Senators Introduce Bill to Provide Safety Net for the Families of Wounded Service Members
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Printable FormatFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ben LaBolt (Obama), Adrianne Marsh (McCaskill), Jennifer Mullin (Harkin), Vince Morris (Kerry), Sara Kuban (Baucus), Elizabeth Alexander (Biden)
Legislation would provide family members up to one year of job safety
as they care for wounded heroes
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) was today joined by Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Tom Harkin (D-IA), John Kerry (D-MA), Max Baucus (D-MT) and Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) to introduce legislation that would provide up to a full year of job protections for any family member who is caring for a recovering service member at a military medical facility.
Obama, McCaskill, and Harkin last introduced this legislation as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization Act. This measure – called the Military Family Job Protection Act --would help ensure that military families will not be forced to wonder whether their job will still be there when they get back home and ease the burden on service members who must focus on their own recovery. This approach was endorsed yesterday by the President’s Commission.
“When America’s sons and daughters are injured overseas and they return home to begin their recovery, their families should not be forced to choose between caring for a wounded child or keeping their jobs,” said Senator Obama. “This legislation would provide a safety net that allows families to offer the care that’s necessary for our wounded heroes, easing the burden on the service members. Providing our service members and their families with the care and compassion they deserve is one thing we can still get right about this war.”
“Family members should not have to choose between their livelihoods and caring for wounded loved ones and our bill would remove that burden,” Senator McCaskill said.
“Our military families make tremendous sacrifices to ensure our men and women in uniform can protect our nation,” said Senator Harkin. “We must do all we can to protect them as well. This bill would prevent job discrimination and ensure families of service members have peace of mind when they are caring for a wounded loved one. I am proud to support this bill that will ensure the families who support our wounded service members have one less challenge to overcome.”
“We must support our military families by giving them the time they need to care for their loved ones – our heroes who serve this country,” Senator Kerry said. “Extending the amount of time they can take leave to care for a wounded loved one is the very least we can do to honor their service. The last thing our military families should worry about is whether they are also going to lose their jobs as they care for those who have so honorably served this country.”
“When our brave men and women serving in uniform are wounded, their families should be focused on helping them recover, not worrying about where their next paycheck is going to come from,” Senator Baucus said. “And this legislation will help ease some of the pain along the road to recovery.”
"We must ensure that family members of our wounded warriors are not forced to choose between providing care for their loved ones or keeping their jobs,” said Senator Biden. “The emotional support these family members give their loved ones, along with the personal, medical and convalescent care they provide, is invaluable and goes a long way in a wounded soldier's recovery."
Many families that are already experiencing financial strains due to the deployment of a loved one face additional financial and employment pressures when that service member returns with severe injuries. It is not uncommon for a severely injured service member to spend months recovering at facilities like Walter Reed. There are cases in which family members have had to choose between caring for a loved one and keeping their jobs. Under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a family member may only receive 12 covered weeks of leave in a given year to care for a seriously ill family member.
This legislation will provide employment protections for family members who are carrying for members of the Armed Forces recovering from illnesses and injuries incurred on active duty for up to one year.
The bill is based on a provision in the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act (S. 713) that was introduced in February by Senators Obama and McCaskill and has 34 bipartisan cosponsors.