I recently wrote an Op-Ed in the Washington Examiner on an amendment I’m proposing for this year’s National Defense Defense Authorization Act, which is the major piece of legislation Congress passes to authorize and fund the Department of War. My amendment aims to fix an unjust oversight that impacts all of America’s warfighters. 

Right now, service members have a 60-day leave carry-over cap, preventing them from rolling over more than 60 days, regardless of how many days of leave they have earned. Deployments, contingency operations, shipboard assignments, training exercises, and so many other extenuating requirements ask service members to postpone the time off—that they rightly earned—for accomplishing the mission. And instead of letting our service members carry over that unused time off, the government is taking it back. 

Our warfighters should not be punished through loss of compensation—because that’s exactly what it is. They should be able to use their time in a way that works best for them or be able to sell it back. 

It’s just wrong, and I’m calling on Members of Congress and Senators, from any party, state, or constituency, to join me in fighting for all the service members who put their lives on hold to protect our freedom.