Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Levin (CA-49)
The 2026 NDAA Provides Military Pay Raise, Significant Resources for Camp Pendleton
Washington, D.C.—Today, Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) voted to pass the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a pay raise for service members, funding for new military construction projects, and increases child care financial assistance. Following Rep. Levin’s advocacy, it delivers $90.04 million in new construction funding to Camp Pendleton. The NDAA also includes Rep. Levin’s bill, H.R. 6097, the TIER Act of 2025, which assists service members with the tools they need to successfully transition back into civilian life.
Rep. Levin released the following statement after the passage of the NDAA in the House:
“I supported this year’s National Defense Authorization Act because it strengthens our national security while delivering meaningful benefits for the Marines, Sailors, and military families who call our region home. The bill provides a pay raise for all service members, including key projects at Camp Pendleton that will improve safety, training, and quality of life. It also includes my TIER Act, which will strengthen the transition process for those leaving active duty and help ensure they receive the right level of support.
“Importantly, many of the harmful provisions that forced me to vote against the previous House version were removed, and the final bill avoids the culture fights that would have undermined readiness. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I will now work to ensure every authorized dollar actually reaches our bases. That means fighting for full funding for Camp Pendleton and the surrounding installations, and making sure these investments translate into real improvements for our service members, their families, and our regional economy,”
The FY2026 NDAA authorizes millions in new funding to Camp Pendleton including:
- $23.5 million for the Area 52 Communications Center;
- $43.8 million for the Fire Emergency Response Station;
- $22.74 million for Area 53 Mess Hall and Armory.
Additionally, the FY2026 NDAA includes provisions that improve service members’ quality of life:
- 3.8% pay raise for service members;
- $1.5 billion for new construction of barracks and family housing;
- Five-year pilot program that will increase maximum childcare financial assistance by 30% for children two years or younger who are located in areas with high child care service costs. Service members on Camp Pendleton are eligible for this program;
- Requires the Department of Defense to study alternative methods for calculating Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) to better reflect market trends and the true cost of housing, especially in high cost and rural areas.
The TIER Act, which is included in the FY2026 NDAA, improves the existing Transition Assistance Program (TAP) by adding additional screening factors to more accurately assess the transition risk for individual service members. By focusing especially on child care requirements, spousal employment, and familial obligations of each service member, the bill will help us identify the resources each service member needs to succeed in their transition to civilian life.
TAP has three pathways, also called tiers, that screen each service member for potential risk as they go through the transition process in order to determine the level of support they will need. Service members are assigned a tier by counselors based on many factors, such as disability, rank, term of service, educational and employment history, military occupational specialty, and more. The passage of Rep. Levin’s TIER Act in the NDAA will help clarify other factors such as familial obligations and spousal unemployment that will then contribute to the tier where they are placed and the level of support they are given.
The FY2026 NDAA now goes to the Senate for final consideration.
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