'Embarrassment:' White House blasted for opposing 19.5% pay hike for junior enlisted troops

As the military is facing a "once in a generation recruitment crisis," the White House said it "strongly opposes" a proposed nearly 20% pay raise for junior enlisted troops. 

"The number one priority for our military is getting that recruitment crisis under control and increasing pay is a good way to do that," said Veterans on Duty chairman Jeremy Hunt on "Fox & Friends" Thursday. 

"The administration is strongly committed to taking care of our service members and their families, and appreciates the [House Armed Services Committee's] concern for the needs of the most junior enlisted members, but strongly opposes making a significant, permanent change to the basic pay schedule before the completion of the Fourteenth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation," the White House said in a statement.

Hunt slammed this opposition, saying, "It's truly remarkable to me. … President Biden has approved over $100 billion in student loan forgiveness. But when it comes to our troops, America's most precious resource, he's complaining about an increase in military pay?"

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"I think it's an embarrassment for the whole country if we can't increase pay for our troops," said Hunt. "Inflation is up 20% since Biden entered office, the least he could do is increase military pay to keep up with the inflation that he caused."

Hunt said the left tries to push "unrelated nonsense" through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) each year, and said there are other things that can be cut to reduce spending instead. 

"When I was a platoon leader in the 3rd Infantry Division, I was an intel officer, my soldiers, several of them were living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet in trying to make sure that they could provide for their families," said Hunt. 

"I look now, and I say, why is that still a problem in our country? That should be the number one thing that lawmakers and our commander in chief should be seeking to address."

Members of both parties in the Armed Service Committee backed the pay boost for junior enlisted troops, according to Military.com.

"One of the big aspects of this is a 19.5% pay increase for junior enlisted [troops]," Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking member of the committee, said at a House Rules Committee meeting.

"That's where we really have the problem. Many of our junior enlisteds are struggling to afford housing as housing costs have gone up. Their pay has not kept pace. This is a bold step to try to make sure that we support them, which incidentally will also help with recruitment and retention."

According to the Department of Defense, for the 2023 fiscal year, the Army was 23.4% short of its recruitment goal, the Navy was 19.8% short and the Air Force 10.7% short of its goal.

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