparently is the only one coming in since enlisted need SAHP are meant to pay for food, cars, savings, and clothing? They get 0% loans, pensions, veterans preference, spousal preference, and lots of funds not taxed and we are arguing about 5% BAH?

0% loans?
No one is getting a pension as an E4 or below. You have to put in 20+ years for that.

...so they do or dont ? and 0 down loan 100% VA loans.

Also not arguing with anyone but the WHO isnt being a stick in the mud to ask for the compensation review to be completed before passing legislation.

So your "0%" was referring to 0% down on a specific type of loan (home loan)--not referring to 0% interest rate?
Most E4 and below are not buying a house at every duty station; in fact I personally have never known any, so that doesn't help them.

No, E4s and below are not drawing a pension. No one who is active duty, enlisted or officer, is drawing a pension.

[Anonymous]

A 5% pay hike was approved for civilian agencies (but not funded by Congress) - only for many of them to then also get budget cuts handed to them by Congress. That was a double whammy and has been devastating in a lot of corners of federal government.

DoD has a lot of waste and ostensibly a lot more room to absorb a pay hike but 19% is a lot to hit all at once and will cause similar damage to military budgets. They should evaluate it on a needs basis, as I don't think soldiers living in base housing and enjoying subsidized PX and other benefits are as much in need of it as soldiers who do not. Also, they would be better off spreading it out over a couple of years than all at once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im not sure I understand what the issue is....they are doing a military wide compensation review and want that completed BEFORE signing a 19.5% pay hike correct?

"While Tuesday's statement from the White House suggested Congress should wait until the administration's review is done to make any significant changes to military pay, the senior enlisted leaders for all the military services earlier this year urged lawmakers to act immediately to boost service members' pay.

Additionally, a House Armed Services Committee staffer told reporters last month that a 15% raise for junior enlisted service members is among the options the administration's review is considering.

The White House's statement Tuesday cited cost as a concern with the House's plan. A Congressional Budget Office analysis released Monday estimated the increase in pay for junior enlisted troops would cost $24.4 billion from 2025 to 2029.

The administration also argued that service members have already received significant raises in recent years, citing the 5.2% troops got this year and the 4.6% increase last year.

"If the president's FY 2025 request is enacted, service members will have received a 15% basic pay increase in just three years," the statement said, though it would actually add up to 14.3%."

Senior military leaders recommend this. They know lower enlisted troops are struggling.
Bipartisan leadership in the House Armed Services committee recommends this. They have examined the issues.

Lower enlisted troops can’t afford housing. How do you think that’s not problem?

Then housing allowance should be adjusted. Let the formal review be completed and then push this forward. This is all delayed from previous administrations.

Ill also add that the bill the House Committee is trying to push through REMOVES MARIJUANA TESTING FOR RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTED!!!!!

Do you have a citation that this was delayed by previous administrations?

https://www.navycs.com/charts/ https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/12/07/2023-military-pay-raise-will-be-largest-20-years.html
You can see year by year. President, year, increase. It usually matches fed increases.

Obama recession, no one got raises. Clinton balancing the budget- no one got raises. But Bush and Trump both pro-military and the raises were eh.

And you are uneducated if you think that the base pay is all they get. https://www.navycs.com/military-pay.html And most of the allowances are untaxed. So when you talk about 2000 BAH you need to increase it to what it would be for taxed rate because its untaxed.

Dude I retired after 27 years. I am shocked Biden talks about his son and Dr. Jill talks about military families needing support and lower enlisted are struggling to pay their rent.

They arent struggling to pay their rent. They are struggling because the bases are in HCOL and the government doesnt properly adjust for COL. The government also wont regulate housing and who is purchasing housing. The Ft Carson example was talking about people wanting to buy homes because of VA loans and equity but buying a home isnt a guarantee and shouldnt be what we are increasing pay towards. They have 26000 personnel but only 3100 housing units. Why was base personnel expanded without housing expanded? The base command is now advocating for reduction in builder liability so that they can get more condos built......they are all over the place. And then commenting about how some of the families have to have dual incomes to survive........ermmm yes so do most families. I didnt realize that being an enlisted meant you got a SAHP. Are we subsidizing that now?

