The defense authorization bill, which directs Pentagon policy, provides a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% increase for others.

President Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families.

Biden signed the bill, officially known as the H.R. 5009 or the “ Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 ,” despite “strongly opposing” the provision denying the expenditure of funds for gender-affirming care for children.