www.thecentersquare.com – By Sarah Roderick-Fitch | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-17 10:23:00
(The Center Square) – Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate to amend the tax code to incentivize businesses to hire military spouses.
Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., working with Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D., introduced the Military Spouse Hiring Act aimed at boosting military spouse employment, a community that continues to struggle with high unemployment rates.
The proposed legislation would expand the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program that provides tax credits to employers “who hire people facing unique barriers for employment” by including military spouses.
Currently, the tax credit law only extends coverage to qualified military veterans, among other targeted groups, omitting military spouses.
Steady employment for military spouses has been a significant issue for military families. The unemployment rate for military families is about 21%, which hasn’t significantly changed since 2015, according to Blue Star Families. Military spouses, on average, experience higher rates of unemployment and underemployment than the national average.
A summary of the legislation cites that 45% of military spouses hold bachelor’s or advanced degrees, higher than the national average of 37%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Despite their education, challenges such as frequent moves and managing household responsibilities due to deployments can often hinder military spouses’ career progression.
The senators note that relocating across state lines “creates additional burdens” for about 1 in 3 spouses in licensed professions. While many licenses are transferable, there can often be differing requirements in order to obtain those credentials, leading these spouses to “earn significantly less income than their nonmilitary peers.”
Kaine says the legislation is needed to boost military spouse employment by helping to remove barriers, ultimately benefiting military families financially.
“We owe military families a debt of gratitude and support – including when it comes to juggling frequent moves with building their careers,” said Kaine. “By incentivizing the hiring of military spouses, the Military Spouse Hiring Act will help bring down the obstacles that America’s talented military spouses too often face when seeking work opportunities, and reduce financial instability among military families that can cause servicemembers to leave even if they want to continue serving.”
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, president and CEO of the Military Officers Association of America, one of several groups supporting the legislation, says military spouse employment issues impact force readiness due to financial constraints on military families.
“Employing military spouses is a strategic issue with direct ties to force readiness and the retention of experienced warfighters,” Kelly said. “And in 2025, having two household incomes is a baseline requirement. This bill eases an employer’s path to hiring from this talented pool of dedicated workers to invest in both military families and the viability of the all-volunteer force.”
Several bipartisan members of the House of Representatives have introduced companion legislation.
Gender-nonconforming Arkansans might not meet the state’s requirements to obtain a REAL ID in order to board flights or enter certain federal buildings, which is a week away from being required by federal law.
Applicants for REAL IDs need to provide the Department of Finance and Administration with four different forms of identification:
A current driver’s license, state-issued ID, or school or work ID as proof of identityA passport or birth certificate as proof of legal presence in the United StatesA government-issued social security cardTwo documents providing proof of address, such as utility bills or bank statements, issued within the last six months
The documents “all have to sync up,” Finance Secretary Jim Hudson said last week.
Transgender and nonbinary Arkansans might have changed their names or gender information on some but not all legal documents, and state policies have made it difficult for these groups of people to obtain documents that accurately reflect who they are, advocates say. Birth certificates can be legally altered, and until this year, the federal government allowed gender-neutral information on U.S. passports.
“The government has played politics with people’s lives and upended people’s ability to accurately and properly identify themselves,” said Holly Dickson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas. “This has created much chaos and turmoil for no good reason while making life harder and more unsafe for all of us.”
Last year, the ACLU of Arkansas led a lawsuit against the DFA’s decision to stop issuing gender-neutral driver’s licenses. The case was dropped after Arkansas officials permanently adopted the new policy, which prohibits the use of an “X” to indicate someone’s gender in place of “M” or “F.”
Several transgender and nonbinary Arkansans, including Maggs Gallup of Little Rock, urged the finance department to maintain the previous policy, which had been in place for 14 years. Gallup said in an interview Monday that they are putting off obtaining a REAL ID in case doing so requires the state to remove the X gender marker from their driver’s license.
Hudson told lawmakers that a driver’s license is “not a platform for speech” and “not a platform for personal identity.” Gallup disagreed, saying their gender-neutral ID is important to them and putting incorrect information on an ID is “a deeply incongruent thing to do.”
