I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1796 
To amend title 37, United States Code, to authorize, in connection with 
the permanent change of station of a member of the Armed Forces 
requiring relocation to another State, the reimbursement of the member 
for qualified relicensing costs incurred by the spouse of the member 
to secure a license or certification required by the State to which the 
member and spouse relocate, to encourage States to expedite license 
portability for military spouses, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 29, 2017 
Ms. STEFANIK (for herself, Mr. JONES, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. HECK, 
Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. WALZ, Mr. FASO, and Mr. 
RUSH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To amend title 37, United States Code, to authorize, in 
connection with the permanent change of station of a 
member of the Armed Forces requiring relocation to 
another State, the reimbursement of the member for 
qualified relicensing costs incurred by the spouse of the 
member to secure a license or certification required by 
the State to which the member and spouse relocate, 
to encourage States to expedite license portability for 
military spouses, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lift the Relocation 
Burden from Military Spouses Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REIMBURSEMENT FOR STATE LICENSURE AND CER-
TIFICATION COSTS OF A SPOUSE OF THE 
ARMED FORCES ARISING FROM A PERMA-
NENT CHANGE OF STATION OF THE MEMBER 
TO ANOTHER STATE. 
(a) REIMBURSEMENT AUTHORIZED.—Section 476 of 
title 37, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(p)(1) The Secretary concerned may reimburse a 
member of the armed forces who is reassigned for a per-
manent change of station or permanent change of assign-
ment from a duty station in one State to a duty station 
in another State to which the movement of the member’s 
dependents is authorized at the expense of the United 
States under this section for qualified relicensing costs of 
the spouse of the member. 
‘‘(2) Reimbursement to a member under this sub-
section may not exceed $500 for each change of station 
or change of assignment. 
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‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘qualified relicensing 
costs’ means costs, including exam and registration fees, 
that— 
‘‘(A) are imposed by the State of the new duty 
station to secure a license or certification to engage 
in the same profession that the spouse engaged in 
while in the State of the original duty station; and 
‘‘(B) are paid or incurred by the member or 
spouse to secure the license or certification from the 
State of the new duty station after the date on 
which the orders directing the permanent change of 
station or permanent change of assignment are 
issued.’’. 
(b) EXPEDITED LICENSE PORTABILITY FOR MILI-
TARY SPOUSES.—The Secretary of Defense, and the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast 
Guard, shall work with States to improve the portability 
between States of a license, certification, or other grant 
of permission held by the spouse of a member of the 
Armed Forces to engage in a particular activity in a State. 
The strategies to be recommended by the Secretaries to 
improve license portability for military spouses shall in-
clude the following: 
(1) Recognition by a State of a license issued 
by another State and in good standing in that State. 
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(2) Issuance of a temporary license pending 
completion of State-specific requirements. 
(3) Provision of an expedited review process for 
military spouses. 
(c) REPORT ON EXTENT OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND 
UNDEREMPLOYMENT OF MILITARY SPOUSES.—Not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees 
on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Rep-
resentatives a report evaluating the extent to which 
spouses of members of the Armed Forces are unemployed 
and underemployed, in comparison to the general popu-
lation. The report shall include an estimate of the number 
and percentage of unemployed and underemployed mili-
tary spouses, the primary reasons for their unemployment 
or underemployment, and recommendations to increase 
employment opportunities for military spouses. 
Æ 
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