Mike Garcia: “I thank Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Bost for their support of H.R. 7939, which also contains the text of one of…”

“I thank Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Bost for their support of H.R. 7939, which also contains the text of one of my bills I have been working on for the last year called the Military Spouse Licensing Relief Act. In the midst of one of the most challenging moments for our military in terms of recruitment and retention, what this bill does is it allows the spouse of Active-Duty members to effectively cross-deck their professional licenses if they are a realtor, doctor, nurse, teacher, beautician, cosmetologist, whatever their profession is, across State lines when they get orders from one State to the next. Right now the national unemployment average is roughly 3.7 percent, but when you look at the spouses of Active-Duty military members, that number is a staggering 20 percent unemployment rate. We have roughly 34 percent of the spouses of our Active-Duty members who are actually licensed professionals who would benefit from this very important piece of legislation. This legislation would require that spouses who receive reciprocity are in good standing with their original licensing jurisdiction and requires military spouses abide by the new State's rules and regulations regarding the standards and practices and continuing education as required by their license. This bill, above all things, would ensure that we ease the burden of our Active-Duty military families.…”