WASHINGTON — Military personnel will get an above-inflation pay raise of 3.4 percent under a Pentagon policy bill the Senate passed Thursday and sent to President Barack Obama for his signature.
The pay increase was a half- percentage point more than Obama sought earlier this year and beats the average pay boost in the private sector.
The Senate cleared the House-Senate compromise measure by a 68-29 vote.
The far-reaching legislation also prohibits the Obama administration from transferring any detainee being held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba to the U.S. for trial until 45 days after it has given notice to Congress. Guantanamo prisoners could not be released into the U.S.
The bill also contains unrelated legislation strengthening federal hate-crimes laws and includes significant changes to voting procedures for U.S. troops and other American voters overseas.
Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates focused most of their attention on a handful of items, especially trying to kill the jobs-rich but well-over-budget F-22 fighter program. The measure would terminate production of the F-22.
The legislation does accede to Obama’s call to terminate the VH-71 replacement helicopter program for the presidential fleet and cuts the missile- defense program by about 12 percent.
The $680 billion measure doesn’t actually fund the Pentagon’s budget but provides policy guidance that is typically followed closely by the appropriations committees. It also approves Obama’s $130 billion request to conduct the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
