Officials: Fund programs, not bigger raise - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Officials: Fund programs, not bigger raise

Defense and service personnel officials continue to resist efforts by Congress to provide troops a bigger 2011 military raise, telling a House panel that they would rather see more money spent on quality-of-life programs for troops and their families than on boosting the 1.4 percent pay raise proposed by the Obama administration.

Their comments came at a Wednesday hearing as Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Armed Services Committee’s military personnel panel, asked the officials whether they would support lawmakers who wanted to bump the 2011 pay raise to 1.9 percent and continue an 11-year string of giving service members an increase that is slightly larger than the average raise in the private sector.

Clifford Stanley, sworn in as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness four weeks ago, said his personal opinion is that “you cannot pay people enough.”

But that said, military pay levels now meet or exceed comparable salaries in the private sector, making a bigger raise unnecessary, he said.

Davis said she expects “some pushback” from armed services committee members, who already have written a bipartisan letter to the House Budget Committee asking for $340 million to cover the higher raise supported by the committee.

“Nobody is going to turn down an increase in pay,” said Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, Army deputy chief of staff for personnel. But he said pay levels for the military are enough, especially given limited resourses.

“We actually think we have a surplus in terms of pay,” he said.

Rather than a bigger increase, Bostick said the Army would like to focus resources on quality-of-life programs and family issues.

Vice Adm. Mark Ferguson, the chief of naval personnel, said surveys of sailors show they are “very satisfied” with pay. He agreed with Bostick that it would be better to spend money on other priorities.

It is not clear whether the personnel chiefs’ testimony will sway the subcommittee, which is expected to start making decisions in May about pay and benefits increases for the 2011 defense budget.