I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10200 

To improve parental leave for members of the Armed Forces. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2024 

Mrs. BICE (for herself and Ms. HOULAHAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To improve parental leave for members of the Armed Forces. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Military 

5 Parental Leave Evaluations Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. IMPROVED PARENTAL LEAVE FOR MEMBERS OF 

7 THE ARMED FORCES. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) In December 2022, Congress expanded the 

10 paid parental leave for members of the Armed 

11 Forces to 12 weeks during the 12 months after the 

12 ‘‘birth or adoption of a child of the member and in 


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1 order to care for such child’’ or the ‘‘placement of 

2 a minor child with the member for adoption or long3 term foster care’’ (10 U.S.C. 701(h)(1)(A)). 

4 (2) The expansion of parental leave raises con5 cerns that members who take such leave may receive 

6 lower evaluations compared to those who do not. 

7 (3) There is currently no provision to exempt 

8 members from evaluations due to parental leave, po9 tentially deterring eligible members from taking this 

10 leave. 

11 (4) Each Secretary of a military department 

12 has been given authority to implement the leave poli13 cies but have not provided explicit guidance on how 

14 to characterize such leave for the purposes of evalua15 tions. 

16 (5) All Armed Forces have non-rated codes or 

17 not observed evaluations to exempt members from 

18 evaluations during periods where their performance 

19 is not observed, but these do not align across the 

20 Armed Forces and do not specifically apply to paren21 tal leave. 

22 (6) Members who are parents face unique hard23 ships, and the 12 weeks of paid family leave for both 

24 mothers and fathers, for birth and adoption, is deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Nov 26, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10200.IH H10200

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1 signed to balance the care needs of their children 

2 with the demands of their unit. 

3 (7) Excessive paperwork required to extend the 

4 use of the 12 weeks of military family leave beyond 

5 one year additionally burdens members and de6 creases flexibility. 

7 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 180 days after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

9 Defense shall— 

10 (1) prescribe regulations— 

11 (A) that exempt a member of the Armed 

12 Forces who is taking parental leave, under sub13 paragraph (A) of paragraph (1) of section 

14 701(h) of title 10, United States Code, that ex15 ceeds 31 consecutive days, from a performance 

16 evaluation; 

17 (B) under subparagraph (B) of such para18 graph, to authorize a member to take leave 

19 under such section during the two-year period 

20 beginning on the birth, adoption, or placement 

21 described in such paragraph without having to 

22 request a waiver from the Secretary concerned; 

23 and 


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1 (2) submit to the Committees on Armed Forces 

2 of the Senate and House of Representatives a report 

3 regarding the implementation of this section. 

Æ 


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