Id love to see the numbers on how much base housing costs the military to run versus BAH

With skyrocketing rental costs, military personnel being forced to pay out-of-pocket for place to live

The Defense Department's Basic Allowance for Housing hasn't kept pace. The Blue Star Families and House Armed Services Committee called for an increase.

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/national/military-news/with-skyrocketing-rental-costs-military-personnel-being-forced-to-pay-out-of-pocket-for-housing/291-7dce187f-52bb-45d4-90fa-3d0abd71c68b


NORFOLK, Va. — Because there simply isn't enough military-owned housing for the nation's 1.3 million military active-duty members, many of them have no choice but to live off-base.
73% of military personnel who live in civilian housing pay well over $200 per month in housing costs out of pocket—beyond the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) they receive from the government—according to a 2023 survey from Blue Star Families.


A 2022 Blue Star Families survey found that 98% of respondents said finding rental housing within $200 of the service member's BAH was "somewhat difficult" to "extremely difficult."
The findings are drawing the attention of Capitol Hill.
"These housing shortages force military families to strain their budgets and pay more than they can afford or to undergo long commutes," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), during a hearing last week of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee.
At the same hearing, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel Ashish Vaziarni said: "Access to affordable housing certainly will improve the quality of life for military families. We're very focused on that."
Currently, the BAH is calculated at 95% of the local market cost.
Blue Star Families says the allowance needs to return to 100%.



Military families’ housing benefits lag as rents explode: ‘That could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH’


https://fortune.com/2022/08/20/military-families-housing-benefits-lag-as-rents-explode-bah-housing-bubble/

When Kristin Martin found out her husband was being transferred to Naval Base San Diego, securing housing for their family of five quickly took over her life.

On-base housing wasn’t an option — the waitlist for a four-bedroom home in the neighborhoods they qualified for was 14 to 16 months.

Neither were the military-only hotels near base where new arrivals can pay low rates as they get their bearings — those were full, too.

So Martin cast a wide net across San Diego and started applying for rental homes, all sight unseen.

“I was waking up and the first thing I was doing was looking at properties,” Martin said. “I was looking at it midday, before I went to bed. I had alerts set. It became a full-time job.”

More than 30 rental applications later and hundreds of dollars in application fees down the drain, the Martins finally found a home.

But there were caveats. They’d have to start paying rent a month before they actually moved. And, at $4,200 per month, their rent was nearly $700 more than the monthly basic allowance for housing, known as the BAH, that her husband, a lieutenant, receives.

“We’ll probably be here two or three years, so that could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH just for rent,” Martin said after completing her family’s fourth move in 15 years last month.

“It’s affecting us personally but then I think about how we were a junior enlisted family at one point. I cannot imagine the struggles (they) are going through.”

Housing has long been a major benefit for service members, a subsidy to salaries that trail the private sector. But, amid record-breaking spikes in rent, the Department of Defense has neglected its commitment to help military families find affordable places to live, service members and housing activists say.

That’s forced many to settle for substandard homes, deal with extremely long commutes or pay thousands out of pocket they hadn’t budgeted for.

“We have families coming to us that are on exorbitantly lengthy waiting lists and sitting in homes that they can’t afford, like an Airbnb rental, or they’re at a hotel or camping in tents or living in RVs,” said Kate Needham, a veteran who co-founded the nonprofit Armed Forces Housing Advocates in May 2021.

“I don’t think civilians really understand — they might think we’re living in free housing and just having a great time, making lots of money. And that’s not the case at all.”

So I want to be clear here you are advocating for military personnel to receive a paycheck and then for all of the allowances to cover: housing, some utilities, medical care for themselves and their dependents, childcare if available, etc. So their paychecks, which apparently is the only one coming in since enlisted need SAHP are meant to pay for food, cars, savings, and clothing? They get 0% loans, pensions, veterans preference, spousal preference, and lots of funds not taxed and we are arguing about 5% BAH?

0% loans?
No one is getting a pension as an E4 or below. You have to put in 20+ years for that.

...so they do or dont ? and 0 down loan 100% VA loans.

Also not arguing with anyone but the WHO isnt being a stick in the mud to ask for the compensation review to be completed before passing legislation.

