I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3122 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to expand parental leave for members 
of the Armed Forces, to reduce the service commitment required for 
participation in the career intermission program of a military department, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 11, 2021 
Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mrs. BICE of Oklahoma, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY 
of New York, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. 
BROWNLEY, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. 
DELAURO, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. KATKO, Mr. MCGOVERN, 
Mr. MORELLE, Mr. MOULTON, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 
PORTER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. ROSS, Mr. RYAN, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. 
STRICKLAND, Ms. TITUS, Mr. TURNER, Mr. VELA, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. 
WILD, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to expand parental 
leave for members of the Armed Forces, to reduce the 
service commitment required for participation in the ca-
reer intermission program of a military department, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Servicemember Paren-
tal Leave Equity Act’’. 
SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF PARENTAL LEAVE FOR MEMBERS 
OF THE ARMED FORCES. 
(a) EXPANSION.—Section 701 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (i)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘twelve weeks’’ and inserting ‘‘18 weeks’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘six weeks’’ and inserting ‘‘12 weeks’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) Under the regulations prescribed for purposes 
of this subsection, a member of the armed forces described 
in paragraph (2) who is the primary caregiver in the case 
of a long-term placement of a foster child is allowed up 
to 12 weeks of total leave to be used in connection with 
such placement, subject to limits as determined by the 
Secretary regarding— 
‘‘(i) the total number of times that a member 
of the armed forces may use leave under this section 
with respect to the placement of a foster child; and 
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‘‘(ii) the frequency with which a member of the 
armed forces may use leave under this section with 
respect to the placement of a foster child.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘birth or 
adoption’’ and inserting ‘‘birth, adoption, or 
foster child placement’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (6)(A), by striking ‘‘birth 
or adoption’’ and inserting ‘‘birth, adoption, or 
foster child placement’’; 
(2) in subsection (j)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘21 
days’’ and inserting ‘‘12 weeks’’; 
(B) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(2) 
through (4) as paragraphs (3) through (5), re-
spectively; 
(C) by inserting, after paragraph (1), the 
following new paragraph (2): 
‘‘(2) Under the regulations prescribed for purposes 
of this subsection, a member of the armed forces described 
in subsection (i)(2) who is the secondary caregiver in the 
case of a long-term placement of a foster child is allowed 
up to 12 weeks of total leave to be used in connection 
with such placement, subject to limits as determined by 
the Secretary regarding— 
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‘‘(A) the total number of times that a member 
of the armed forces may use leave under this section 
with respect to the placement of a foster child; and 
‘‘(B) the frequency with which a member of the 
armed forces may use leave under this section with 
respect to the placement of a foster child.’’; 
(D) in paragraph (4), as redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘only in one increment in connection 
with such birth or adoption’’ and inserting ‘‘in 
more than one increment in connection with 
such birth, adoption, or foster child placement 
in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 
Secretary of Defense’’; and 
(E) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph (6): 
‘‘(6) Under regulations prescribed for purposes of 
this subsection, the Secretary shall provide a member of 
the armed forces described in subsection (i)(2), who would 
have been a secondary caregiver but for a miscarriage, 
stillbirth, or infant death, with leave— 
‘‘(A) in addition to leave under subsection (a); 
and 
‘‘(B) not to exceed the amount of leave under 
paragraph (1).’’; 
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