MAZON Statements

Following today’s passage of the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025 by the U.S. House of Representatives, leading national anti-hunger advocates called particular attention to provisions in the bill that would address military hunger. MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, which has led the fight to address military hunger for over 12 years, welcomed improvements to military family quality of life issues in the legislation while condemning Congress’s failure to close a loophole preventing some military families from accessing SNAP benefits. 

Abby J. Leibman, MAZON’s President & CEO stated:

“Our enlisted service members put everything on the line for our country, but many still struggle to put food on the table for themselves and their loved ones. There is a food pantry operating on or near every military base in the U.S., but access to the benefits that provide hunger relief is out of reach for tens of thousands of military families. This NDAA provides some relief to those struggling to make ends meet, but make no mistake —  it clearly does not resolve the persistent problem of hunger among America’s military families. 

“We are gratified that service members will all see a long-overdue salary increase, as well as enhanced increases for junior-enlisted members, since we know that these members and their families are most likely to experience financial hardship and food insecurity. We are also pleased that the bill includes improvements to the Military Family Basic Needs Allowance, which MAZON helped design, and provisions to reduce spousal unemployment: a major contributor to the unique financial challenges facing military families. 

“However, once again policymakers failed to address one of the persistent barriers to food support for many military families: their housing allowance counts against them when seeking assistance to meet their basic needs. We will not accept this. No person or family serving our country should face additional arbitrary barriers to the programs designed to provide a measure of stability until families are in fact food secure. Basic Needs Allowance and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits must be available to anyone who needs them, and Congress must take action to address this barrier.

“It is also extremely frustrating and disheartening — although not entirely surprising — that Speaker Johnson and the Republican caucus once again chose to play political games with our military’s well-being and effectiveness by embedding culture war provisions in this must-pass bill. The NDAA is about more than equipment and battle-readiness, as some may have us believe — it is also about the well-being of our active-duty service members, veterans, and their families. By including these dangerous and draconian poison pills, we fear certain members of Congress are again prioritizing their own spotlight at the expense of our military’s well-being.”

The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025 would accomplish a wide range of priorities, including but not limited to:

• Authorizing a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and supports a 4.5% pay raise for all other service members.
• Raising the threshold for the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA) to 200% of federal poverty guidelines.
• Requiring the Department of Defense to reevaluate the allowance for subsistence to ensure it meets the actual cost of necessities. 
• Making it easier for military spouses to transfer professional licenses between states.
• Codifying the Military Spouses Career Accelerator which provides employment support to military spouses.
• Extending the Department of Defense’s authority to quickly fill open civilian positions with qualified military spouses.
• Expanding access to Department of Defense child care for military spouses when they are seeking employment.