II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4491 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for an operational and 

training deferment for parents. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 11, 2024 

Mr. OSSOFF introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for an 

operational and training deferment for parents. 

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 ‘‘Military Families Sup5 port Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OPERATIONAL AND TRAINING DEFERMENT FOR 

7 PARENTS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 39 of title 10, United 

9 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 674 the 

10 following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 675. Operational and training deferment for par2 ents 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Armed Forces 

4 who physically gives birth to a child (in this section re5 ferred to as a ‘birthparent’) shall receive a deferment, for 

6 a period of 365 days beginning on the date of the birth 

7 of the child, from all continuous duty events that are in 

8 excess of 1 normal duty day or shift, including from the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(1) Deployment. 

11 ‘‘(2) Mobilization. 

12 ‘‘(3) Field training. 

13 ‘‘(4) Combat Training Center program rota14 tions. 

15 ‘‘(5) Collective training events away from the 

16 permanent duty station of the member. 

17 ‘‘(6) Pre-mobilization training. 

18 ‘‘(7) Unit training assembly away from the per19 manent duty station of the member. 

20 ‘‘(8) Temporary duty. 

21 ‘‘(b) ADOPTIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Armed 

23 Forces who adopts a minor child or has a minor 

24 child placed with the member long term shall receive 

25 a deferment described in subsection (a) for a period 


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1 of 365 days beginning on the date of the adoption 

2 or placement. 

3 ‘‘(2) STEPPARENT OR SIBLING ADOPTIONS.— 

4 Paragraph (1) does not apply in the case of the 

5 adoption of a child by, or placement of a child with, 

6 a stepparent or sibling of the child. 

7 ‘‘(3) SURROGACY.—If a member of the Armed 

8 Forces uses a surrogate to bear a child, and the 

9 member becomes the legal parent or guardian of the 

10 child, the member shall be treated as adopting the 

11 child for purposes of paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(c) NON-BIRTHPARENTS.—A member of the Armed 

13 Forces who is not the birthparent of a child shall receive 

14 a deferment described in subsection (a) if the deferment— 

15 ‘‘(1) is necessary to ensure that at least one 

16 parent is home with the child for a period of 365 

17 days beginning on the date of the birth of the child; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(2) is approved by the special court-martial 

20 convening authority of the member specified in sec21 tion 823. 

22 ‘‘(d) DUAL-MILITARY PARENTS.—A member of the 

23 Armed Forces who is the birthparent of a child and is 

24 married to or co-parenting with another member of the 

25 Armed Forces may transfer all or part of the 365-day 


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1 deferment period under subsection (a) to the spouse or 

2 co-parent. 

3 ‘‘(e) FERTILITY TREATMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Armed 

5 Forces who receives, or whose spouse receives, a re6 ferral from a gynecologic surgeon or obstetrician to 

7 a healthcare provider with credentials in fertility 

8 treatment shall receive a deferment described in sub9 section (a) for a period of 365 days beginning on the 

10 date of the first appointment of the member or 

11 spouse, as applicable, with the healthcare provider. 

12 ‘‘(2) EXTENSIONS.—A member described in 

13 paragraph (1) who receives, or whose spouse re14 ceives, assisted reproductive technology procedures is 

15 eligible for an extension of the deferment period de16 scribed in subsection (a) for not more than an addi17 tional 365 days. 

18 ‘‘(3) CONDITIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) MEMBERS ASSIGNED OUTSIDE CONTI20 NENTAL UNITED STATES.—A member assigned 

21 to a duty location outside the continental 

22 United States who requests a deferment under 

23 paragraph (1) shall also request an extension of 

24 the assignment of the member to that duty loVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:42 Jul 31, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4491.IS S4491

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1 cation if the deferment period would otherwise 

2 exceed the term of the assignment. 

3 ‘‘(B) MEMBERS WHO HAVE RECEIVED RE4 LOCATION ORDERS.—A member who has orders 

5 for a temporary or permanent change of station 

6 pending— 

7 ‘‘(i) is not eligible for a deferment 

8 under paragraph (1); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) may be eligible for an extension 

10 under paragraph (2). 

11 ‘‘(C) VOLUNTARY EARLY TERMINATION OF

12 DEFERMENT.—A member who receives a 

13 deferment under paragraph (1) or an extension 

14 of such a deferment under paragraph (2) may 

15 elect to end the deferment of the member before 

16 the expiration of the deferment. 

