Jill Biden said Wednesday that allowing federal employees who are military spouses to serve overseas is a long-overdue “national security imperative.”
The first lady spoke at a White House ceremony she hosted, along with Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma. A permanent memorandum of understanding was signed to ease the approval. employee.
The agreement was part of measures to support military families that President Joe Biden outlined in an executive order he signed at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, in June. It is also a result of the first lady’s work with Joining Forces, the White House’s initiative to support military and veteran families.
First Lady Jill Biden reportedly personally asked the president to end the war in Gaza: ‘Stop it, stop it now.’
Jill Biden said she told her husband what she heard from her spouse, and he took action.
“A key part of the executive order is to allow military spouses who work for the federal government to take on jobs with them if they are deployed overseas,” Jill Biden said. “With today’s agreement, we are making that a reality. It’s common sense, it’s simple, but it’s long overdue.”
Mr. Hicks and Mr. Verma signed the agreement in front of an overwhelmingly female audience seated in the East Room. Hicks handed the first lady a pen.
Jill Biden congratulates Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma on signing a permanent memorandum of understanding between the Department of Defense and State Department to enhance the Domestic Employee Overseas Telework Program for Military Spouses. The First Lady (center) and onlookers. April 17, 2024, East Room of the White House, Washington, DC (AP Photo/Yuri Gripas)
Jill Biden said military spouses also serve the United States even when they are not in uniform, and the government has a responsibility to serve them as well.
“This is not just a moral obligation,” she says. “It’s a national security obligation.”
The first lady said that the principle of an all-volunteer military, as seen in the case of the United States, “is at risk when we force service members to choose between their love of country and the families they serve with. We must give. No,” he said. You need the support you need to choose both. ”
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According to information from the White House, military spouses face an unemployment rate of 21%, which has not changed significantly over the past decade. More than 16,000 military members, veterans, and surviving spouses work across federal departments.
Jill Biden joked at the beginning of her formal remarks, saying, “I’m really excited because like a lot of you, I’m a working spouse of a public servant.”
Biden teaches English and writing two days a week at Northern Virginia Community College.
