[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 27, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1247-S1248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. Boozman, and Mr. Tester):
  S. 2457. A bill to provide a work opportunity tax credit for military 
spouses and to provide for flexible spending arrangements for childcare 
services for military families; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President. We rightfully honor the sacrifice of 
veterans and servicemembers and as a member of the Senate Armed 
Services Committee, I am proud of the work we do to ensure that we have 
the best equipped and most successful fighting force in the world. 
Military families are critical to the success and readiness of our 
military, but are too often unrecognized for their support to our 
servicemembers and left without necessary programs and assistance to 
help them succeed. Military families frequently face financial 
insecurity due to spousal unemployment, which impacts the overall 
success of our military. Somewhere between 12% and 25% of military 
spouses are unemployed.
  Today, I am pleased to introduce with my colleagues Senators Boozman 
and Tester the Jobs and Childcare for Military Families Act of 2018. 
This legislation encourages businesses to step up and play a bigger 
role in hiring military spouses who sacrifice so much by expanding the 
Work Opportunity Tax Credit to also include military spouses.

[[Page S1248]]

The bill also further addresses a real obstacle to professional success 
for many military families: access to quality, affordable childcare by 
establishing a flexible spending account for military families to use 
to reimburse themselves for out of pocket child care costs.
  Addressing these issues will help military spouses advance in their 
careers despite frequent moves. Being a military family member will 
never be easy, but if we can do something to ease the burden in any 
way, we should. This legislation follows the introduction of another 
bipartisan bill earlier this month, the Military Spouse Employment Act 
of 2018, which provides direct employment opportunities and additional 
access to childcare, improves educational opportunities and extends 
transition and counseling services. I believe if we make it bipartisan 
priority to support military families, we will see an improvement in 
the readiness of our military and reap the economic benefits of 
supporting this underutilized and resilient workforce of military 
spouses. I hope to see many of the provisions of these two bills 
incorporated into this year's National Defense Authorization Act.
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