Van Orden, Pappas Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Increase U.S. Reserve and National Guard Military Leave
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) and Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-D) introduced bipartisan legislation to establish leave parity between National Guardsmen and Reservists and Active Duty members. The Reserve and National Guard Military Leave Enhancement Act will increase the rate of leave at a federal job for members of the Reserve and National Guard from 15 days to 30 days.
“Just like Active Duty, Reservists and National Guardsmen commit themselves to defending our nation,” said Congressman Van Orden. “Due to their leave rate being 15 days less than Active Duty members, they often must take leave without pay at their federal jobs to participate in military training. By increasing their rate of leave to match what is granted to Active Duty servicemembers, we are ensuring they receive adequate time to complete their required trainings and serve our nation without taking a pay cut.”
“Our federal employees that play a critical role in supporting our armed forces, including the New Hampshire National Guard, should not be subject to burdensome and outdated requirements that penalize them for serving our nation,” said Congressman Chris Pappas. “I’m pleased to join Congressman Van Orden in introducing this bipartisan legislation that will update military leave policies to strengthen our military readiness and honor federal employees' commitment to serving our nation.”
"The days of Reserve and National Guard service members being 'weekend warriors' are long gone. They are nearly half the total force and fight in our wars,” said ROA's executive director, retired Army major general Jeffrey E. Phillips. “Citizen-warriors, they proudly shoulder their military service and their civilian employment; adequate leave time is essential to ensuring these patriots can balance military duty, and civilian and family life. ROA thanks Chairman Van Orden and Representative Pappas for introducing the Reserve and National Guard Military Leave Enhancement Act, which doubles the amount of leave time available for military duty and helps ensure our nation’s military readiness."
“The military leave law was enacted over 50 years ago in 1966,” said Les Hackett, Legislative Director for Association of Civilian Technicians. “It provided federal employees with 15 days of paid leave when absent from work for military service in the Guard or Reserve. Since 1966 the Guard and Reserve has transformed from a strategic Reserve to an operational force. This transformation has dramatically increased the military training requirements for Guard and Reserve units and individual members. The Reserve and National Guard Military Leave Enhancement Act updates the military leave law to reflect the dramatic increase in employees needing to be absent for military training. This legislation will not only benefit federal employees who are also in Guard or Reserve but improve readiness through recruiting and retention of unit members.”
To read the full bill text, click here.
Throughout his time in Congress, Rep. Van Orden has fought for parity between National Guardsmen and Reservists and Active Duty servicemembers. Last month, he introduced the bipartisan Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserves (MGIB-SR) Tuition Fairness Act, which directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to require public higher education institutions to charge in-state tuition rates for veterans using MGIB-SR. Click here to read more.