House Gives Final Approval to Critical Support for Military Families

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval today to two measures to help military families cope with the burdens of a soldier’s deployment or injury.

One measure, authored by U.S. Reps. Jason Altmire (D-PA) and Tom Udall (D-NM), would help workers meet their work and family responsibilities when a loved one is deployed to a combat zone. The other measure, authored by U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), would help military families care for a loved one wounded during wartime.  

“I strongly believe military families should no longer be denied the urgently needed protections included in this bill,” said Woolsey, the chair of the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. “Military families shouldn’t have to risk losing their jobs in order to meet the needs of their loved ones, and with this bill, we are one step closer to fulfilling our promise to them.”

“Today, Congress passed historic legislation that fulfills our promise to military service members and veterans,” said Altmire, a member of the House Education and Labor Committee. “I am pleased that the legislation includes my initiative to allow family members of deployed service men and women to use their Family Medical Leave to deal with issues that arise from deployment. Ongoing military engagements and extended military deployments impact not only our troops but also the families of our brave men and women in uniform. These families are trying to balance everything from their financial obligations to child care. This legislation will help ease the burden on military families who are struggling to balance these new responsibilities during long deployments.” 

The Altmire-Udall legislation allows workers to use Family and Medical Leave to manage issues that arise as a result of the deployment of a spouse, parent, or child to a combat zone like Iraq or Afghanistan. Under current law, workers may only use that time for family illnesses or births.   

The Woolsey legislation expands the Family and Medical Leave Act to allow family members of wounded soldiers to take up to six months of unpaid leave from their jobs to care for their loved ones. Under current law, workers may only take up to 12 workweeks. The President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors found that the average length of rehabilitation for a wounded service member is 45 days, though rehabilitations often take longer.

Woolsey’s subcommittee held a hearing on her legislation in September, where family members of wounded service members testified about the need for this help. For more information on the hearing, click here. To read Altmire’s statement from May 2007 after the House first approved his legislation, click here.

Both measures were included in a larger defense bill. After the Senate votes on that bill, it goes to the President for his signature. 

“We owe it to our troops to do everything we can to ensure that their families are taken care of while they are risking their lives for our country,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “And we should ensure that family members of wounded soldiers never have to worry about losing their jobs if they need to take time off to care for their loved ones.”

The Family and Medical Leave Act, which became law in 1993, requires employers to grant up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave to eligible employees during any 12-month period in order to care for a sick relative or a new child or to recover from illness. The law does not require employers to provide paid leave to employees, though employers may provide that benefit voluntarily.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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