On the Hill
The National Military Family Association regularly meets with members of Congress and their staff to discuss issues of importance to service members, retirees, their families, and survivors. Our Government Relations staff is called upon in all stages of legislation. When a Member is considering a bill they may ask us to review the language. We are often asked to participate on panels that testify before Congress. We are invited to roundtables and forums where lawmakers discuss matters with stakeholders from military and veteran organizations. Once legislation is introduced we may write a letter of support to the sponsors of the bill.
We tell the story of military families and we need your input to help tell that story. When we see a problem that is affecting many families we can raise awareness of the issue and ask lawmakers to address it. When we hear that a program is working effectively and answering a need for our families we endorse it and recommend it to the Services to make it available for all military families.
You can tell your own story—members of Congress want to hear from their constituents. Read our testimony for background on issues. It is important to communicate with your members of Congress on issues that are important to you. Issues arise where we may ask you to contact your member of Congress on a bill or subject that the National Military Family Association feels strongly impacts the quality of life for our uniformed service families.
To find out who your members of Congress are visit http://thomas.loc.gov—click on House of Representatives in the left column and enter your zip code or click on Senate and find your state. Use the contact us button to find the form to send an email or mail a letter to the Congressional office.
Tell us about problems affecting military families in your community:
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Thanks for submitting your feedback. If your comment is personal in nature, please email info@MilitaryFamily.org.
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Posted: March 23, 2012
Comment: I am very confused on the circumstances my husband finds himself in and am hoping that someone can shed some light on the matter ( for both me and my husband ) Last year my husband had put in for voluntary assignments and he was told that if he didn't leave by March of this year he would not be able to go due to not having enough retainability ( if he extends his enlistment he will be retiring on the 1st December 2013 which is his High Year Tenure) Any way to cut a long story short he ended up deploying to an undisclosed location and came back in the middle of January. All was well until last week he received an email saying he had orders to go to Korea for a year and would be expected there by December 9th 2012. As you can imagine he was very surprised by this and assumed it was an error, however after talking to the people at AFPC, he was told it was not and that he was expected to go. As this remote tour was listed as "volunteered for" he said that he would turn it down, he was then told that if he declined this assignment he would not be able to extend his enlistment to December 2013 and the Air force were able to make him retire in 7 months! What I am having issues with is that firstly he was given incorrect information last year, secondly as it was volunteered for ( even though if he had known he was still eligible to go he would have taken his name off the list ) you are supposed to be able to turn it down without repercussions and at least be able to serve the remainder of your enlistment out. Is this just another way of forcing people out of the military ??? I must say he has been in for over 22 years has already had two remote tours ( one was only 4 years ago ) and numerous deployments. What a horrible way to retire from such a long career in the Air Force!
Posted: February 23, 2012
Comment: We need help in the National Guard. We are not around other military families or installations. We have to live a military life in the civilian world. I have a great job, but my husband is deployed and I can not do it all, there needs to be a provision that gives the spouse at home some paid time off from her/his job. I need it to take care of the kids, the house, the finances and on and on. The people I work with want to know why I am not happy and I seem stressed out. REALLY???
Posted: February 16, 2012
Comment: Doc: Thank you for your questions. This has been a position for our Association ever since DoD proposed an increase to TRICARE Prime for Retirees and their families that any increase be tied to the annual Cost of Living Allowance (COLA). It is also the position held by The Military Coalition, which we are a part of. The increase to TRICARE Prime for Retirees and their families was instituted in 2011 for new enrollees, and all other Retirees and their family enrollees will see an increase to their TRICARE Prime enrollment fee this year - 2012.
Posted: February 16, 2012
Comment: Ralu: We are not familiar with the hiring practices at specific locations, but would be happy to discuss with you further.
Posted: February 16, 2012
Comment: Why do you think it is ok to increase tricare annual fees? Who is advising you to take this stance?
Posted: February 15, 2012
Comment: Michelle: Please email us at Info@militaryfamily.org so that we may get further information and address your specific concerns regarding immunizations. Our health care expert would be happy to speak with you directly.
Posted: February 15, 2012
Comment: I am a student, dental assistant program, at one of the local colleges in San Diego, CA, and not only that the director of the program plays games with the military spouses throught the semester, but during my internship at one of the military bases I found civilians hired by the dental clinic, on base, while they take the DA positions over a qualified military spouse. Further more, some of them are not even registered dental assistants in US. How can this occur in a governmental institution? someone please explain this one to me.
Posted: February 14, 2012
Comment: I would like to see all states follow the same immunization schedule as recommended by the Center for Disease Control or least give military families an exemption to follow the CDC schedule insad of that states schedule. Twice we have moved to different states and my children weren't up to date according to that states vaccination schedule and twice my children have had to receive extra immunizations. This is not fair to our kids to have to receive extra shots.
Posted: February 6, 2012
Comment: AJ Executive Order 13474 is a noncompetitive appointment and not a hiring preference. A hiring agency can use a noncompetitive hiring authority at their discretion. It may be helpful to review your eligibility for Executive Order 13474 with the installation civilian hiring office. Please email us at Info@MilitaryFamily.org with additional questions.
Posted: February 5, 2012
Comment: After following my husband over 18 years of active-duty status in the US Navy I don't expect to be handed anything; however, when the First Lady speaks frequently to the media about helping our military families I would expect something to change. After 3 years in office and lots of lip service, my life, nor the lives of any other military families we know (the numbers would be in the thousands) have changed for the better. I would expect that when an Executive Order is signed that it actually be followed. Example; military spouse preference for employment on military facilities & I'm not talking about MWR, Commissary, Exchange jobs. I am talking about CAREER positions for those of us that took the initiative, had the drive, and made the sacrifice to obtain their college degree. Especially when one gets their Masters in a much needed career field like, Contract Management and Acquisitions. This isn't only about me, yes I have been trying to get into a DOD position for the last 2 years with my degree with no success, so I work part-time as a clerk for the USPS, but I am talking about other spouses I have spoken and emailed with that have the same problem. I posted the question on one of my linked-in groups and more than a year and half later, I still get comments from other military spouses having the exact same issue. If the Executive Order is in place, someone, somewhere needs to hold those in charge of hiring for the DOD accountable; otherwise, don't bother telling the press what you're doing to "improve" my life and the lives of my military family!