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Caucus has big plans for military women

The Congressional Women’s Caucus — which lists the laying of a Memorial Day wreath for female veterans at Arlington National Cemetery among its major accomplishments for military women during the 109th Congress — plans to be far more aggressive this year.

An ambitious agenda, aided by a well-placed member of the caucus, increases the likelihood that the caucus could drive some major changes in the lives of women in uniform.

Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., who co-chairs the caucus task force on women in the military, said the caucus wants to make sure sex-related crimes against women are prosecuted aggressively, and that programs are in place to help women suffering from sexual harassment and trauma, and from combat-related stress.

The caucus, which works with the nonprofit Women’s Policy, Inc., also is launching an investigation of military policies related to motherhood, especially maternity leave, Davis said.

The investigation could lead to legislation requiring services to have common policies granting women more time off from work and from deployments, she said.

“I just have great feeling for young mothers in the military, and need to know more about what we are doing and should be doing for them,” Davis said.

Caucus members also plan to hold hearings later this year about child care for parents who serve in the military.

“We are not doing enough,” Davis said. “We need to do more, and we need to figure out how to do that.”

What helps make this more than talk is that Davis chairs the House Armed Services Committee panel that oversees military personnel policies. The position gives Davis extra clout in getting the services to answer her questions, and the opportunity to put some policy changes in the annual defense authorization bill.

It also doesn’t hurt that the issues on the caucus agenda are bipartisan. Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Okla., co-chairs the military women’s task force and supports the three agenda items.

Fallin is not a member of the armed services or veterans’ affairs committees, where most issues involving women in the military are decided, but she is a former member of the Oklahoma legislature and served as Oklahoma’s lieutenant governor before serving in Congress.

Fallin, who said she dealt with military issues as lieutenant governor and meets regularly with military women, said she hopes the caucus also will look at other ways to help women.

Some single mothers in uniform have told her they are reluctant to report symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder out of fear that their mental health problems could be used against them in a custody dispute. Others have said it would be helpful if installations maintained lists of people available to provide emergency child care.

The availability of child care, an issue for all working mothers, came up during a Feb. 7 hearing before Davis’ military personnel subcommittee when the National Military Family Association noted that even after a recent burst of construction of on-base child development centers, there is still a daily shortfall of 31,500 spaces for children across the military.

One reason the shortage persists, said Kathleen Moakler, NMFA’s government relations director, is that some child care workers, both in military-run centers and those who provide home-based care, are no longer available because they are spouses of deployed troops and have temporarily stopped working.

Fallin said one complaint she has heard is the limited hours at military child care centers, with hefty fines for late pickups, which works against single parents or dual-military couples trying to balance service and parenthood.

Post-traumatic stress from combat situations or from sexual assault is an issue that can require special counseling and treatment. Some studies show women react differently to combat stress than men, possibly making them more vulnerable to mental health problems, and also react differently to treatment.

Both the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department are studying gender differences in stress — who gets it and how it should be treated — that could result in new demands for military and veterans’ programs.

In April, the caucus will hold a meeting to discuss sexual assault investigations and prosecutions, with plans for a public hearing before Davis’ subcommittee in early summer.