Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-10-06 00:00:00

Military Family Stability Act of 2015

This bill allows a member of the Armed Forces undergoing a permanent change of station and the member's spouse to jointly elect that the spouse may relocate to the new location at the time during the covered relocation period as the member and spouse jointly select.

The following families are eligible:

 the spouse is employed, or enrolled in a degree, certificate or license-granting program, at the beginning of the covered relocation period; the member and spouse have one or more children in school; the spouse or children are covered under the Exceptional Family Member Program; the member and spouse are caring for an immediate family member with a chronic or long-term illness; or the member is undergoing a permanent change of station as an individual augmentee or other deployment arrangement. Families with other needs may receive exceptions granted by military commanders on a case-by-case basis.

A member undergoing a permanent change of station who has one or more specified dependents and is no longer married to the individual who is or was the parent of such dependents at the beginning of the covered period of relocation may elect that such dependents relocate to the new location as follows:

 by the member alone if the former spouse is dead or has no custodial rights, or by the member and the former spouse jointly in all other circumstances. Housing provisions are as follows:

 if a member's spouse relocates first the member shall be assigned to quarters or other U.S. housing facilities as a bachelor until the date of the member's permanent change of station; if a member's spouse and dependents reside in U.S. housing at the beginning of the covered relocation period, the spouse and dependents may continue to reside in such housing throughout the covered period of relocation regardless of the date of the member's permanent change of station; and if a member's spouse and dependents are eligible to reside in U.S. housing following the member's permanent change of station, the spouse and dependents may commence residing in such housing at any time during the covered relocation period regardless of the date of the member's permanent change of station. In the case of a member undergoing a permanent change of station who is paid basic housing allowance at the "with dependents" rate at the beginning of the covered relocation period, the member shall be paid at such rate for months beginning during the covered relocation period regardless of the date on which the member's spouse and dependents relocate or the member is assigned to bachelor's quarters or facilities.

The geographic location of the dependents shall govern in determining the portion of basic housing allowance payable to a member with respect to the member's dependents.

A member shall be provided with housing reimbursement if quarters are not available for the member's assignment until the date on which the member and the member's spouse reside in the same geographic area after the permanent change of station.

Transportation allowances authorized for personal property of a member and spouse may be allocated as the member and spouse select.

The Department of Defense shall establish a single application approval process for coverage under this Act which shall apply uniformly among the Armed Forces.