U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (Photo provided)

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik said she was pleased to see increased troop levels and pay raises in the final National Defense Authorization Act now working its way through Congress.

The $619 billion bill includes an additional $5.8 billion in supplemental funding for overseas operations and $3.2 billion for increased troop numbers.

“This is an incredibly positive victory for readiness,” she said in a phone call with the Times.

The final bill was approved in the House on Friday, with the Senate expected to vote on it this week.

The Army would boost its numbers from an expected 460,000 active-duty personnel to about 476,000 with the funding in the bill.

“When you consider all the challenges around the world today, this was a top priority,” Stefanik said.

For a second year in a row, Stefanik was on the conference committee that helped find compromises between the House and Senate versions of the annual bill.

The bill includes a 2.1 percent pay increase for soldiers, higher than the 1.6 percent requested by the White House.

It also would increase fees for new service members using Tricare, the military’s health insurance. Stefanik said the plan was better than the initial proposal which would have added fees to current personnel.

“Our service members do so much, and I did not support for our current new members to have increased out-of-pocket (costs),” she said.

It also would reject a proposal to require women to register for Selective Service, instead requiring further research on the topic. Stefanik said she wanted more topics on the registration issue. Men are required to give their information within 30 days of their 18th birthdays, with those not doing so losing their eligibility for federal financial aid and government jobs.

No changes would take place for military housing allowances, even for dual military families. The bill also would block the closure of the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the transfer of its detainees to the United States.

With Republicans set to control both houses of Congress and the White House in the new year, Stefanik said she was hopeful that the federal budget cuts known as sequestration would be tackled soon.

“I want to see sequestration permanently gone,” Stefanik said.

She also expressed optimism that President-elect Donald Trump will invest in the military’s end strength and readiness.

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(Editor’s note: Four daily newspapers in the North Country — the Enterprise, Post-Star of Glens Falls, Watertown Daily Times and Press-Republican of Plattsburgh — are sharing content to better cover New York’s 21st Congressional District.)