Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is introducing legislation to keep military families together when welcoming a new child.
This week, Sen. Ossoff introduced the Military Families Support Act, which would exempt active duty servicemembers from being deployed, mobilized, or sent to trainings away from their duty stations for a year, helping keep families together after welcoming a new child. The policy would also include servicemembers who adopt a child or those undergoing fertility treatment.
This one-year post-partum deferment is currently available to U.S. Army soldiers, but Sen. Ossoff’s new bill would extend this benefit across the Armed Forces.
“Welcoming a child into the world is one of the greatest blessings. I’ve heard consistently from servicemembers about the strain being deployed or sent to training has on families with newborns,” said Sen. Ossoff. “That’s why I’m introducing this new bill to strengthen families’ quality of life and keep military families together after having a child.”
Sen. Ossoff continues to champion Georgia’s military families.
In April, Sen. Ossoff launched a push to pass the MOMS Who Serve Act of 2024, legislation he co-sponsored to help moms in the armed forces access perinatal health care services.
Sen. Ossoff also began a push to pass the bipartisan Improving Access to Maternal Health for Military and Dependent Moms Act, legislation he co-sponsored alongside Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Jon Tester (D-MT) to improve access to maternal health care for moms in the armed forces.
In December, Sens. Ossoff and Kevin Cramer (R-ND)’s bipartisan Military Families Mental Health Services Act to help more military families access mental health care services became law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.
Click here to read the Military Families Support Act.
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