What is the intent of CONUS COLA?
As a requirement of their Service, members of the Uniformed Services move about the country. During their careers, members are likely to be assigned to a variety of low, moderate, and high-cost locations. Private sector pay scales tend to reflect local living costs in U.S. locations, but military pay tables do not. Prior to 1995, the Basic Allowance Housing (BAH), which was introduced in the early 1980s as the Variable Housing Allowance (VHA), was the only pay element adjusted for regional cost differences. In the FY 1995 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress approved the CONUS Cost-of-living Allowance (CONUS COLA), to provide compensation for variations in non-housing costs in the continental United States. An area is considered high cost if the non-housing cost of living for that area exceeds the threshold percentage. The law (37 USC 403b) authorizes the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Administering Secretaries, to establish a threshold not lower than 108% of th
