S.Amdt. 512

SA 512. Ms. DUCKWORTH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by her to the bill H.R. 2810, to authorize appropriations for fiscal
year 2018 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for
military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of
Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year,
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. PARENTAL LEAVE FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

Section 701 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking subsections (i) and (j);
(2) by redesignating subsection (k) as subsection (j); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (h) the following new
subsection (i):
``(i)(1) A member of the armed forces, regardless of gender
or marital status, shall be authorized to take at least 84
days of parental leave to be used in connection with--
``(A) the birth of a child of the member;
``(B) a qualifying adoption of a child by the member; or
``(C) the placement of a child in foster care with the
member.
``(2) In the case of a dual military family, both members
of the armed forces shall be authorized to take parental
leave under this subsection. The Secretary concerned shall
permit the transfer of such leave between the two members to
accommodate individual family circumstances.
``(3) For the purpose of parental leave under this
subsection, an adoption of a child by a member of the armed
forces is a qualifying child adoption if the member is
eligible for reimbursement of qualified adoption expenses for
such adoption under section 1052 of this title.
``(4) Parental leave under paragraph (1) is in addition to
other leave provided under other provisions of this section
or under other legal authority. Nothing in this subsection
prevents the Secretary concerned from authorizing
convalescent leave for a female member of the armed forces as
necessary prior or subsequent to the delivery of her child.
Convalescent or other leave taken before childbirth by a
pregnant member shall not reduce the number of days of
parental leave available to the member under this subsection.
``(5) The Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of
Homeland Security in the case of the Coast Guard when it is
not operating as a service in the Navy, shall prescribe
regulations to implement this subsection, which shall be
uniform for the armed forces.''.
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