WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee’s new defense authorization bill would expand a program enacted last year to help low-income military families make ends meet and feed themselves — but advocates say legislative fixes to date have fallen short of what’s needed.
The “basic needs allowance,” as enacted in the fiscal 2022 defense authorization, would make up the difference between a service member’s annual salary and 130% of the federal poverty line.
By comparison, the new Senate authorization bill, which the Armed Services Committee approved Thursday, includes a provision written by Illinois Democrat Tammy Duckworth that would cover troops up to 150% of the federal poverty line.
