The International Business Times reports that “America’s armed servicemen and women could receive their largest pay raise in five years under a congressional bill that seeks to override President Barack Obama’s more limited orders for defense spending in fiscal year 2017, which began Oct. 1, and would leave room for ‘a new president’ to beef up the military budget within his first year in office.”

“The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which Congress unveiled Tuesday, would increase troops’ pay by 2.1 percent—ahead of Obama’s planned 1.6 percent—giving members of the armed forces their first raise above 2 percent since 2011. That brings baseline salaries for enlisted service members up to nearly $19,194 from $19,099 under Obama’s budget plan. Highest-paid officers will receive more than $242,130 annual from Obama’s planned $240,944.”

“In addition to increasing service members’ salaries, the bill, which could receive a House vote on Friday, would increase troop numbers in every branch of the military—adding 20,000 to the Army, 3,000 to the Marine Corps, 4,000 to the Air Force—compared to Obama’s proposal. It also seeks to maintain support for a minimum of 9,800 troops in Afghanistan, while Obama intended to draw down the number of troops present there to 5,500.”