Svetlana Shkolnikova

Svetlana Shkolnikova covers Congress for Stars and Stripes. She previously worked with the House Foreign Affairs Committee as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow and spent four years as a general assignment reporter for The Record newspaper in New Jersey and the USA Today Network. A native of Belarus, she has also reported from Moscow, Russia.

@svetashko

shkolnikova.svetlana@stripes.com

Senate approves historic 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted troops

The Senate on Wednesday approved a $895 billion defense policy that in April will give junior enlisted troops a historic 14.5% pay raise and all other service members a 4.5% pay bump in January.

241113-N-SK738-1033 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Nov. 13, 2024) ElectricianÕs Mate 2nd Class Hezekiah Rasmussen, assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), welds metal during a repair, Nov. 13, 2024. USS George H.W. Bush departed Norfolk Naval Shipyard to conduct a scheduled underway to test equipment and systems in preparation for future operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Pierce Luck)

Lawmakers want to allow troops to fix their own equipment

A view of the White House from the western corner of the South Lawn is seen Sept. 5, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

15 military veterans convicted of nonviolent crimes receive pardons

The dome of the U.S. Capitol building is seen from a distance between tree branches.

Defense bill with pay raise for troops and transgender care ban for children passes House

NDAA proposal to ban treatment for transgender children of troops faces scrutiny

A proposal to ban health care coverage of certain medical treatments for the transgender children of service members has become a point of contention as the House readies this week for a vote on a defense policy bill containing the measure.

The U.S. Capitol in Washington in June 2023.

Junior enlisted troops to receive 14.5% pay raise under compromise defense bill targeting quality of life

Junior enlisted service members are set to receive a 14.5% pay raise next year alongside a 4.5% pay hike for all troops under a compromise defense policy bill expected to be voted on this week.

GOP senators urge rejection of military draft for women

A group of Republican senators is fighting against a legislative proposal long pushed by Democrats to force young women to register for the military draft.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., attends a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 11, 2023.

Duckworth calls for Trump’s help in expanding IVF access for troops

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is asking President-elect Donald Trump to use his influence among Republicans to back legislation that would expand insurance coverage of in vitro fertilization for military personnel.

The U.S. Capitol building is seen through a window in the Senate Russell office building in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024.

Senate approves expanding jobs program to surviving spouses of fallen troops

A job counseling program created for disadvantaged veterans would be expanded to provide free career services to surviving spouses of fallen service members under a Senate bill approved Monday.

President Donald J. Trump stands with United States Naval Academy cadets during the 120th Army-Navy Game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 14, 2019. The United States Naval Academy defeated the United States Military Academy this year. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. James Harvey)

Democratic senators call for directive prohibiting troop deployment against Americans before Trump returns to power

Two Democratic senators are calling on President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to issue a directive prohibiting the mobilization of active-duty troops against Americans.

May 30, 2024, U.S. Army MG Haldane Lamberton, the adjutant general of Kentucky, and the Kentucky National Guard hosted U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear for a press conference at the Army Aviation Support Facility on Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort.The purpose of this event was to inform the public on the federal funding secured for the KYNG's readiness and effectiveness when supporting both federal and state missions. (U.S. Army National Guard photos by Spc. Georgia Napier.)

McConnell to push for more military spending as incoming Senate chairman of defense panel

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate’s longest-serving leader, will become chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subpanel when he steps down from his leadership post next year. He said he intends to use his new perch to pour resources into the military.

GOP senator blames general for Afghanistan withdrawal ‘disaster,’ blocks his promotion to command Army forces in Europe

Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma had included Army Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue on a list of people he deemed responsible for the Afghanistan withdrawal “disaster.” “No one has been held accountable,” he wrote on X in September.

The U.S. Capitol seen through a window of the Cannon House Office Building.

2 Republican lawmakers seek to stop expanded IVF access for troops

Two House Republicans are urging congressional leaders to omit expanded access to in vitro fertilization for troops and their families from a defense policy bill set to pass before the end of year.

Commanding General of the XVIII Airborne Corps, Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, shakes hands with a Soldier assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, at LSA Castle in Marion, North Carolina, Oct. 15, 2024. Donahue and his team visited Soldiers at LSA Castle who are supporting the Hurricane Helene relief efforts. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Alison Strout)

Promotion delayed for general who was the last US service member out of Afghanistan

A batch of military promotions approved by the Senate on Thursday left out Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, an officer who oversaw the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and is now nominated to lead the Army in Europe and Africa.

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