17 ‘‘(f) MEMBERS IN DEPLOYMENT DEFERMENT STA18 TUS.—A member of the Armed Forces who is in a deploy19 ment deferment status on the date of the birth, adoption, 

20 or other event qualifying the member for a deferment 

21 under this section shall have the deployment deferment 

22 status of the member extended to a date that is not later 

23 than 365 days after the date of the birth, adoption, or 

24 other event, unless the member is eligible for an extension. 


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1 ‘‘(g) WAIVERS OF DEFERMENT PERIOD.—At any 

2 time, a member of the Armed Forces who receives a 

3 deferment under this section may waive any portion of the 

4 365-day deferment period without ending the period early. 

5 ‘‘(h) RESERVES.—Other than any rescheduled or ex6 cused absences relating to approved parental leave, this 

7 section does not exempt a member of a reserve component 

8 from attending— 

9 ‘‘(1) a unit training assembly at the permanent 

10 duty station of the member; 

11 ‘‘(2) a medical readiness appointment; or 

12 ‘‘(3) annual training within commuting distance 

13 of the permanent duty station of the member. 

14 ‘‘(i) EXTENSIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with pre16 vailing medical guidance, a member of the Armed 

17 Forces who is still lactating after the end of the 

18 365-day deferment period described in subsection (a) 

19 may be granted an extension of the deferment period 

20 and be excused from the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) Deployment. 

22 ‘‘(B) Mobilization. 

23 ‘‘(C) Combat Training Center program ro24 tations. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Any training events where lactation 

2 accommodations cannot be provided as de3 scribed in subsection (j). 

4 ‘‘(2) TERM OF EXTENSIONS.—Extensions under 

5 paragraph (1) for a member shall be granted in 90- 

6 day increments for such period as the member is lac7 tating, for up to 730 days after the date of the birth 

8 of the child of the member. 

9 ‘‘(3) VERIFICATION.—The commander of a 

10 member seeking an extension under paragraph (1) 

11 may verify that the member is lactating through a 

12 healthcare provider of the member. 

13 ‘‘(4) OTHER DUTY.—This subsection does not 

14 excuse a member described in paragraph (1) from 

15 any duty away from the permanent duty station of 

16 the member other than duty described in that para17 graph and where lactation accommodations can be 

18 provided as described in subsection (j). 

19 ‘‘(j) LACTATION ACCOMMODATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The commander of a mem21 ber who is lactating shall provide the member with 

22 lactation breaks and a designated lactation area, 

23 without regard to the amount of time that has 

24 elapsed after the birth of the child of the member 

25 or whether the child is beginning to eat solid foods. 


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1 ‘‘(2) LACTATION BREAKS.—The commander of 

2 a member who is lactating shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) ensure that the member has adequate 

4 time to express milk and shall be aware that, 

5 in determining how much time is adequate, 

6 each member’s situation is unique; and 

7 ‘‘(B) allow lactation breaks not less fre8 quently than every 3 hours and for not less 

9 than 30 minutes for each break. 

10 ‘‘(3) LACTATION AREAS.—The commander of a 

11 member who is lactating shall designate a private 

12 space, other than a restroom, for the member to 

13 breastfeed or express milk that includes the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(A) Locking capabilities. 

16 ‘‘(B) A place to sit. 

17 ‘‘(C) A flat surface (other than the floor) 

18 to place the pump on. 

19 ‘‘(D) An electrical outlet. 

20 ‘‘(E) A refrigerator to store expressed 

21 milk. 

22 ‘‘(F) Access to a safe water source within 

23 reasonable distance from the lactation area. 

24 ‘‘(k) WAIVER OF DEFERMENTS FOR WAR OR NA25 TIONAL EMERGENCY.—In time of war or during a naVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:42 Jul 31, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4491.IS S4491

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1 tional emergency declared by Congress or the President, 

2 the Secretary of Defense may waive the requirements of 

3 this section and terminate any deferments granted under 

4 this section before the declaration of the war or national 

5 emergency.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

7 at the beginning of chapter 39 of such title is amended 

8 by inserting after the item relating to section 674 the fol9 lowing new item: 

‘‘675. Operational and training deferment for parents.’’. 

Æ 


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