Company recruiters and job hunters talk during the Hiring Our Heroes job fair, April 27, 2023, at the Hope Hotel & Richard C. Holbrooke Conference Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s annual hiring event helps transitioning service members, veterans and military spouses find employment. (Elizabeth Figueroa/U.S. Air Force)
Two senators want to expand the pool of military spouses who can be reimbursed for job-related costs associated with moving from active-duty units to the reserves, according to legislation introduced Monday.
The Military Spouse Career Support Act of 2023 would allow the Pentagon to reimburse military spouses for certain business costs for those families moving from active-duty service into the reserves. It follows a law passed last year, the Military Spouse Licensing Relief Act, which granted such reimbursements for spouses of active-duty service members moving from one assignment to another.
The new bill was introduced by Sens. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
“Military families make tremendous sacrifices in defense of our nation,” Ossoff said in a statement Monday. “I’m bringing Republicans and Democrats together to help military spouses have more job flexibility.”
If approved, the bill would provide the same benefits to families moving from active duty into the National Guard or selected reserves of the military services as families changing stations on active duty began receiving this year. Those include reimbursements for business licenses or professional certifications required for their jobs in their new locations, according to Ossoff’s office.
The Pentagon has said about 39% of its active-duty military spouses require licenses or certifications for their work in various fields including real estate, nursing and teaching. The current law does not provide reimbursement for lawyers, however, according to the Defense Department.
Ossoff and Schmitt said they hope the new bill would help with military retention, giving families more incentive to remain in the military in a Reserve role after leaving active duty.
“This bill ensures military spouses are eligible for reimbursement should a service member choose to transfer to the reserves,” Schmitt said in a statement. “Providing an avenue to meaningful employment for service members and military spouses as this bill does is important to maintain quality of life for our service members and hopefully boosts retention.”
Military spouse employment has long been a difficult issue for the Pentagon, and it has been seen as a major driver for troops who choose to leave the service. Military spouses face a roughly 21% unemployment rate — a figure that has not changed in more than a decade.
The bill’s introduction follows an executive order meant to address military spouse employment signed Friday by President Joe Biden during a visit to Fort Liberty, N.C., formerly known as Fort Bragg.
Biden’s order included efforts for federal agencies to grant military spouses up to five days of administrative leave when their spouses change duty stations and directed the federal government to provide more resources and support for military spouses' career stability. It also directed federal departments to develop a strategic plan within six months for hiring and retaining military spouses and set government-wide standards to make remote work more accessible to military spouses.
