[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9465 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9465
To amend chapter 19 of title 37, United States Code, to provide for a
one-time corrective increase and annual adjustments of certain special
and incentive pays for members of the Armed Forces, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 25, 2026
Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona (for himself, Mr. Vindman, Mr. Mills, and Mr.
Davis of North Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend chapter 19 of title 37, United States Code, to provide for a
one-time corrective increase and annual adjustments of certain special
and incentive pays for members of the Armed Forces, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Combat Pay Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. ONE-TIME CORRECTIVE INCREASE AND ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS FOR CERTAIN
SPECIAL AND INCENTIVE PAYS FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED
FORCES; CLARIFICATION OF SPECIAL AND INCENTIVE PAY
AUTHORITIES FOR MEMBERS OF RESERVE COMPONENTS.
(a) Adjustments.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 19 of title 37, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``Sec. 1017. Adjustments to amounts of special and incentive pays
``(a) Initial Increase.--Effective on January 1 of the first year
that begins after the date of the enactment of the Combat Pay
Protection Act, the Secretary of Defense shall increase the amount of
each covered special and incentive pay (rounded to the nearest dollar)
for members of the Armed Forces by the greater of--
``(1) the percentage by which the CPI for the base quarter
of the preceding year exceeds the CPI for the base quarter
preceding the last statutory or administrative increase date
for such covered special and incentive pay; and
``(2) the percentage by which the average rate of basic pay
for members of the Armed Forces under section 203(a) of this
title in effect on such January 1 exceeds the average rate of
basic pay for members of the Armed Forces under such section
203(a) that was in effect on the last statutory or
administrative increase date for such covered special and
incentive pay.
``(b) Recurring Increase.--Effective on January 1 of the second
year that begins after the date of the enactment of the Combat Pay
Protection Act, and each January 1 thereafter, the Secretary of Defense
shall increase the amount of each covered special and incentive pay
(rounded to the nearest dollar) for members of the Armed Forces by the
greater of--
``(1) the percentage by which the CPI for the base quarter
of the preceding year exceeds the CPI for the base quarter of
the year before the preceding year; and
``(2) the percentage by which the rate of basic pay for
members of the Armed Forces under section 203(a) of this title
is increased on such January 1 from the rate of basic pay for
such members in effect the preceding year.
``(c) Relationship to Limits of Amounts in Law.--The Secretary
shall increase the amount of each covered special and incentive pay in
accordance with subsection (a) or (b) notwithstanding any limitation on
the maximum amount of such pay specified in any other provision of law.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `base quarter' for any year is the three-
month period ending on September 30 of such year.
``(2) The term `covered special and incentive pay' means--
``(A) a bonus, incentive, or special pay payable
under chapter 5 of this title; and
``(B) the allowance payable under section 427 of
this title.
``(3) The term `CPI' means the Consumer Price Index for All
Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the Department of Labor.
``(4) The term `last statutory or administrative increase
date' means the date of the most recent adjustment to an amount
of pay that--
``(A) reflects a revision based on objective
economic indicators or an increase to basic pay for
members of the Armed Forces; or
``(B) was made by Act of Congress.''.
(2) Publication of one-time adjustments.--Not later than
December 31 of the year of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Defense shall publish in the Federal Register a
table that identifies--
(A) each covered special and incentive pay (as
defined in section 1017 of title 37, United States
Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section);
(B) the last statutory or administration increase
date (as defined in such section 1017) of each such
pay;
(C) the amount of increase of such pay after the
application of subsection (a) of such section 1017; and
(D) the total amount of such pay after the
application of such subsection (a).
(b) Clarification of Special and Incentive Pay Authorities for
Members of Reserve Components.--Section 357 of title 37, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``special or incentive pay'' and inserting
``bonus, incentive, or special pay''; and
(2) by striking ``if the Secretary concerned'' and all that
follows and inserting a period.
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