Allowing federal employees who are military spouses to work when stationed overseas is “common sense, simple, and long overdue,” first lady Jill Biden said during an April 17 White House ceremony featuring DoD and State Department officials who committed to easing that process.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma signed a permanent memorandum of agreement at the event to strengthen the Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas (DETO) program for military spouses employed by the federal government. This move is a positive step toward reaching President Joe Biden’s goal of making the federal government the “employer of choice” for military dependents.

[ACT NOW: Ask Your Lawmaker to Support the Military Spouse Hiring Act]

Several of MOAA’s currently serving spouses attended the signing event at the White House after a full day on Capitol Hill as part of the annual Advocacy in Action campaign. They had an opportunity to speak with Sharene Brown, a powerful advocate for military families and spouse of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., USAF. They shared their own struggles with keeping a career on the move, reminding us all that although this is a step forward, there’s still work to be done.

Military spouses take part in MOAA's Advocacy in Action event on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on April 17. (photo by Mike Morones/MOAA)

“Ensuring our military spouses can maintain meaningful careers is not just the right thing to do, it is a national security imperative,” Hicks said in her remarks. “Allowing more spouses to keep their federal jobs and telework strengthens economic security and quality of life for our servicemembers and their families, and enhances readiness and retention in our all-volunteer force.”

The agreement expedites the timeline for approval of DETO requests by making DoD responsible for the suitability determination concerning the safety and security of the foreign residence from which the military spouse will be working remotely. Because DoD already requires housing offices to inspect prospective off-installation residences, this is a straightforward, common-sense decision. Spouses of DoD civilians will also benefit from this agreement.

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To truly make the government the “employer of choice” for military spouses, we must continue to go beyond encouragement. The READINESS Act should be the next move. This legislation would allow a federally employed military spouse to work remotely, be reassigned to an area within commuting distance, transfer to a comparable job at another agency, or go into a non-pay status for the duration of the servicemember’s assignment.

There are less than 6,000 currently serving military spouses employed by the government, according to the Office of Personnel Management. They are intelligent, hard-working, dedicated employees who should be retained for the talents they bring to the workplace … especially when it’s government-sponsored orders requiring them to move.

Visit MOAA’s Legislative Action Center and urge your lawmakers to support the READINESS Act.