The defense authorization bill, which directs Pentagon policy, provides a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% increase for others.

President Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families.

Biden signed the bill, officially known as the H.R. 5009 or the “ Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 ,” despite “strongly opposing” the provision denying the expenditure of funds for gender-affirming care for children.

The National Defense Authorization Act has a provision barring the military's insurance from covering gender-affirming care for service members' children.

Outgoing US president Joe Biden has signed in law a defence bill that will increase military salaries and overall spending but contains a controversial provision to restrict gender-affirming care access for the trans children of members of the armed services.