thedrifter
07-27-07, 07:13 PM
Six months of leave proposed for caregivers
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jul 27, 2007 16:46:41 EDT
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., became one of first lawmakers to try to enact proposals from the president’s wounded warrior commission, introducing a bill Thursday night to give up to six months of unpaid leave to the family or caregivers of wounded combat veterans.
Dodd’s proposal would extend to military families benefits under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows up to 12 weeks of time off work.
Dodd introduced the bill, S 1894, at the urging of former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., one of the architects of the original Family and Medical Leave Act who also was co-chairman of the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors. That commission reported its recommendations to President Bush Wednesday.
“Our troops are giving their all on the battlefield,” Dodd said in a statement. “The very least our government owes them is its total support for their family and medical needs.”
Dole, in a statement released by Dodd’s office, said he called Dodd because the two had worked together on the original leave law. The wounded warrior commission supported a change in the family leave law “to allow up to six months leave for family members of troops who have sustained combat-related injuries.”
Dodd’s legislation would go further than the commission recommended by also covering nonfamily members who have taken on the role of primary caregiver to a wounded service member or veteran and would grant up to six months of unpaid leave, more than the maximum of 12 weeks allowed under current law.
Congress has not decided how to handle the commission report, which was released after the House and Senate had already written their own proposals for overhauling treatment and benefits for wounded Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and their families.
It could be too late for Dodd to have his legislation attached to that package. If it is not added to the larger bill, Dodd could try to pass the leave plan as a separate bill or to get it attached to another measure, such as the 2008 defense authorization bill that has been sidetracked in the Senate until after Labor Day because of sharp differences over U.S. strategy in Iraq.
Ellie
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jul 27, 2007 16:46:41 EDT
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., became one of first lawmakers to try to enact proposals from the president’s wounded warrior commission, introducing a bill Thursday night to give up to six months of unpaid leave to the family or caregivers of wounded combat veterans.
Dodd’s proposal would extend to military families benefits under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows up to 12 weeks of time off work.
Dodd introduced the bill, S 1894, at the urging of former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., one of the architects of the original Family and Medical Leave Act who also was co-chairman of the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors. That commission reported its recommendations to President Bush Wednesday.
“Our troops are giving their all on the battlefield,” Dodd said in a statement. “The very least our government owes them is its total support for their family and medical needs.”
Dole, in a statement released by Dodd’s office, said he called Dodd because the two had worked together on the original leave law. The wounded warrior commission supported a change in the family leave law “to allow up to six months leave for family members of troops who have sustained combat-related injuries.”
Dodd’s legislation would go further than the commission recommended by also covering nonfamily members who have taken on the role of primary caregiver to a wounded service member or veteran and would grant up to six months of unpaid leave, more than the maximum of 12 weeks allowed under current law.
Congress has not decided how to handle the commission report, which was released after the House and Senate had already written their own proposals for overhauling treatment and benefits for wounded Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and their families.
It could be too late for Dodd to have his legislation attached to that package. If it is not added to the larger bill, Dodd could try to pass the leave plan as a separate bill or to get it attached to another measure, such as the 2008 defense authorization bill that has been sidetracked in the Senate until after Labor Day because of sharp differences over U.S. strategy in Iraq.
Ellie