FY2025 NDAA: Basic Needs Allowance for Military Families (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised Oct. 2, 2024 |
| Report Number |
IN12380 |
| Report Type |
Insight |
| Authors |
Kristy N. Kamarck |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
-
Premium June 17, 2024 (3 pages, $24.95)
add
|
Summary:
In 2023, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) established the Quality of Life (QOL) Panel to
develop legislative proposals for the 118th Congress. On April 8, 2024, the QOL Panel released its final
report. Several of the Panel’s recommendations were included in the Servicemember Quality of Life
Improvement Act (H.R. 8070). The bill became the vehicle for the House version of the FY2025 NDAA,
known as the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2025.
One of the pillars of the Panel’s effort was a review of military pay and compensation. The Panel
recommended increasing the eligibility threshold for a Department of Defense (DOD) benefit called the
basic needs allowance (BNA) to 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. The House version of the
FY2025 NDAA (H.R. 8070) would adopt this threshold and also would remove basic allowance for
housing (BAH) from consideration for the benefit. The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC)-
reported bill (S. 4638), as well as a package of amendments (S.Amdt. 3290) that SASC leadership has
stated is part of negotiations for an FY2025 NDAA, does not propose any changes to the BNA. However,
the Committee report to accompany S. 4638 directs the Secretary of Defense, in conjunction with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, to report to the congressional defense committees on military food security to
include an analysis of the adequacy of military pay and the BNA.
