S. 1543: Supporting Military Families Act of 2009

111th Congress · introduced 2009-07-30 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2009-07-30 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Dodd, Christopher J. [D-CT] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Supporting Military Families Act of 2009

Plain summary

Supporting Military Families Act of 2009 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to revise its requirements for exigency leave with respect to employees belonging to the family of members of the Armed Forces, particularly the requirement that an employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent be on active duty in the Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation. Repeals the condition "in support of a contingency operation," and requires only that the Armed Forces member be on duty during deployment to a foreign country. Entitles to coverage by the Act an eligible employee who is a family member caring for a veteran undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy for a serious injury or illness who was a member of the Armed Forces (or of the National Guard or Reserves) at any time during the five-year period preceding the date on which the veteran undergoes that treatment, recuperation, or therapy. Defines a veteran's serious injury or illness of a veteran to be one: (1) incurred by the veteran as an Armed Forces member in the line of duty while on active duty in the Armed Forces, or which existed before the beginning of the member's active duty but was aggravated by service in line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces; and (2) that manifested itself before or after the Armed Forces member became a veteran. Amends federal civil service law to entitle civilian federal employees to the same leave allowance with respect to family members who are: (1) members of the Armed Forces in deployment to a foreign country; or (2) ill or injured veterans for whom they are caring.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Supporting Military Families Act of 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Dodd, Christopher J. [D-CT] · 4 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Patty Murray (D-WA)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111s1543.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/s>

Record fed-us-cong111-s1543 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111