I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1885
To amend title 37, United States Code, to ensure that military pay increases 
are comparable to private sector pay growth, as measured by the Employ-
ment Cost Index. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2003
Mrs. DAVIS of California (for herself and Mr. SKELTON) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To amend title 37, United States Code, to ensure that mili-
tary pay increases are comparable to private sector pay 
growth, as measured by the Employment Cost Index.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Pay Com-
parability Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) One of the underlying principles of the all-
volunteer Armed Forces is the principle that military
pay increases must remain comparable to private 
sector pay growth, as measured by the Employment 
Cost Index. 
(2) The capping of military pay raises below 
private sector pay growth for extended periods dur-
ing the past 30 years has led to significant retention 
problems among second-term and career members of 
the Armed Forces. 
(3) Such retention problems cost the United 
States more in terms of lost military experience, de-
creased readiness, and increased training costs than 
maintaining the principle of pay comparability. 
(4) Since military pay was last deemed reason-
ably comparable with private sector pay in 1982, 
military pay raises have lagged a cumulative 6.4 per-
cent behind private sector wage growth, although re-
cent efforts of the President and Congress have re-
duced the gap significantly from its peak of 13.5 
percent in 1999. 
(5) Under existing law, while military pay in-
creases must exceed growth in the Employment Cost 
Index through fiscal year 2006, increases in subse-
quent years will be capped one-half percentage point 
below the Employment Cost Index, to the detriment 
of retention and readiness over the long term.
(6) The remaining so-called pay comparability 
gap should be eliminated as quickly as possible, and 
military pay increases must sustain full com-
parability with increases in the Employment Cost 
Index. 
SEC. 3. ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS IN MONTHLY BASIC PAY 
FOR MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERV-
ICES. 
(a) ANNUAL
ADJUSTMENT
REQUIRED.—Section 
1009 of title 37, United States Code, is amended by strik-
ing subsections (a), (b), and (c) and inserting the following 
new subsections: 
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT FOR ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT.—
Effective on January 1 of each year, the rates of basic 
pay for members of the uniformed services under section 
203(a) of this title shall be increased under this section. 
‘‘(b) EFFECTIVENESS OF ADJUSTMENT.—An adjust-
ment under this section shall have the force and effect of 
law. 
‘‘(c) EQUAL PERCENTAGE INCREASE FOR ALL MEM-
BERS.—(1) Subject to subsection (d), an adjustment made 
under this section in a year shall provide all eligible mem-
bers with an increase in the monthly basic pay that is the 
percentage (rounded to the nearest one-tenth of 1 percent) 
by which the Employment Cost Index for the base quarter
of the year before the preceding year exceeds the Employ-
ment Cost Index for the base quarter of the second year 
before the preceding calendar year (if at all). 
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), but subject to 
subsection (d), the percentage of the adjustment taking 
effect under this section during each of fiscal years 2004, 
2005, and 2006, shall be one-half of one percentage point 
higher than the percentage that would otherwise be appli-
cable under such paragraph.’’. 
(b) PUBLICATION OF ADJUSTED RATES.—Subsection 
(e) of such section is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(e) NOTICE
OF
ALLOCA-
TIONS.—’’ and inserting ‘‘(e) NOTIFICATION
AND 
PUBLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—(1)’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) The rates of basic pay that take effect under 
this section shall be printed in the Federal Register and 
the Code of Federal Regulations.’’. 
(c) PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATION OF NEED FOR 
ALTERNATIVE PAY ADJUSTMENT.—Such section is fur-
ther amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub-
section (h); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol-
lowing new subsection (g): 
‘‘(g) EFFECT OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY OR SERI-
OUS ECONOMIC CONDITIONS.—(1) If, because of national 
emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the 
general welfare, the President determines that the pay ad-
justment otherwise required by this section for a year is 
inappropriate, the President may prepare a plan proposing 
such alternative pay adjustments as the President con-
siders appropriate. The President shall submit the plan, 
together with the reasons for the alternative pay adjust-
ments, to Congress before March 1 of the preceding year. 
‘‘(2) In evaluating an economic condition affecting 
the general welfare under this subsection, the President 
shall consider pertinent economic measures including the 
Indexes of Leading Economic Indicators, the Gross Na-
tional Product, the unemployment rate, the budget deficit, 
the Consumer Price Index, the Producer Price Index, the 
Employment Cost Index, and the Implicit Price Deflator 
for Personal Consumption Expenditures. 
‘‘(3) The President shall include in the plan sub-
mitted under paragraph (1) an assessment of the impact 
that the alternative pay adjustments proposed in the plan 
will have on the ability to recruit and retain well-qualified 
members of the uniformed services.
(d) DEFINITIONS.—Such section, as amended by sub-
section (c), is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘Employment Cost Index’ means 
the Employment Cost Index (wages and salaries, 
private industry workers) published quarterly by the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘base quarter’ for any year is the 
three-month period ending on September 30 of such 
year.’’. 
(e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (d)(2) 
of such section is amended by striking ‘‘in the General 
Schedule rates of basic pay for civilian employees.’’ and 
inserting ‘‘in the rates of monthly basic pay under this 
section.’’.
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