McCaul Praises the House Armed Services Committee's Quality of Life Panel Report

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX) released a statement on the House Armed Services Committee's Quality of Life Panel's bipartisan report highlighting changes which are needed to improve U.S. servicemembers' quality of life.

"Our servicemembers selflessly signed up to defend our country. We must ensure that they have the proper resources to adequately care for themselves and their family," said Rep. McCaul. "In addition, ensuring quality of life is critical for the recruitment and retention of our troops, which is vital for U.S. military readiness and U.S. national security. I applaud the work done by the House Armed Services Committee's Bipartisan Quality of Life Panel, and look forward to working with my colleagues to implement these important changes."

Background:

House Armed Services Committee Members Representatives Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Quality-of-Life Panel, released a report with 31 policy recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Highlights of the report:

• Increasing basic pay for junior enlisted service members by 15 percent.
• Ensuring that service members are provided adequate housing arrangements.
• Requiring the Department of Defense to cover 100 percent of the calculated rate for military housing.
• Expanding direct access for military personnel to receive proper healthcare.
• Permanently authorizing the Military Spouse Career Accelerator Pilot to provide employment support to military spouses.
• Fully fund childcare fee assistance programs to eliminate fee assistance wait lists for eligible families.

One pagers can be found here.

The full report can be found here.