[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years and is a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), introduced the National Guard and Reserve Incentive Pay Parity Act today to help ensure that Reserve Component servicemembers in high-skilled roles are compensated at the same rate as active duty counterparts performing the same work. Duckworth’s legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senator Cortez Masto (D-NV).
“Right now, National Guard and Reserve servicemembers who have specific skill sets and qualifications are only paid a fraction of what their active duty counterparts are paid,” said Duckworth. “Every member of the National Guard and Reserve, whether active or reserve duty, deserves to be fairly compensated for mission-essential skills and work, and I’m glad to introduce this bill that would help ensure that all servicemembers – regardless of the component they serve – are paid equally.”
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The Department of Defense (DoD) currently uses more than 60 incentive and special duty pays to help retain individuals with specific skill sets that can fill roles that might be difficult to replace. However, despite doing the same work and having to maintain the same level of training and preparedness, Reserve Component servicemembers are in many cases not compensated at the same rate as their active duty counterparts. Duckworth’s National Guard and Reserve Incentive Pay Parity Act would address that pay disparity and simultaneously help the Guard and Reserve retain high-skilled and uniquely-skilled individuals, which is ultimately more cost effective for our Armed Forces.
The legislation is endorsed by 29 military and Veteran’s organizations, including: Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Association of the United States Army (AUSA), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) and the Reserve Officers Association (ROA).
