Senator Patty Murray never stops fighting for veterans. Yesterday, her office issued the following:
Senator Murray Applauds Big Wins to Address Stubbornly High Rates of Military Spouse Unemployment
Aug 02 2018
Several provisions of The Military Spouse Employment Act,
cosponsored by Senators Kaine and Murray, made it into a national
defense policy bill passed in Congress this week; bill now heads to
president’s desk
Military
spouses, who deal with frequent moves, extra parenting duties while
their spouse is deployed, and sometimes even discrimination, face
unemployment rates as high as 25 percent
ICYMI:
Senator Murray sat down with military spouses earlier this year near
JBLM to hear about the issues they face in their career search
(Washington, D.C.) –U.S. Senator Patty
Murray (D-WA) today applauded a bill that includes critical support for
military spouses, who face far higher rates of unemployment or
underemployment than the national average. The provisions included in
the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) were inspired by
legislation Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Murray offered earlier this
year and will provide additional resources to help military spouses find
meaningful employment, including:
- Expansion of MilitaryOneSource for retired and discharged members of the Armed Forces and their families, which helps provide job training and other resources for military families
- Temporary expansion of authority for non-competitive appointments of military spouses by federal agencies
- Improvement of the My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) for military spouses
- Assessment and report on small business activities of military spouses on military installations in the U.S
“Military spouses sacrifice so much on
behalf of our country, whether that is enduring frequent moves, or
holding down the household single-handedly while a loved one is halfway
on the other side of the globe. But far too often, they are shut out of
fulfilling careers because of their partner’s military service, which is
just wrong,” Senator Murray said. “I’m proud that
Congress not only recognizes this is an issue but was able to include
support for military spouses in the NDAA. I look forward to building on
this legislation in order to better support military families in
Washington state and around the world.”
