WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today joined a bipartisan group of colleagues to introduce legislation that would support military mothers by ensuring women serving in the National Guard and Reserves can take maternity leave without worrying about how it will affect their creditable military service. The bill, the Mothers of Military Service (MOMS) Leave Act, would allow women service members of the reserve components to receive pay and points towards retirement while on maternity leave.
Led by Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), the legislation is also backed by Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.). In the House, it is sponsored by U.S. Representative Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.).
“It’s important that we provide the brave men and women of the Armed Forces with the care and support that they have earned through their dedicated service to our country,” Senator Capito said. “This legislation would allow mothers to take time to recover and spend time with their newborn without having to worry about taking unpaid leave. With West Virginia’s strong National Guard and Reserve presence, I hope this bill will help put expecting mothers’ minds at ease.”
“Our service members make enormous sacrifices for our country when they answer the call to duty – but they should never have to sacrifice their hard-earned pay and credits just because they took time off to care for their newborn child,” Senator Udall said. “This bipartisan bill evens the playing field to make sure women in the National Guard and Reserves get the same paid maternity leave as their active-duty counterparts. It’s long past time that we support all military moms, instead of asking some to choose between caring for their newborns or receiving pay and retirement credits. Service members play such an essential role in securing our national safety – it’s only fair that our country serves them as well as they have served our country.”
“Our men and women in uniform serve bravely and honorably in both the regular armed forces and the reserve component,” Senator Rounds said. “Our legislation evens the playing field to make sure mothers who serve in the National Guard or Reserve receive the same maternity leave benefits as their active-duty counterparts. It will allow these new mothers to focus on their newborns without worrying about making-up missed drill periods and other duties.”
In 2016, the Department of Defense (DOD) established new policies that authorized 12 weeks of fully paid maternity leave after pregnancy and childbirth for active-duty service members. But under current law, women serving in the Natural Guard and Reserves can lose out on credit for their military service and points towards retirement while they are on maternity leave. Members of the reserve components in inactive duty training status are still required to attend unit training assembles—or weekend drill—in order to receive points toward creditable military service, and if the woman service member misses drills, she is in jeopardy of not receiving credit toward retirement.
This bipartisan legislation would make sure that women serving in the reserve components receive pay and points for 12 pay periods (equal to six drill weekends) toward retirement after pregnancy and childbirth, thereby guaranteeing paid maternity leave for approximately 150,000 women currently serving in the National Guard and Reserves.
The full text of the legislation is available here.
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