{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://bishop.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-bishop-works-to-address-military-spouse-employment", "CONGRESSMAN BISHOP WORKS TO ADDRESS MILITARY SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT", "2016-07-14", "2016", "2016-07", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "Sanford Bishop", "B000490", "bishop.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Congressman Sanford D. Bishop (GA-02), co-chair of the Congressional Military Family Caucus, joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues in sponsoring H.R. 5683, the Lift the Relocation Burden from Military Spouses Act; legislation to alleviate the undue stress, expenses, and excessive wait times professionally employed military spouses experience when their family moves for a Permanent Change of Station on military orders.\nThe inability of military spouses to find and maintain meaningful employment not only has a direct impact on the readiness of the force, but also represents a larger societal cost absorbed primarily by the federal government, said Congressman Bishop. The Lift the Relocation Burden from Military Spouses Act will work to address license portability and boost employment for military families across our nation.\nThe Lift the Relocation Burden from Military Spouses Act will require the Department of Defense to provide a reimbursement for licensing fees up to $500 for each Permanent Change of Station, expedite license portability, and require the Department of Defense to conduct a study to determine ways to improve the military spouse unemployment and underemployment rate. This legislation is supported by the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), the National Military Spouse Network, and the National Military Family Association.\nJoyce Wessel Raezer, Executive Director of the National Military Family Association: Military spouses face many challenges that diminish the stability of their familieswith each government ordered move, military spouses incur high costs for recertification or licensure. These delays impact their ability to work and contribute to the financial well-being of their families. This bill will help off-set the cost of government ordered moves to ensure career-military spouses can seek a new licensure or certification and become employed at their new duty location right away.\nFor more information regarding H.R. 5683, Lift the Relocation Burden from Military Spouses Act, please click here. For more information regarding the recent Joining Forces announcement regarding military licensing, please click here.\nOriginal cosponsors of this legislation include: Reps. Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02), Brad Ashford (D-NE-02), , Rob Bishop (R-UT-01), Barbara Comstock (R-VA-10), Paul Cook (R-CA-08), Carlos Curbelo (R-FL-26), Chris Gibson (R-NY-19), Walter Jones (R-NC-03), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09), Grace Meng (D-NY-09), Beto ORourke (D-TX-16), Martha Roby (R-AL-02), Elise Stafanik (R-NY-21), Marc Veasey (D-TX-33), and Rob Wittman (R-VA-01).", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://bishop.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-bishop-works-to-address-military-spouse-employment"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6528312116861343, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}