John Kerry: “First of all, I join in congratulating the managers of this bill. Very quickly, Senator Hagel and I had an amendment…”

“First of all, I join in congratulating the managers of this bill. Very quickly, Senator Hagel and I had an amendment with respect to the pay raise of the troops. The House has raised the pay level by 2.7 percent. In this bill, there is a 2.2-percent raise. Senator Hagel and I sought to equal what the House did and raise it across the board, but it is our understanding that the committee has made the determination, in consultation with people in the services, the needs of the services, that there is a particular problem with respect to retention of noncommissioned officers. Instead of taking that .5 percent differential and spreading it throughout the services, it is the intention of the committee on the Senate side to try to address the retention issue and put that money into noncommissioned officers. If that is the understanding, I think Senator Hagel and I, for that reason, will pull back our amendment, and we agree to support the position of the Senate.”