A new provision in a Senate bill is threatening to cut the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) in half for troops married to other service members.

Under the new policy, the lowest ranking service member in a dual-military couple would have his or her housing allowance completely cut. This would vastly deplete the housing options for many couples, who need both incomes to pay their expenses. The policy would also reduce the BAH for unmarried service members who live together by 25 percent.

The Pentagon’s top seven enlisted leaders sent a letter to Congress protesting the bill. In addition to unfairly penalizing military families, the letter noted that it would hurt female service members. About 20 percent of military women are married to other servicemen, but only 3.7 percent of men can say the same.

We ask each service member to make untold sacrifices in the name of our national security; each should be compensated accordingly.

…

When faced with such a significant penalty for marrying another military member, the unintended consequence would be one of those service members would most likely leave the service. At a time when we are working to recruit more women and open more options for women to serve, this provision unnecessarily challenges our efforts to accomplish this goal.

The House version of the bill does not include this controversial provision. For the bill to pass, a House-Senate committee must meet and negotiate a single version to pass to the White House for the president’s approval, who has stated that he opposes the change.

(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tanya Green/Released)