,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #chjh ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #ba1 #bjbj ,mr4 ,blumenthal 7for himself and ,mr4 ,kaine7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to improve the affordability and accessibility of child care for military families1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,child ,care ,affordability and ,accessibility for ,military ,families ,act4 #b4 ,military child care and child development center matters 7a7 ,center fees matters ,section #agic of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections3 7c7 ,exclusion of ,,bah from family income in calculation of fees for certain members 7#a7 ,in general ,in providing for the calculation of fees charged under this section for a parent who is member of the armed forces on active duty in a grade specified in paragraph 7#b71 the regulations prescribed pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall exclude from the family income of the family concerned any basic allowance for housing 7,,bah7 paid to such parent under section #djc of title #cg4 7#b7 ,grades ,the grades specified in this paragraph are as follows3 7,a7 ,officer grades ,o-#a and ,o-#b4 7,b7 ,warrant officer grades ,w-#a and ,w-#b4 7,c7 ,enlisted grades ,e-#a through ,e-#e4 7d7 ,liberal issuance of hardship waivers ,the regulations prescribed pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall require that installation commanders issue waivers of fees otherwise established under the regulations for inability to pay 7commonly referred to as hardship waivers7 on a liberal basis in a manner consistent 7as specified by the ,secretary in such regulations7 with ensuring that fees collected pursuant to subsection 7a7 meet the operating expenses of the child development centers concerned4 7e7 ,family discount ,in the case of a family with two or more children attending a child development center1 the regulations prescribed pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall require that installations commanders charge a fee for attendance at the center of any child of the family after the first child of the family in amount equal to #he percent of the amount of the fee otherwise chargeable for the attendance of such child at the center4 4 7b7 ,child care fee assistance programs throughout the ,armed ,forces 7#a7 ,programs required ,each ,secretary of a military department shall carry out a program for each ,armed ,force under the jurisdiction of such ,secretary under which a member of the ,armed ,forces who is obtaining child care services from a civilian child care services provider located off a military installation is paid 7subject to any limitation established by such ,secretary7 a monthly amount equal to the amount1 if any1 by which-- 7,a7 the monthly amount charged by such provider for such services2 exceeds 7,b7 the monthly amount the military department concerned pays or otherwise provides members at such installation for child care services on such installation4 7#b7 ,model ,the programs carried out pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 shall be modeled after the ,army ,fee ,assistance ,program1 and incorporate such modifications to that ,program as the ,secretary of the military department concerned considers appropriate4 7#c7 ,secretary of ,defense approval ,any program of an ,armed ,force under paragraph 7#a7 shall be subject to the approval of the ,secretary of ,defense4 7c7 ,additional actions ,to obtain qualified child care employees 7#a7 ,in general ,section #agib of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7,a7 by redesignating subsection 7d7 as subsection 7e72 and 7,b7 by inserting after subsection 7c7 the following new subsection 7d73 7d7 ,additional actions ,to obtain qualified employees ,each ,secretary of a military department may1 with the approval of the ,secretary of ,defense1 take actions in addition to actions authorized by subsection 7c7 to provide military child development centers under the jurisdiction of such ,secretary with a qualified and stable civilian workforce1 including actions as follows3 7#a7 ,enhanced marketing and recruitment for employment4 7#b7 ,provision to employees of education-related benefits1 including tuition assistance and student loan repayment programs4 7#c7 ,availability and enhancement of wellness and physical fitness programs for employees4 7#d7 ,provision of such other competitive benefits as the ,secretary of the military department and the ,secretary of ,defense jointly consider appropriate4 4 7#b7 ,reports on installations with extreme imbalance between demand for and availability of child care ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 each ,secretary of a military department shall submit to ,congress a report on the military installations under the jurisdiction of such ,secretary with an extreme imbalance between demand for child care and availability of child care4 ,each report shall include1 for the military department covered by such report1 the following3 7,a7 ,the name of the five installations of the military department experiencing the most extreme imbalance between demand for child care and availability of child care4 7,b7 ,for each installation named pursuant to subparagraph 7,a71 the following3 7i7 ,an assessment whether civilian employees at child development centers at such installation have rates of pay and benefits that are competitive with other civilian employees on such installation and with the civilian labor pool in the vicinity of such installation4 7ii7 ,a description and assessment of various incentives to encourage military spouses to become providers under the ,family ,child ,care program at such installation4 7iii7 ,such recommendations at the ,secretary of the military department concerned considers appropriate to address the imbalance between demand for child care and availability of child care at such installation1 including recommendations to enhance the competitiveness of civilian child care positions at such installation with other civilian positions at such installation and the civilian labor pool in the vicinity of such installation4 7d7 ,military medical treatment facility agreements for hourly child care for members and spouses during medical appointments 7#a7 ,in general ,the commander or head of each military medical treatment facility shall seek to enter into an agreement with one or more entities described in paragraph 7#b7 in the vicinity of such facility that provide child care services under which agreement members of the ,armed ,forces and their spouses who are attending an appointment at such facility for medical or mental health care services may obtain child care services for their children on a hourly basis while attending such appointments4 7#b7 ,entities ,the entities described in this paragraph are the following3 7,a7 ,appropriate non-profit organizations 7such as the ,armed ,services ,,ymca74 7,b7 ,private sector child development centers4 7,c7 ,such other entities as the ,secretary of ,defense considers appropriate for purposes of this subsection4