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Lawmakers form caucus for military families

Sixty members of the House of Representatives are forming a new caucus to look out for the interests of military families, and intending to tackle spouse employment and aid for families with special-needs children as their first legislative issues.

One co-chair of the caucus is Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, a Republican lawmaker from Washington state who is married to a 26-year Navy veteran. The other co-chair is Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr., D-Ga.

The Military Family Caucus officially launches Nov. 4 at an event at which Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, will be the keynote speaker.

McMorris-Rodgers, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, represents a district that includes Fairchild Air Force Base. Bishop, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, represents a Georgia district that includes Fort Benning and Marine Corps Logistic Base Albany.

Aimee Henneke, an Air Force spouse who handles military issues for McMorris-Rodgers, said the congresswoman was surprised to discover that there was no single caucus representing the interests of military families in the House, although the Congressional Women’s Caucus has worked on some military family issues.

“If this is going to be the year of the Military Family, why not elevate to a whole different level,” Henneke said, by forming a caucus of lawmakers dedicated to the cause.

One of the first planned orders of business is to arrange briefings for the staff of lawmakers in the caucus to give them a better understanding of programs available to military families and gaps in programs, Henneke said.

Two legislative issues topping the caucus agenda are programs for special-needs children of military families, and helping military spouses find jobs, Henneke said.

Helping children who have special needs — whether because of disabilities or other reasons — is an issue partly addressed by the 2010 defense authorization bill, which creates a Defense Department office to oversee such programs, Henneke said.

But the caucus wants to look at whether legislation is needed to expand specific programs to provide help in health care, education and other issues. One issue to be studied is whether the military could provide guarantees so special-needs children would see the same doctors every time they receive medical care at a military facility, Henneke said.

Jobs for spouses is a difficult issue to resolve, Henneke said, and is especially hard on spouses in communities where there are fewer jobs. One idea, which may not require legislation, would be to encourage military officials to meet with local businesses to tout the benefits of hiring spouses for off-base jobs, she said.