Rep. Bice Reintroduces the Protecting Military Parental Leave Evaluations Act

Oklahoma City, OK. – Recently, Congresswoman Stephanie Bice and Congresswoman ChrissyHoulahan reintroduced the Protecting Military Parental Leave Evaluations Act to establish clear policies across all branches of the military. Currently, parental leave policies vary from branch to branch of the military, and there is no universal framework for how long-term parental leave should be addressed in evaluations. Service members are currently allowed one year to use the leave without a waiver, but this bill will add flexibility by allowing service members two years to use the available leave. The two-year period provides service members and their units the flexibility to determine when to use the leave. The bill also seeks to standardize policies, ensuring that no one is disadvantaged for using their parental leave.

Congresswoman Bice issued the following statement: 

"We must remain dedicated to maintaining the high standards expected of our military while also honoring our commitment to supporting military families. This legislation ensures that servicemembers taking parental leave won’t be unfairly penalized for prioritizing their families. It’s a victory for parents and for the strength of our national defense."

Houlahan issues the following statement: 

"Taking time to care for a newborn child should never impact a military member’s professional evaluation,” said Rep. Houlahan. “I’m proud to re-introduce this bipartisan bill with Rep. Bice to ensure service members who take parental leave are evaluated the same as their peers who do not. We cannot provide this essential benefit to our armed services if people are less likely to use it out of fear of harming their professional growth and ability to best contribute to our collective defense."

Background:

Over the past few years, the U.S. military has made significant progress in expanding parental leave options, providing up to 12 weeks of paid leave for primary and secondary caregivers. However, the lack of a consistent policy across the services regarding performance evaluations during periods of parental leave has raised concerns among military parents and advocates for military families. Additionally, DoD policy requires that parental leave must be taken within the first year, only providing exceptions that benefit the military. The extra year to use the leave allows service members to make decisions about the timing of leave based on key factors, permanent change of station orders, promotion timing, and family circumstances.