So your "0%" was referring to 0% down on a specific type of loan (home loan)--not referring to 0% interest rate?
Most E4 and below are not buying a house at every duty station; in fact I personally have never known any, so that doesn't help them.

No, E4s and below are not drawing a pension. No one who is active duty, enlisted or officer, is drawing a pension.

then your issue is with the Ft Carson commander who commented on that not me.
Im aware they dont get a pension on active duty JFC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im not sure I understand what the issue is....they are doing a military wide compensation review and want that completed BEFORE signing a 19.5% pay hike correct?

"While Tuesday's statement from the White House suggested Congress should wait until the administration's review is done to make any significant changes to military pay, the senior enlisted leaders for all the military services earlier this year urged lawmakers to act immediately to boost service members' pay.

Additionally, a House Armed Services Committee staffer told reporters last month that a 15% raise for junior enlisted service members is among the options the administration's review is considering.

The White House's statement Tuesday cited cost as a concern with the House's plan. A Congressional Budget Office analysis released Monday estimated the increase in pay for junior enlisted troops would cost $24.4 billion from 2025 to 2029.

The administration also argued that service members have already received significant raises in recent years, citing the 5.2% troops got this year and the 4.6% increase last year.

"If the president's FY 2025 request is enacted, service members will have received a 15% basic pay increase in just three years," the statement said, though it would actually add up to 14.3%."

Senior military leaders recommend this. They know lower enlisted troops are struggling.
Bipartisan leadership in the House Armed Services committee recommends this. They have examined the issues.

Lower enlisted troops can’t afford housing. How do you think that’s not problem?

Then housing allowance should be adjusted. Let the formal review be completed and then push this forward. This is all delayed from previous administrations.

Ill also add that the bill the House Committee is trying to push through REMOVES MARIJUANA TESTING FOR RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTED!!!!!

Do you have a citation that this was delayed by previous administrations?

https://www.navycs.com/charts/ https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/12/07/2023-military-pay-raise-will-be-largest-20-years.html
You can see year by year. President, year, increase. It usually matches fed increases.

Obama recession, no one got raises. Clinton balancing the budget- no one got raises. But Bush and Trump both pro-military and the raises were eh.

And you are uneducated if you think that the base pay is all they get. https://www.navycs.com/military-pay.html And most of the allowances are untaxed. So when you talk about 2000 BAH you need to increase it to what it would be for taxed rate because its untaxed.

Dude I retired after 27 years. I am shocked Biden talks about his son and Dr. Jill talks about military families needing support and lower enlisted are struggling to pay their rent.

They arent struggling to pay their rent. They are struggling because the bases are in HCOL and the government doesnt properly adjust for COL. The government also wont regulate housing and who is purchasing housing. The Ft Carson example was talking about people wanting to buy homes because of VA loans and equity but buying a home isnt a guarantee and shouldnt be what we are increasing pay towards. They have 26000 personnel but only 3100 housing units. Why was base personnel expanded without housing expanded? The base command is now advocating for reduction in builder liability so that they can get more condos built......they are all over the place. And then commenting about how some of the families have to have dual incomes to survive........ermmm yes so do most families. I didnt realize that being an enlisted meant you got a SAHP. Are we subsidizing that now?

Id love to see the numbers on how much base housing costs the military to run versus BAH

With skyrocketing rental costs, military personnel being forced to pay out-of-pocket for place to live

The Defense Department's Basic Allowance for Housing hasn't kept pace. The Blue Star Families and House Armed Services Committee called for an increase.

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/national/military-news/with-skyrocketing-rental-costs-military-personnel-being-forced-to-pay-out-of-pocket-for-housing/291-7dce187f-52bb-45d4-90fa-3d0abd71c68b


NORFOLK, Va. — Because there simply isn't enough military-owned housing for the nation's 1.3 million military active-duty members, many of them have no choice but to live off-base.
73% of military personnel who live in civilian housing pay well over $200 per month in housing costs out of pocket—beyond the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) they receive from the government—according to a 2023 survey from Blue Star Families.


