Last week, the Trump Administration celebrated the passage of its sprawling legislation called by President Donald Trump “The Big Beautiful Bill.”
The effects of this legislation on military families are wide ranging, though it will likely be years before its full effect can be evaluated.
In general, the legislation lowers some taxes, continues the 2017 tax cuts, changes funding for a number of government programs and raises the debt ceiling. .
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill will also add about $3 trillion to the national debt while critics of the CBO conclusion say it fails to take into account the economic growth they believe the bill will spark.
The bill passed Congress on July 3 and President Trump signed it into law on July 4.
For some context, in 2024, the federal government spent $873 billion, or about 12.9 percent of its budget on defense. . Defense spending covers military equipment and operation, R&D, and personnel costs and compensation.
The National Military Family Association (NMFA) and Blue Star Families (BSF), two national non-profit organizations that advocate for improved quality of life for military members, veterans, and their families, both touted a number of positives in the bill.
The NMFA highlighted the legislation’s $9 billion allocation to boost existing quality-of-life initiatives for military families:
- $2.9 billion to supplement Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH in the language of the military acronym);
- $100 million to support public schools serving large numbers of military children;
- Increased investment in childcare fee assistance;
- Upgrades to barracks and privatized family housing;
- More support for the military health system, with details to be determined.
Blue Star Families cited the following positives:
- A substantial 14.5 percent pay increase for junior enlisted personnel at the E4 level or below (generally this pay grade is a corporal or a specialist in the army, a senior airman in the air force and a petty officer in the navy – this covers about 500,000 service members;
- A 4.5 percent pay increase for the rest of the military;
- Increase in the Basic Needs Allowance for low-income families meant to address food insecurity (reports say about one in five military families struggle to put food on the table regularly;
- Additional funding for military spouse professional fee assistance;
- Employment support for military spouses including expanded childcare for job searches and making professional licensing transfers easier.
The new legislation also allocates $150 billion in additional funding for weapons development and acquisition, shipbuilding, and the development of a “Golden Dome” defense system.
The NAMF cautioned that some aspects of the bill not directly related to the Defense Department budget could have negative effects on military families.
For instance, NAMF noted about the planned Medicaid cuts that “while most military families rely on TRICARE for their healthcare needs, special needs military families often rely on Medicaid to receive services that TRICARE does not cover.”
NAMF also pointed out that military families already face long wait lists to obtain services through Medicaid, and cuts to the program may make those waits even longer.
Reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) concerned NAMF as well. . The organization said SNAP “is a lifeline for many veterans and their families. It often takes six months for veterans in transition to find work, and during that time, SNAP can help put food on the table for the whole family.”
The Big Beautiful Bill makes permanent the 2018 tax brackets and increases the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $2,200. This could be problematic for military families, says NAMF, because “the full credit only goes to families who have enough taxable income to qualify and since many types of military pay are not taxable, families may not qualify for the discount.”
Lastly, NAMF noted the slashing of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would affect the Office of Service Member Affairs which protects members of the military and veterans from financial fraud.
