Once upon a time there were two Army spouses. Both of the women had school-aged children and pets. Both of the women had a limited window of time to locate housing in a place they’ve never even visited, as those places would soon become their new homes.

These are the tales of two families PCS moves and how they dealt with the search for housing.

Juanita Klemm began the search for off-post housing as many do, online.

“I looked on Zillow, Militarybuyowner.com, or any other website I could find, but the school districts were my prime focus,” Klemm said.

Her husband had already reported to Virginia a few months earlier, so she was fortunate to have him on location to view potential homes.

Klemm, a middle school administrator, stayed behind with her daughters to finish up her job and the girls’ school year. But her plan was to have a home to go to once the school year ended.

“I found that rentals listed under property management companies seemed to get back with me faster than rentals managed by the owners,” she said.

Her husband was busy in his new job during the day, so Klemm chose some homes in her desired school district and scheduled viewing appointments for him in the evenings. She also found that those same property manager listings, often yielded managers with additional home recommendations and resources.

Klemm, her daughters and their three dogs eventually made the journey from Kansas to Virginia and reunited with their soldier in their new home.

Kim Carlile had a little less time to formulate a moving plan, and, she had much further to go. Once her family received the final orders to travel from Alabama to Germany, they had about three weeks to make it all happen. And their search for a new home could not begin until they arrived in the Germany.

 “We were limited,” Carlile said. “We basically had two places to look, either government housing or privatized. If government housing is available, even if it’s off post, that’s where you go.”

When the Carliles arrived, government housing was full both on- and off-post, so they were provided with a list of landlords with properties that had been referred in the past. There were two homes to choose from on the list.

“Our only other option was to spend money out of our pockets and find our own realtor to help us search,” Carlile said.

They chose a home from the list and lived in a temporary lodging for three weeks while they waited for their new home to be move in ready.

Her son and daughter  had previously attended a DOD (Department of Defense) school on-post prior to the move, so not only was the transition smooth for her children’s education, but Carlile said the school administrators were extremely helpful with recommendations and logistics.

Both of these home searches ended successfully, but not without learning experiences.

Klemm, taking advantage of her television satellite company’s no stress moving policy, discovered upon arrival that her neighborhood homeowner’s association had strict rules about satellite dishes. The company refunded any additional money Klemm spent, but she highly recommends obtaining a copy of the homeowner’s association policy before a move or even before signing a lease, to avoid surprises.

Klemm also recommends being pro-active with a property manager.

“Ask him or her if there is anything additional you need to know about the house,” she said.

Once the Carliles settled into their new German home, although she was happy there, Kim discovered she may have had some additional resources to take advantage of in her home search.

“If I had had more time to prepare, I would have found a military spouses Facebook group in Germany to provide me with feedback on housing options, the search process and the move in general. When you’re doing this for the first time, sometimes you just don’t know what questions to even ask,” she said.

Both Klemm and Carlile did as much preparing as they had the time or resources to do so. Their families worked together, and these ladies used technology and in-person resources to make their moves a success. Both families are currently living …”happily ever after.”

It is PCS season! Which means, people are leaving their jobs. Which means, employers near military bases are hiring!

A great way to get your resume out and check out the businesses near your new home is to take part in a hiring fair. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation continues to hold monthly fairs around the nation that are open only to military members and their spouses.

Here is a list of the ones happening in July. Remember to click on the link and register. Spaces fill up so register soon.

July 10

Cleveland, Ohio

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/cleveland-hiring-fair

July 14

Montgomery, AL

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/montgomery-hiring-fair

Dallas, Fort Worth, Texas

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/fort-worthdallas-hiring-fair

July 17

Springfield, OR

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/springfield-hiring-fair

July 22

Anchorage, AK

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/joint-base-elmendorf-richardson-transition-summit

Davenport, Iowa

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/davenport-hiring-fair

July 30

Arlington, Texas

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/arlington-hiring-expo-texas-rangers

Are you driving across country this summer to PCS? Heading to the in-laws. In the middle of nowhere? Trying to keep your kids occupied while dad is deployed for the summer?

More than 2,000 museums across the nation want to make this summer a little less stressful for you. And, the cost is free.

The Blue Star Museums program is again offering free admission to more than 2,000 museums in all 50 states for military members and their families. The program runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Sept. 7.

Check the website at http://arts.gov/national/blue-star-museums and click on the map for a user-friendly list of blue star museums in each state.

To get your free tickets, simply show up to the museum and present Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID.

The military ID holder plus five family members will be admitted for free. Family members include children, spouses, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.

Also, the military member does not have to be present for the family to participate. The family can still gain entrance with a dependent family member ID card.

The program was created several years ago to show support for active duty military families who have faced multiple deployments and to give those families a chance to be together and explore these museums. The program recognizes that many of these families would otherwise not have the means, or the time together, to do so.

