Department Of Defense To Give Troops ‘Economic Hardship’ Bonus Of $20 Per Month

Authored by Eric Lundrum via American Greatness,

The Biden Administration’s Department of Defense (DOD) has announced that it will begin handing out “economic hardship bonuses” to members of the military, amounting to a mere $20 every month.

As reported by the Daily Caller, the $20 bonus will be given to troops between the ranks of E1 and E3. An anonymous defense official confirmed the bonus on Friday, speaking to Military.com.

“The monthly bonus amounts, on average, will total approximately $120 [over the six months] … and they’re based on the funding Congress has made available,” said the official.

The bonuses will be provided as a result of funds appropriated by the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Congress passed last year. The Pentagon calculated that it could provide such payments to around 266,000 members before the funds ran out. As such, the E6 rank will not receive the bonus. Although the funds were first authorized in December, they were not appropriated for the DOD until March.

“While it’s welcome news that the department will provide some junior enlisted service members with temporary bonus pay, as authorized by [last year’s] NDAA, more must be done,” said Justine Tripathi, a spokeswoman for the House Armed Services Committee.

“[This is] why the [2025] NDAA NDAA provides junior enlisted service members with a 19.5% pay raise.”

Concerns have arisen regarding troops’ pay and whether or not it is enough to sustain a family. A study was published in April by the Armed Services Committee, which found that “servicemembers, especially junior enlisted servicemembers and servicemembers supporting large families, struggle to afford housing and feed their families.”

The study also determined that troops within that rank range had received either minimal pay raises or no raises at all in eight of the last 40 years.

A similar study released in June by the Military Family Advisory Network revealed that over half of all military families, active service members, and veterans were in a poor financial state.

In the same study, just 57% of respondents said that they would recommend joining the military, compared to 74% who said they would do so in 2019.