A 2022 Blue Star Families survey found that 98% of respondents said finding rental housing within $200 of the service member's BAH was "somewhat difficult" to "extremely difficult."
The findings are drawing the attention of Capitol Hill.
"These housing shortages force military families to strain their budgets and pay more than they can afford or to undergo long commutes," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), during a hearing last week of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee.
At the same hearing, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel Ashish Vaziarni said: "Access to affordable housing certainly will improve the quality of life for military families. We're very focused on that."
Currently, the BAH is calculated at 95% of the local market cost.
Blue Star Families says the allowance needs to return to 100%.



Military families’ housing benefits lag as rents explode: ‘That could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH’


https://fortune.com/2022/08/20/military-families-housing-benefits-lag-as-rents-explode-bah-housing-bubble/

When Kristin Martin found out her husband was being transferred to Naval Base San Diego, securing housing for their family of five quickly took over her life.

On-base housing wasn’t an option — the waitlist for a four-bedroom home in the neighborhoods they qualified for was 14 to 16 months.

Neither were the military-only hotels near base where new arrivals can pay low rates as they get their bearings — those were full, too.

So Martin cast a wide net across San Diego and started applying for rental homes, all sight unseen.

“I was waking up and the first thing I was doing was looking at properties,” Martin said. “I was looking at it midday, before I went to bed. I had alerts set. It became a full-time job.”

More than 30 rental applications later and hundreds of dollars in application fees down the drain, the Martins finally found a home.

But there were caveats. They’d have to start paying rent a month before they actually moved. And, at $4,200 per month, their rent was nearly $700 more than the monthly basic allowance for housing, known as the BAH, that her husband, a lieutenant, receives.

“We’ll probably be here two or three years, so that could be $20,000 that we’re paying out of pocket above BAH just for rent,” Martin said after completing her family’s fourth move in 15 years last month.

“It’s affecting us personally but then I think about how we were a junior enlisted family at one point. I cannot imagine the struggles (they) are going through.”

Housing has long been a major benefit for service members, a subsidy to salaries that trail the private sector. But, amid record-breaking spikes in rent, the Department of Defense has neglected its commitment to help military families find affordable places to live, service members and housing activists say.

That’s forced many to settle for substandard homes, deal with extremely long commutes or pay thousands out of pocket they hadn’t budgeted for.

“We have families coming to us that are on exorbitantly lengthy waiting lists and sitting in homes that they can’t afford, like an Airbnb rental, or they’re at a hotel or camping in tents or living in RVs,” said Kate Needham, a veteran who co-founded the nonprofit Armed Forces Housing Advocates in May 2021.

“I don’t think civilians really understand — they might think we’re living in free housing and just having a great time, making lots of money. And that’s not the case at all.”

So I want to be clear here you are advocating for military personnel to receive a paycheck and then for all of the allowances to cover: housing, some utilities, medical care for themselves and their dependents, childcare if available, etc. So their paychecks, which apparently is the only one coming in since enlisted need SAHP are meant to pay for food, cars, savings, and clothing? They get 0% loans, pensions, veterans preference, spousal preference, and lots of funds not taxed and we are arguing about 5% BAH?

0% loans?
No one is getting a pension as an E4 or below. You have to put in 20+ years for that.

...so they do or dont ? and 0 down loan 100% VA loans.

Also not arguing with anyone but the WHO isnt being a stick in the mud to ask for the compensation review to be completed before passing legislation.

So your "0%" was referring to 0% down on a specific type of loan (home loan)--not referring to 0% interest rate?
Most E4 and below are not buying a house at every duty station; in fact I personally have never known any, so that doesn't help them.

No, E4s and below are not drawing a pension. No one who is active duty, enlisted or officer, is drawing a pension.

then your issue is with the Ft Carson commander who commented on that not me.
Im aware they dont get a pension on active duty JFC.

What?
No. My issue is with YOU claiming that current E4s and below sufficiently benefit from 0 down VA loans to buy houses, and therefore there is no need to adjust their compensation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like any issue, IMO people need to do more research.

Using the calculator on military.com, an E3 with 3 years of service in the DC area with dependents is getting $71,328 annually, including their housing allowance.

If they live on base then the housing allowance goes away but they are essentially living for free in base housing. They (and their dependents) get practically free health/dental/vision care, spouse gets hiring priority for U.S. government jobs, and childcare is ridiculously low.

