BNA Fairness Act
Latest action · Jan 23, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 23, 2025
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
BNA Fairness Act
This bill excludes from gross income (for federal income tax purposes) the basic needs allowance received by eligible members of the Armed Forces.
Under current law, members of the Armed Forces may be eligible to receive the basic needs allowance (additional monthly payment) if (1) they have completed initial training, (2) they have at least one dependent, and (3) their total household income does not exceed 200% of the federal poverty level (based on the location and number of individuals in the household). Further, under current law, certain qualified military benefits may be excluded from gross income. However, the basic needs allowance is not included within the definition of qualified military benefits and must be included in gross income for federal tax purposes.
Under the bill, the definition of qualified military benefits that may be excluded from gross income is expanded to include the basic needs allowance.
Cosponsors 19
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 23, 2025 to Nov 19, 2025; 2 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-VA | Robert J. Wittman | Original | Jan 23, 2025 |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Original | Jan 23, 2025 |
| R-FL | Brian J. Mast | Jan 28, 2025 | |
| R-NV | Mark E. Amodei | Feb 11, 2025 | |
| D-NC | Donald G. Davis | Feb 21, 2025 | |
| R-NY | Nick LaLota | Feb 21, 2025 | |
| R-VA | Jennifer A. Kiggans | Feb 25, 2025 | |
| R-TX | Pat Fallon | Mar 10, 2025 | |
| R-TN | Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann | Mar 11, 2025 | |
| R-OH | Michael R. Turner | Apr 7, 2025 | |
| D-CA | Ro Khanna | Apr 29, 2025 | |
| R-FL | Cory Mills | May 14, 2025 | |
| R-AZ | Abraham J. Hamadeh | Jun 30, 2025 | |
| R-KY | Harold Rogers | Jul 22, 2025 | |
| R-OK | Stephanie I. Bice | Jul 29, 2025 | |
| D-VA | Eugene Simon Vindman | Aug 12, 2025 | |
| D-NV | Susie Lee | Aug 15, 2025 | |
| D-CO | Joe Neguse | Nov 18, 2025 | |
| D-GA | Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. | Nov 19, 2025 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Jan 23, 2025 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 23, 2025Introduced in House
- Jan 23, 2025Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 14, January 23, 2025, page H389.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income the basic needs allowance of members of the Armed Forces.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- BNA Fairness Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Taxation.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 23, 2025Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
