Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is introducing bipartisan legislation to support military spouses’ careers.
Many military families incur high costs during frequent moves, including military spouses who must reapply for business licenses, certifications, and more when moving to a new assignment.
Currently, the Department of Defense (DoD) only offers reimbursements for military spouses’ relicensing, recertification, and business costs when active-duty military families relocate between assignments; not when families relocate between active and reserve assignments.
Today, Sens. Ossoff and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) introduced the bipartisan Military Spouse Career Support Act of 2023 to grant reimbursements for military families’ business expenses when moving between active and reserve assignments — with the goal of improving retention rates across the armed forces.
“Military families make tremendous sacrifices in defense of our nation,” Sen. Ossoff said. “I’m bringing Republicans and Democrats together to help military spouses have more job flexibility.”
“The United States government has an obligation to keep the best interests of our servicemen and servicewomen top of mind – and that includes military spouses. This bill ensures military spouses are eligible for reimbursement should a servicemember choose to transfer to the reserves,” said Sen. Schmitt. “Providing an avenue to meaningful employment for servicemembers and military spouses as this bill does is important to maintain quality of life for our servicemembers and hopefully boosts retention. I’m proud to partner with Senator Ossoff on this important bill.”
According to the DoD, nearly 39% of military spouses require a professional license for their jobs and can face unemployment each time they move.
Last year, Sen. Ossoff worked across the aisle to pass the bipartisan Military Spouse Licensing Relief Act into law to make job opportunities more flexible for military spouses by requiring states to recognize the professional licenses of military spouses from other states when their family’s station changes.
Click here to read the bipartisan Military Spouse Career Support Act of 2023.