That's a pretty good deal for someone who (traditionally) is in their early 20s, married and may have a kid or two.

You are clueless. There isn’t enough on base housing for military members serving in DC area bases. And there isn’t enough childcare either. Only a very small portion are able to get into the on base childcare center. Most military members in DC have to live off base and find their own childcare.

I'm not clueless. I also don't have DC-focused glasses on and have a much broader view.

I've got 28 years of service under my belt. Lived CONUS, OCONUS, on base and off base. It may be an issue in DC but not everywhere else. Fixing housing allowances is a better option than a 19+% across the board pay hike.

IMO, part of the problem is young enlisted troops get married and start popping out kids one after another, or they get married to someone who already has a couple of kids and wants to be a SAHP. The troops primarily do it because they don't want to live in barracks.

I've seen far too many cases of a 19-22 year olds in parenting situations where they simply are not ready. Throw in a deployment and a young spouse who can't handle multiple kids, can't handle the money, lives off base, and has no family support system, and it's a disaster.

As for childcare, there are waitlists based on rank and number of dependents. And guess what? That's pretty much the SOP for childcare for everyone! There are waitlists.

I just don't find it justifiable to provide blank checks for military service. Sure, it's tough. But guess what? There are firefighters, teachers, EMTs, law enforcement, electric linemen, elder caregivers, and garbage collectors who often do dangerous, thankless and dirty work, too. Imagine if we didn't have any of those professions. Many, many teachers in the US are making about $30K. Firefighters make a smidge above that. They have to pay their own housing, child care, health insurance, dental/vision, education, prescriptions, and groceries, and if they want to purchase a home they need a down payment and will have to pay the going mortgage rates.

Should they pay more in taxes so an E-4 with a spouse and kids doesn't have to pick up the tab for ANY of their living expenses? Let's hear how you would sell that one...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like any issue, IMO people need to do more research.

Using the calculator on military.com, an E3 with 3 years of service in the DC area with dependents is getting $71,328 annually, including their housing allowance.

If they live on base then the housing allowance goes away but they are essentially living for free in base housing. They (and their dependents) get practically free health/dental/vision care, spouse gets hiring priority for U.S. government jobs, and childcare is ridiculously low.

That's a pretty good deal for someone who (traditionally) is in their early 20s, married and may have a kid or two.

You are clueless. There isn’t enough on base housing for military members serving in DC area bases. And there isn’t enough childcare either. Only a very small portion are able to get into the on base childcare center. Most military members in DC have to live off base and find their own childcare.

I'm not clueless. I also don't have DC-focused glasses on and have a much broader view.

I've got 28 years of service under my belt. Lived CONUS, OCONUS, on base and off base. It may be an issue in DC but not everywhere else. Fixing housing allowances is a better option than a 19+% across the board pay hike.

IMO, part of the problem is young enlisted troops get married and start popping out kids one after another, or they get married to someone who already has a couple of kids and wants to be a SAHP. The troops primarily do it because they don't want to live in barracks.

I've seen far too many cases of a 19-22 year olds in parenting situations where they simply are not ready. Throw in a deployment and a young spouse who can't handle multiple kids, can't handle the money, lives off base, and has no family support system, and it's a disaster.

As for childcare, there are waitlists based on rank and number of dependents. And guess what? That's pretty much the SOP for childcare for everyone! There are waitlists.

I just don't find it justifiable to provide blank checks for military service. Sure, it's tough. But guess what? There are firefighters, teachers, EMTs, law enforcement, electric linemen, elder caregivers, and garbage collectors who often do dangerous, thankless and dirty work, too. Imagine if we didn't have any of those professions. Many, many teachers in the US are making about $30K. Firefighters make a smidge above that. They have to pay their own housing, child care, health insurance, dental/vision, education, prescriptions, and groceries, and if they want to purchase a home they need a down payment and will have to pay the going mortgage rates.

Should they pay more in taxes so an E-4 with a spouse and kids doesn't have to pick up the tab for ANY of their living expenses? Let's hear how you would sell that one...

If you already know that there are waitlists for childcare, why did you bring it up in your pp as if "ridculously low" childcare was a sure thing benefit?

Exactly what kind of "service" have you provided?