FEINGOLD,
CASEY, WOOLSEY BILL WOULD HELP MILITARY FAMILIES WITH DEPLOYED LOVED
ONES
Military Family Support Act Would Allow Flexibility in the Use of
Leave Time
June 19, 2008
Washington, D.C. –
U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Bob Casey (D-PA) and Representative
Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) introduced legislation today to alleviate some of
the pressure military families feel when a loved one is deployed overseas.
The Military Family Support Act (MFSA) authorizes federal employees
designated as caregivers to use their previously earned leave time in
a more flexible manner so they can tend to the increased family obligations
resulting from a loved one serving abroad. The legislators are reintroducing
the effort after previous versions of the legislation, which enjoyed
bipartisan support, were stripped out of larger bills. A related provision
was included in the fiscal year 2008 National Defense Authorization
Act, but was limited to private sector employees. This new legislation
is designed to provide some relief for federal employees.
“This effort won’t
eliminate the incredible burden of having a loved one far away and possibly
in harm’s way,” Feingold said. “But in return for
the amazing sacrifice these Americans make for their country, we should
be doing everything we can to alleviate the pressures of everyday life
that their families face.”
“Our men and women
in uniform have made tremendous sacrifices for this country; we owe
it to them to provide them with some modest relief,” said Casey.
“This bill will allow family members who are federal employees
to use earned leave time to help prepare them for deployment or help
with the burden of taking care of their children when a single parent
is deployed.”
“The Military Family
Support Act sends a message to our wounded men and women, and their
loved ones, that we not only stand beside them as they deal with the
physical and mental wounds of war, but that we stand beside their families
as well,” said Rep. Woolsey, whose legislation expanding private
sector FMLA protections to family members caring for injured service
members was recently signed into law. “Because of my legislation,
private sector employees no longer have to choose between losing their
job and caring for a wounded family member, and I believe that federal
employees must have the same opportunity.”
The MFSA, supported by the
National Military Family Association, would create a pilot program to
provide additional leave options for persons who have been designated
as caregivers. The bill would require the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM) to set up a program that allows caregivers who are federal employees
to use leave time available to them for purposes directly relating to
or resulting from their designation as a caregiver. The Military Family
Support Act does not impact the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
|
