Following Food Insecurity Issues For Staten Island Service Members, Malliotakis Delivers Largest Military Pay Raise in 20 Years

(WASHINGTON, DC) - Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), today released the following statement regarding her vote in support of the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that increases basic military pay and examines Staten Island's Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH):

"Last year, 25% of active-duty service members relied of some sort of food assistance to survive, including more than 300 U.S. Coast Guard families at Staten Island's Fort Wadsworth. This is unacceptable and exactly why today I proudly voted for the NDAA to give our service members a 5.2% basic pay increase in January - on top of the 4.6% raise they received this year - which is the largest pay raise in twenty years. Not only this, but we've also fought to include my legislative language that requires the Secretary of Defense to examine the calculation for Staten Island's BAH rate, which has historically been lower than every other borough of New York City. When I came to Congress I immediately began advocating to increase the BAH for Staten Island military men and women and today, they are receiving more than $500 more, with the average BAH being $3,786. Additionally, today's legislation will require a study to further examine how we can help put Staten Island service members on par with the rest of the city. The passage of this bill is a win for the American people and our service members who've sacrificed so much for our nation and deserve to live comfortably."

Malliotakis also worked with colleagues to ensure the bill included language authorizing $676 million to the World Trade Center Health Program to cover rising costs of treatment for New York City first responders who are today suffering with 9/11 related illnesses.