![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/amanda-roberts-mug.png.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAmanda Roberts<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo Credit: Courtesy of Sunshine Sachs<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Teachers, occupational therapists and other state-licensed workers face similar financial burdens, on top of other requirements that could include additional classes or background checks, even if spouses were just working in their former state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Military spouses may get some relief from such expenses under the Lift the Relocation Burden from Military Spouses Act, proposed in July by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. It would reimburse military spouses up to $500 for relicensing fees incurred by PCS moves across state lines as well as direct the military to work with states on expedited portability. That means spouses all over the country could get back up to 100 percent of what is spent for fingerprinting, exams and application fees required to work in a new location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If passed, the act may help to close the pay gap military spouses experience and improve our unemployment rate. We would be eligible for more time-based pay raises by getting to work sooner and remaining in the job longer, and we would be less discouraged by the out-of-pocket costs many of us face to even apply for work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if you\u2019re not part of a dual-income military family, there\u2019s reason for concern. A recent Blue Star Families study estimated the challenges to military spouse employment has a societal cost of $710 million to $1.07 billion per year in unemployment benefits, health care and lost income tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a small investment in licensing assistance, more spouses may be able to pay income taxes and fewer families would need to depend on unemployment. Lower stress thanks to simplified license portability and reduced out-of-pocket expenses \u2014 not to mention possible employer benefits \u2014 could even reduce health care costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spouses asking “Will I be able to work?” deserve a simple answer: Yes. By backing Stefanik\u2019s proposal, and by working to make state licenses and certifications for those spouses more portable and less costly, we can help spouses continue their careers and benefit the greater military community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amanda Roberts is a graduate student in the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. She is married to an active-duty Navy submariner.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Navy wife on how a lawmaker’s plan would make moves easier for military families<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":31455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":23,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["spouse"],"primary_category":"spouse"},"5":{"categories":["spouse"],"primary_category":"spouse"},"6":{"categories":["spouse"],"primary_category":"spouse"},"7":{"categories":["spouse"],"primary_category":"spouse"}}},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2111],"class_list":["post-72900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spouse"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"TFR3YRMFTFAFVHAN7ZNTV6U5BA","arc_canonical_url":"\/spouse\/2016\/10\/25\/spouse-support-bill-would-ease-relicensing-burden\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n