Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) co-sponsored the Military Spouse Hiring Act, bipartisan legislation that incentivizes employers to hire spouses of members of the United States Armed Forces. 

“While they may not wear the uniform, military spouses selflessly serve and strengthen our nation alongside America’s service men and women,” said Rep. Owens. “These families make tremendous sacrifices every day, and they deserve our full support. The Military Spouse Hiring Act is a new and better way to increase employment opportunities for military spouses while decreasing the high unemployment rate among the families of our servicemembers.” 

According to research from the Department of Defense and the Hiring Our Heroes Foundation, unemployment rates for military spouses far exceed that of the national average. This bill would help close the gap by expanding the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to include the hiring of qualified military spouses, allowing employers to claim a tax credit equal to a portion of the wages paid to those spouses.

Existing law already extends the Workforce Opportunity Tax Credit to employers that hire qualified military veterans, among other targeted groups. The Military Spouse Hiring Act would amend existing law to provide this tax incentive to employers that hire the spouses of members of the United States Armed Forces.

The full legislative text is available here.

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