Under the latest congressional budget plan, troops E-6 and below could start getting monthly bonuses from the Defense Department to offset low base pay.
Lawmakers and senior military leaders say that military pay needs to be based more on the role and responsibilites of troops, and not simply their age.
The latest aid comes as the U.S. military remains deeply overdrawn and needs at least $10 billion to replenish all the weapons it has pulled for Ukraine.