Voting to Boost Pay for Servicemembers

congressman allen's e-newsletter

Voting to Boost Pay for Servicemembers

You can’t have the world’s greatest fighting force without taking care of the men and women who wear the uniform. This week, the House of Representatives passed H. Amdt. to S. 1071, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (NDAA). This bipartisan legislation implements President Trump's peace-through-strength agenda by restoring our fighting force to greatness, deterring our adversaries, and ensuring our national security.

The legislation also prioritizes improvements to our servicemembers’ quality of life. To ensure our warfighters are supported, the legislation includes a 3.8 percent pay raise for all servicemembers, widens access to health care and childcare, and improves servicemember housing.

While investing in innovation and streamlining development to ensure our fighting force remains the strongest in the world, the FY26 NDAA also cuts woke programs to keep our Armed Forces focused on their core mission: keeping our nation safe. As threats to our national security grow more complex, we must make certain our fighting force is ready to meet the challenge, and that means delivering the capabilities our warfighters need when they need them. This legislation does just that.

Streamlining the Pipeline Review Process

Due to unclear review processes and a lack of coordination amongst government agencies – pipeline infrastructure approvals in this country have been significantly delayed, often resulting in insufficient infrastructure to transport our clean natural gas. The result is an electric grid that is less reliable and increased utility prices for hardworking Americans. With natural gas demand expected to reach an all-time high, accounting for more than 40 percent of electric generation in the U.S. next year, this is clearly a pressing issue that must be addressed immediately.

That is why the House also passed H.R. 3668 this week, the Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Review Act, with my support. This bill will expand and modernize America’s natural gas pipeline infrastructure by improving communication between agencies and streamlining natural gas pipeline reviews and approvals so Americans can access the energy they need.

Watch my remarks on the House floor HERE.

Enhancing Economic Competitiveness

My legislation to enhance economic competitiveness was advanced by the Environment Subcommittee this week. H.R. 4214, the Clean Air and Building Infrastructure Improvement Act, which I introduced earlier this year, is a necessary solution in response to the Biden-Harris Administration's harmful final rule for Fine Particulate Matter, otherwise known as PM 2.5 standards.

H.R. 4214 removes unnecessary compliance and implementation burdens that harm our states, manufacturers, business communities, and economic development, and I am looking forward to its consideration by the full committee.

Read more HERE.

Honoring Ann Boardman in Augusta

Last week, I joined members of our community at the ceremonial indoor "groundbreaking" for the Ann C. Boardman Park being developed by the Salvation Army Kroc Center. I have known Ann for many years, and she is truly deserving of this special honor for her decades of support and philanthropic efforts in the CSRA. I look forward to seeing this park finalized and used as a community space for residents throughout the area!

Additional Committee Activity

Education and Workforce Committee

Full Committee Markup:

The Education and Workforce Committee passed four bills to support homeschoolers, lower tuition barriers for U.S. territories, and make college costs and aid clearer for all students:

H.R. 6392, Home School Graduation Recognition Act

Clarifies that homeschooled students who graduate in accordance with state law are high school graduates.

H.R. 6472, Territorial Student Access to Higher Education Act

Provides in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities for residents of U.S. territories.

H.R. 6498, Student Financial Clarity Act

Improves the College Scorecard to provide prospective students with more information about college costs and graduate outcomes.
Creates a universal net price calculator so students can better estimate what they will actually pay for their degree program.

H.R. 6502, College Financial Aid Clarity Act

Ensures colleges cannot mislead borrowers about financial aid offers by separating required costs from variable expenses and clearly distinguishing grants from loans.
Provides students and borrowers with information so they know a ballpark price tag of their entire degree program upfront.

This Week's White House Highlight

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will make $12 billion available in one-time bridge payments to American farmers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs. These bridge payments are intended in part to aid farmers until historic investments from the Working Families Tax Cuts, including reference prices set to increase by 10-21% for major covered commodities, reach eligible farmers on October 1, 2026.

Of the $12 billion provided, up to $11 billion will be used for the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program, which provides broad relief to United States row crop farmers. The remaining $1 billion of the $12 billion in bridge payments will be reserved for commodities not covered in the FBA Program, such as specialty crops.

Key application dates and deadlines:

Farmers who qualify for the FBA Program can expect payments to be released by February 28, 2026.
Eligible farmers should ensure their 2025 acreage reporting is factual and accurate by 5:00 pm ET on December 19, 2025.
Commodity-specific payment rates will be released by the end of the month.
Crop insurance linkage will not be required for the FBA Program; however, USDA strongly urges producers to take advantage of the new risk management tools to best protect against price risk and volatility in the future.

More details HERE.

Follow me on Social Media!

Social media is a great way to stay connected and I encourage you to keep up with my work in Congress by ‘liking’ my Facebook page and following me on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

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As always, my office is here to help. If you'd like to email me, please click here.

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Sincerely,

Rick Allen
Member of Congress