It took Congress until almost Christmas to complete its work on 2002 defense and veterans legislation, but for service personnel it was worth the wait.
The New Year brought satisfying increases in military pay and housing allowances, as well as higher reimbursements for permanent change-of-station moves. Other quality-of-life improvements included significant increases in Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) education benefits and enhanced survivor benefits for the families of senior enlisted members and officers who die while on active duty.
Here are the highlights:
- Pay Raises: Basic pay for active-duty, reserve, and National Guard members rose at least 6% for enlisted and 5% for officers. That was the base; some enlisted received up to 10%, and some officers as much as 6.5%. Most warrant officers got 8% or 8.5% raises.
- Basic Allowance for Housing: For members living off base in stateside areas, the average increase was 10%.
- Travel Pay: Reimbursements during permanent change-of-station moves are to rise sharply over two years, enough so member out-of-pocket costs fall from an average of 40% of travel costs to less than 10%. Some travel pay gains have begun. Others will not take effect until I January 2003.
Here is what happened in 2001:
- The temporary lodging expense (TLE) allowance rose by more than 60%, from $110 a day to $180. Members get up to ten days TLE when living in temporary quarters stateside.
- Members moving to initial duty assignments now will get a dislocation allowance (DLA) of more than $1,300. The lump-sum payment defrays travel expenses for which no other reimbursement is authorized.
- One member of any "service couple" (that is, member married to member) will be authorized DLA when moving into government housing. Neither member had qualified for DLA if they had had no other dependents.
- A partial DLA of $500 a month now will be paid to members ordered out of base quarters for renovations or repairs.
- The maximum pet quarantine reimbursement has been doubled, from $275 per move to $550, for pet owners reassigned outside the continental United States.
- Military travelers will be allowed advance payment of vehicle storage fees. The shipment of one vehicle per family will be allowed within the continental United States if determined to be more cost-effective to the government than reimbursing mileage costs for driving to a new duty site.
Big travel pay improvements set for 2003 include:
- Replacement of the military's "flat rate" per them with the more generous formula used for federal civilian reassignments. The military rate of $50 will jump to a maximum of $85. The rate for dependents age 12 and older will rise from $37.50 to a maximum of $63.75; per them for children under 12 will climb from $25 to a maximum of $42.50.
- Enlisted in grades E-4 and below will be able to ship more household goods at government expense. Weight allowance ceilings of 1,500 to 3,500 pounds for junior enlisted without dependents will rise to 5,000 pounds for grades E-1 through E-3, and 7,000 pounds for E-4. For married junior enlisted, ceilings of 5,000 to 7,000 pounds will rise to 8,000.
- Active-Duty Survivor Benefit Plan: Retroactive to 10 September 2001, the military Survivor Benefit Plan will be enhanced for survivors of members who die on active duty, including those who die before completing 20 years., Survivors will be eligible for the benefit plan as though members had retired on total disability the day of their death; meaning the member's annuity would have been 75% of basic pay, and the benefit beneficiary will draw 55% of that until age 62, and 35% thereafter.
- MGIB Benefits: Education benefits jumped by 19.2% on 1 January 2002 and will rise a total of 46% by 1 October 2003, under the Veterans Education and Benefits Expansion Act that President George Bush signed into law on 27 December 2001. The MGIB increases were the centerpiece of a package of veterans benefits improvements. Others included increases in the Veterans Administration home loan guaranty program, in grants to adapt housing and automobiles to accommodate the severely disabled, and in aid available to homeless veterans. Effective 1 January 2002, the MGIB benefit for full-time students rose from $672 a month to $800. A second increase, to $900 a month, is set for 1 October this year and will be followed by a third increase, to $985, in October 2003.