Duckworth, Murkowski, Houlahan, Bacon Renew Bipartisan, Bicameral Push to Give Public Health Crisis Responders Essential Leave Benefits Enjoyed by All Other Uniformed Services
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC)—U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and U.S. Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06) and Don Bacon (R-NE-02) reintroduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would help expand leave benefits for the millions of devoted health professionals serving in the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps. Despite being responsible for leading our nation’s emergency response to dangerous public health crises, PHS officers are still the only federal entity—civilian or uniformed—without access to essential leave benefits, including extended parental leave, emergency leave, court appearance leave and rest and recuperation leave. The lawmakers’ Uniformed Services Leave Parity Act would rectify this issue by ensuring PHS officers have access to the same authorized leave that is available to members of the Armed Services.
“When disease or disaster threatens our public safety, PHS officers are on the front lines helping keep the American people healthy and out of harm’s way—there’s no reason they shouldn’t have the same leave benefits that officers of the Army, Navy or any of our other uniformed services do,” said Duckworth. “Our bipartisan legislation would help right this wrong and ensure these devoted health professionals have equal access to the benefits they deserve.”
“The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps shows up when the nation needs them most, from natural disasters to public health emergencies. Despite their work to mitigate the health impacts of the most intense crises, these everyday heroes don’t have access to critical leave benefits,” said Senator Murkowski. “This legislation rectifies this oversight, and gives Public Health Service officers leave benefits on par with their peers across other uniformed services.”
“It is past time that all our servicemembers, including our U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, have equal access to paid parental leave,” said Houlahan. “This gap in our law has put our highly qualified public health officers at a disadvantage at a time when their role on the front lines of public health prevention has never been more important. I am proud to reintroduce this bipartisan and bicameral legislation to right this wrong, and I will continue fighting until these honorable officers, and all Americans in fact, have access to paid leave.”
“Our Public Health Service officers serve alongside other uniformed service members during national emergencies, yet they don’t receive the same basic leave benefits,” said Rep. Bacon. “I’m honored to co-lead the bipartisan Uniformed Services Leave Parity Act to ensure these dedicated healthcare professionals, who are vital to protecting American public health, are granted the same essential leave benefits as their uniformed service counterparts.”
When it comes to leave benefits, the inequity that persists between PHS and the other uniformed services undermines PHS’s ability to recruit and retain qualified professionals that help our nation tackle public health crises like natural disasters, COVID-19 or Ebola. Not only does this inequity compromise the wellbeing of PHS officers, but it also ultimately threatens our nation’s public health emergency preparedness.
The Uniformed Services Leave Parity Act is endorsed by the Commissioned Officers Association, Military Officers Association of America and Reserved Officers Association.
Full text of the legislation can be found on the Senator’s website.
Duckworth has long been a leader in pushing for better benefits and support for members of the armed and uniformed services. Last week, she renewed her push to ensure IVF treatment costs are covered on servicemembers’ and military families’ health care plans. Last December, Duckworth helped pass the bipartisan Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that gave servicemembers a pay raise and included a Duckworth-led provision to improve access to high-quality medical care for servicemembers and their families in the Indo-Pacific region, among other wins for military families. Duckworth also successfully passed a provision in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) make sure each service is paying its Guard and Reserve members the same monthly incentive pay for maintaining critical skills and taking on hazardous duty as those in the active component. Since this defense bill was signed into law, Duckworth has also pushed to hold DoD accountable for implementing her pay parity provision.
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