When an individual joins the U.S. Armed Forces, it’s not just a career move — that person’s entire family is making a commitment to the nation, as well, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said in an interview with The Ripon Advance.
“So many challenges face America’s military families, who are just as critical to the strength and security of the country as the men and women in uniform on the frontlines,” said McMorris Rodgers, who co-hosted this month’s 2017 Congressional Military Family Caucus Summit. “That’s why it’s so important for us to support them, as well.”
Such is the focus of the Military Family Summit, which brings military members and their families in contact with members from federal agencies, advocacy groups, Congress and other stakeholder organizations to offer solutions to their unique challenges. In addition to a keynote panel, there are breakout sessions held on numerous topics important to military families, including healthcare, childcare, spouse employment, child education, military pay, benefits and retirement.
McMorris Rodgers is serving her second term as chair of the House Republican Conference, a title that makes her the fourth highest-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives. She also serves as co-chairman of the bipartisan congressional Military Family Caucus with Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (D-GA).
The caucus’s annual event, which is held at different locations each year, was held in Bishop’s home state Oct. 18 at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, Georgia. Officials from the U.S. Department of Defense, representatives from military service organizations, staff from five congressional offices, and over 200 military family and service members attended, according to her office.
“I think this was the best one yet in terms of the number of families who were there, the discussions held … the senior-level service members, both enlisted and retired, who attended to answer questions from the families,” she said. “It’s just such an important event to learn about, recognize and acknowledge the sacrifices of both our military and our military families.”
The key issues concerning military families, said McMorris Rodgers, included military benefits, the health and well-being of their families, education and the requirements to relocate every few years.
A long-time advocate for members of the military and their families, McMorris Rodgers understands their challenges firsthand. Her husband, Brian Rodgers, is a retired 26-year active-duty Navy commander and they have three children.
Over time, she said, “I developed a real desire to better highlight the issues” facing military families. The caucus allows a forum for them to interact with military leaders about suicide rates and wounded warrior programs, for instance, “and raise awareness and take action.”
“The challenges of moving from school to school was one of the big discussions,” she said, noting that the topic was among the breakout sessions addressing challenges and solutions for military families.
For example, moving is tough on not only the enlisted member, but also for a military spouse and their children, particularly as it concerns a spouse’s employment and school-age military children attending public school.
Specifically, summit attendees brought up concerns about how state licensures and board certifications vary across state lines, as well as how to help military children, considered one of the nation’s most neglected public education populations, to better manage stress and receive services, the congresswoman said.
Regarding military spousal employment, “this is an issue that the Military Family Caucus has addressed, but the requirements still vary state by state,” said McMorris Rodgers.
“The caucus will raise the issue again so states take it up and consider that certain professions like teachers, for instance, must devote considerable time and cost for certification. Then, if they move, states should somehow recognize their unique circumstances and honor their out-of-state credentials for certain amounts of time or allow some sort of recognition of another’s state’s credentialing or licenses. It has been a long-time issue. We’ve made some progress, but it’s really a state-level issue,” she said.
The event also “is really a celebration of military families,” McMorris Rodgers added, a nod to the recognition by the caucus to present two awards, one to a military spouse and the other to a military family who have made significant contributions on behalf of military families.
April Stephens, for instance, whose husband is U.S. Army Major Alan Stephens, received the 2017 Fort Benning Military Spouse of the Year award from Armed Forces Insurance for her encouraging blog series, which includes quips about life as an Army wife homeschooling four sons.
“Supporting our military families is a top priority of mine because the strength of our military is drawn from the strength of our military families,” said McMorris Rodgers. “This summit and caucus allow us to pay special attention to the unique and diverse issues that military families face, hear their stories and work to find solutions.
“Stories create actions on Capitol Hill so we need to hear them,” she added.
Working in Congress for change
McMorris Rodgers co-founded the Military Family Caucus to provide military spouses and children a voice in Congress.
“For us to have a strong military, we need to have strong military families,” said McMorris Rodgers, who has represented Washington State’s 5th District for 10 years.
Additionally, she co-chairs the Mobility Air Forces Caucus, which advocates for the critical roles played by air refueling, airlift and aero medical evacuation in national security. Her district in eastern Washington is home to more than 68,000 veterans and Fairchild Air Force Base, where the caucus held the 2016 Military Family Summit.
As part of her efforts around supporting the U.S. military, McMorris Rodgers thinks the Veterans Administration (VA) has “lost sight of its mission to put veterans first.” While she has regularly voted to increase the VA’s budget, she said it suffers from cultural and structural problems, not a funding problem.
Her legislation, the Faster Care for Veterans Act, H.R. 4352, which requires the VA to adopt technology that allows veterans to schedule appointments online, was signed into law by President Barack Obama in December 2016.
In related legislation this year, McMorris Rodgers — along with Republican Reps. Bruce Poliquin of Maine and Phil Roe of Tennessee — earlier this month introduced a bill that would require VA medical staff to report any on-the-job unethical behavior directly to state licensing boards.
The proposed bill, the Ethical Patient Care for Veterans Act of 2017, was prompted by a recent USA Today investigative report that found the VA has made mistakes or provided substandard care that has been concealed for years, a story McMorris Rodgers said she finds “deeply troubling.”
Through the Military Family Caucus, which has introduced several bills from previously held summits, members “will look at issues raised at this one and consider appropriate actions,” McMorris Rodgers said.