“In an ideal world, it would be great to have the state and officials recognize our gender,” Gallup said. “They don’t get to determine who we are, no matter what letters we put on our IDs.”
REAL IDs began with a law passed by Congress in 2005 as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Instituting REAL IDs statewide “will help fight terrorism and reduce identity fraud,” according to the finance department website.
The federal Transportation Security Administration accepts passports in place of REAL IDs as identification to board a flight. Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a well-known transgender advocate who lives in Little Rock, said last week on Facebook that she was initially denied access to a flight because she has an X on her driver’s license, but she was allowed to board after displaying her passport containing a male gender marker.
Griffin-Gracy is 78 years old and gender-nonconforming, and she was present at the 1969 Stonewall riot between LGBTQ+ people and police in New York City. In her Facebook video, she expressed disbelief that her passport was accepted even though she did not appear masculine. She also said “we the people” should “stand up and fight” President Donald Trump’s administration, which does not recognize gender-neutral IDs.
Gallup said they are also concerned about potential limits on travel, both domestic and international, with or without a REAL ID. Their teenage child is old enough to learn to drive but is putting off obtaining a learner’s permit because of potential bureaucratic obstacles due to their gender-nonconforming identity, Gallup said.
“This is just one part of a larger, really complicated network of new rules and legislation that are challenging to navigate” for transgender and nonbinary Arkansans, Gallup said.
State lawmakers and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders approved a law this month that will allow Arkansans to sue for damages if they encounter someone in a bathroom, changing room, shelter or correctional facility who does not align with the “designated sex” of the space.
The state has also enacted laws in the past few years that ban transgender girls from playing girls’ sports, require public school students to use bathrooms that match their gender assigned at birth, regulate pronoun use in schools and allow doctors who provide transgender minors’ health care to be sued for medical malpractice.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
SUBSCRIBE
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
The article appears to adopt a Center-Left perspective primarily through its focus on issues affecting transgender and nonbinary individuals, particularly with regard to identity documentation requirements in Arkansas. It emphasizes the challenges faced by gender-nonconforming individuals in obtaining accurate identification and highlights criticisms from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) regarding the state’s policy changes. The language used is sympathetic toward these groups, portraying the state’s actions as creating unnecessary turmoil and being politically motivated. Although the article provides factual information about the REAL ID process and relevant legal actions, its framing leans toward advocacy for the rights of transgender individuals, positioning the state’s policies in a critical light. This reflects a broader pattern of liberal advocacy for gender inclusivity in government identification practices. However, the piece does offer direct quotes from state officials, which helps balance the presentation of opposing views. Thus, the overall tone remains more supportive of progressive policies on gender identification, hence the Center-Left categorization.
SUMMARY: Arkansas Army veteran Jared Eeken uses his military experience and counseling background to help struggling veterans through his nonprofit, Scars and Stripes. Recognizing gaps in existing support systems, Eeken assists veterans in navigating mental health challenges, finding jobs, healthcare, and transportation, ensuring they don’t fall through the cracks. His own struggles with mental health inspired him to create this organization alongside his wife. Eeken emphasizes the importance of camaraderie and continuous support, often advocating for veterans to receive the services they’re entitled to. Recently, he was honored with the Saluting Heroes Award for his impactful work aiding Arkansas veterans.
One Arkansas Army veteran is showcasing how he uses his knowledge of social work and his own experiences to help other veterans in the state.
SUMMARY: Two suspects remain on the run after the Conway Park shooting, while two others are in custody. One of the arrested suspects, Ryan Goens, was free on bond for a previous gun charge at the time of the shooting. He had posted a $75,000 bond for an alleged February gun crime, including possession of a machine gun, and was scheduled for a hearing the same week as the shooting, but it was postponed. This case has raised concerns about the state’s bail system and balancing public safety with the presumption of innocence. Goens faces 11 counts of aggravated assault.
As the search continues for two additional suspects in the Conway park shooting, here’s the latest information from police.
