U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) recently hosted a Military Family Summit at Fairchild Air Force Base outside of Spokane, Washington, to honor those who have served, and to provide support and resources to those who are currently serving.
The summit brought together congressional leaders, service members, reservists, family members and Department of Defense (DoD) officials to explore issues facing military families, including pay, benefits, community integration and health.
“A big topic of discussion at our summit was spouse unemployment,” McMorris Rodgers said. “According to a 2016 report by Blue Star Families, the unemployment rate for military spouses is 18 percent, compared to their nonmilitary counterparts at 4.4 percent. Even more depressing is the underemployment rate, which sits at 35 to 40 percent for military spouses. This means many military spouses are employed at a job that is below their skill set and earnings potential, often because it is difficult for them to find work in their professional field due to frequent moves or lack of long-term experience.”
Summit panelists and attendees discussed ways to increase employment opportunities for military spouses and a proposal for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to hire licensed military spouses.
“There was also a conversation about ways to encourage states to recognize out-of-state licenses,” McMorris Rodgers, the co-founder of the bipartisan Congressional Military Family Caucus, said. “A few summit attendees mentioned how it was difficult for them or their spouse to practice in their field in a new state after their permanent change of station (PCS) because the state did not recognize their license.”
Military children, especially those who have special needs, were also discussed at the summit.
“The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) is designed to ensure that the educational and medical needs of a military family member with special needs is considered during the process of assigning the service member to his or her permanent duty station,” McMorris Rodgers said. “In 2009, the DoD Office of Special Needs was established, in part, to streamline programs and systems within the Department of Defense to support military families with special needs. Unfortunately, this process has been slow and cumbersome.
“I have championed legislation to assist children with special needs, such as the ABLE Act, but more needs to be done to specifically help our military families navigate the unique challenges that military life presents for families with exceptional family members.”
McMorris Rodgers added that Congress has approved measures to help military families, including the Every Student Succeeds Act and the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2017.