Pay raises for service members, funding for HBCUs part of NDAA bill for 2025

Pay raises for service members and funding for historically black colleges or universities (HBCUs), as well as reproductive-related health care and others are part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that Rep. Terri Sewell said she voted on in an announcement on Wednesday. 

“Today, I voted yes on the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act to give our service members the support they need to keep our nation safe,” Sewell, who represents the 7th Congressional District, said. “I am very proud that this year’s NDAA includes a well-deserved 14.5 percent pay raise for our junior enlisted service members and a 4.5 percent raise for the many other brave Americans serving in our Armed Forces.”

The legislation includes a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted service members, as well as a 4.5 percent raise for all other service members, said the announcement.

It also includes more than $100 million for HBCUs and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The funding is meant to allow them to conduct research and "major investments in Alabama’s military installations."

The NDAA reportedly passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 281 to 140. 

Additionally, there are several others, one being Sewell’s bill, the SMART Save Act, which is aimed at improving financial literacy training for service members.

It authorizes $119.6 million for five military construction projects in Alabama, though the announcement did not specify where. It eliminates copays for contraceptives for eligible TRICARE beneficiaries as part of a reproductive-related health care service.