Ayotte Responds to Secretary Carter's Military Family Announcements And Continues to Advocate for Military Families

Press Release

Following Defense Secretary Ashton Carter's announcement today regarding a number of new policies for military families, Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement:

"As we seek to support and honor our service members, we must never forget that military families serve too-often making serious career and personal sacrifices on behalf of our country and their loved ones in uniform. That is why I have helped lead efforts in the Senate to support our military families and why I applaud most of the policy changes that Secretary of Defense Carter announced today," said Senator Ayotte.

She continued, "However, I am disappointed that the Department of Defense has decided to reduce the Navy's maternity leave policy from 18 to 12 weeks. In order to recruit and retain the best sailors and to help them focus on their training and their missions, we need military family policies that make life better-not more difficult-for moms who serve our country in uniform."

Source