How an Idea Becomes a Law BY SARAH STREYDER
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f you’re reading this article right now, then you care about military spouses and their employment outcomes. You probably even have some policy solutions in mind that could make improvements. But how can individual advocates like you and me actually get our ideas into policy? While it is complicated, the process is more accessible than it looks.
Remember Schoolhouse Rock? If you’ve heard the song “I’m Just a Bill,” then you know the basic process for passing a law:
legislative package that includes an authorization for the military budget. Any amendment to this bill, assuming it’s included in the final version, is virtually guaranteed to pass. Some notable examples: Remember in 2019 when the Widow’s Tax finally got repealed? Happened in the NDAA. Remember the beginning of the U.S. Space Force as its own military branch? Also NDAA. Remember when military spouses were allowed to be reimbursed for their transfer of licenses across states? You guessed it — NDAA. As a result, the process for getting military-related legislation passed looks a little different than Schoolhouse Rock.
Most of the Work Happens at the Committee Level With a regular stand-alone bill, most of the legislative drafting happens in the offices of individual Members of Congress prior to getting introduced. (One of many reasons why voting in elections is so important!) From there, it’s mostly about pushing that single idea through the process, with some potential for amending.
1. Ideas get written into bills. 2. Bills have to pass votes in committees and on the floors of both chambers of Congress. 3. The President signs bills into law. Easy, right? I wish our work as advocates were that simple... Unfortunately, a lot of military family issues don’t get voted on as “stand-alone” bills like that. Instead, our community’s issues typically get added into a huge overarching bill called the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that gets passed through Congress every year. The NDAA is a massive annual 16 | NMSN Magazine
For our military advocacy, the NDAA is considered a “must-pass” bill because funding the military is largely seen as a necessary and bipartisan action. So our focus as advocates is on getting our priority items included in this legislative vehicle that will move forward. That initial bill drafting happens in the Armed Services committees of each chamber. This step is the easiest place for wonks, family advocates, and paid lobbyists to get their issues included from the beginning before the theatrics kick in.
Your Next Chance Is the Amendment Process If your issue gets left out of the bill by the time it leaves committee, do not lose hope! You can still encourage your representatives to get it added
nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org
MAY 2021