Military members will see a 3.1% pay raise due to the passage of new appropriations bills.
Congressman John Carter (TX-31) announced the two FY20 Consolidated Appropriations bills will provide pay raises as well as substantial investments for Fort Hood, including construction of new barracks.
According to Congressman Carter, the bills will provide:
- $32 million for military construction for Fort Hood Army barracks
- 3.1% pay raise for military members
- $5 million for the VA Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits Center of Excellence
- $18.5 million for the Army Unfunded Requirement vehicle bridge at Fort Hood
- $9.4 billion for the VA Mental Health and Suicide Prevention program
- $1.8 billion for VA Homeless programs
- $132 million for the Department of Justice (DoJ) DNA Initiative, which will focus on untested rape kits and help take offenders off the streets
- Language to address sexual assault and juvenile justice reform to support victims on military bases like Fort Hood
- $12 million for DoJ Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program
- $10 million for a grant program that provides training for law enforcement
The bills will also provide:
- Funds for additional immigration judges to help address the backlog of immigration cases
- Provides funding new border processing coordinators
- Increases funding for DEA to crack down on drug trafficking and prosecute drug traffickers
- Funding for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)
- $518 million for grant programs that support drug courts, prescription drug monitoring and at-risk youth programs
- $1.5 billion to the VA to support the implementation of electronic health records system that is fully interoperable with DoD records