For all the details, go tt http://arts.gov/national/blue-star-museums/frequently-asked-questions#sthash.30D5lmJJ.dpuf

Happy Travels!

Cable and Internet in our neighborhood is spotty.

I sometimes think we should specialize in dropped calls, channel black-outs, and error messages instead of boasting about our community pool and our shiny, enforced “No Soliciting” signs.

Last year, I once had to call the cable company because we had continually dropped service for two weeks.  During the debacle, I realized that the company wouldn’t charge me for days, weeks, or months in which they had been unable to provide service.

And because it’s terribly frustrating to lose Internet for days on end – especially when you work online – I always took them up on that.  I call every time there’s an issue now.

So last week, unable to use the Internet and with less channels on TV than public-access, I called.

They went through all the rigmarole about my password and identity and birth-weight of my first-born child.

And then they asked me my address.

And I answered.

The line got quiet.  The customer-service representative might as well have screeched “Huh?” through the phone; the silence was so deafening.

“Ma’am,” she said. “We’re a Georgia branch.  That’s not a Georgia address.”

And she was right.  It wasn’t.  It wasn’t our current Georgia address.  It wasn’t the Georgia address we had three years ago.

It wasn’t even the South Carolina address we had before that.

It was the Florida address we had.  Four addresses ago.

I prattled it off like I’ve been living there for the last six years, despite us moving three times in that same time frame.

“Ma’am, are you military?” she asked.

Still shocked, I did manage to eke out my normal, “No.  My husband is.”

While I am always impressed I can remember the addresses of all our homes in the last decade, it’s odd to revert like that, even for a tired Mom like me.

It’s the first time I’ve ever done that, in fact.

Luckily, the woman brought me back to present-day, where I remembered my correct address and received a deduction on my monthly bill since Internet service was yet again non-existent.

Later that day, the service had been restored.  And then 30 minutes later, it promptly dropped again.

Tired Mom rearing her ugly head, I called back, and due to a crazy stroke of luck, I got the same customer service representative.

She asked how she could help me.

“Well, earlier I gave you my old, old Florida address. Now I know why,” I said. “Because that was the last place I could finish writing an e-mail without my Internet service giving out. I’d like to go back to that, if you don’t mind.”

 

By Christine Cioppa

Your family received the orders. It’s time for a Permanent Change of Station (PCS). If you’re like Kathy Broniarczyk, Director of Family Support at the Military Family Research Institute, and Army spouse, this responsibility falls on you more times than not. You’re holding the family together, packing and unpacking. You’re doing it all! 

Broniarczyk has moved 14 times in her 20 years of marriage to her husband, who was in the Army on active duty and with the National Guard (now retired after 23 years). Of those 27 packs and unpacks, Broniarczyk says her husband was only there for five of them, leaving the remaining 22 packs and unpacks hers to manage. Fortunately, the packers never lost a pet or shipped a garbage can full of trash. But, these things have happened during the chaos of a move and only add to the stress of an already trying time.  

Fortunately, there are things you can do to make the transition easier and less stressful for you and your family. Before your move, add the following to your checklist of things to do:  

Research your installation’s climate. First thing to do is find out about your new installation. Go online. When Broniarczyk moved, there was no Internet. She says it’s a wonderful resource to make things easier. Find out about the climate. Find out as much as you can. Broniarczyk says you don’t want to pack Arizona desert clothes for a move to Washington, where it rains all the time and necessitates sweatshirts, jackets and umbrellas. If you’re prepared, Broniarczyk says you don’t have the stress of buying new things when you move.  

Take advantage of the sponsorship program. “Investigate if your new unit has a sponsor program. A lot of the units in a lot of the branches have them,” says Broniarczyk. If you participate, you’ll be assigned a sponsor. Broniarczyk says that having someone who is already on the ground is a tremendous help. That person can answer a lot of questions you have and get information you need in advance, she adds.  

Be proactive if pregnant. If pregnant and within a month of delivery, Broniarczyk says planning is important. “Have a plan A and a plan B and a plan C.” She says women should find out if their medical records are going to transfer and if all the admission paperwork is at the particular hospital. Having moved several times in the States and twice overseas, Broniarczyk says that she hand-carries all her important papers in a carry-on bag. She advises carrying your maternity records with you as you travel.  “If your family is in transit and you go in labor, you’ll need everything right there with you,” she says.  If delivering in a military hospital, the OBGYN may be the one on duty, and may not be your same OBGYN, says Broniarczyk. Having a plan and knowing what hospital or installation you will deliver at is important. Also, having a phone conversation with the new OBGYN taking over your care can be beneficial, she says.  

Help children cope. “Whatever children are feeling is okay,” Broniarczyk says. Acknowledging to your children that moving is hard is important, she says. It’s important to accept feelings, whether they are sad they are moving, fearful of making friends or anxious about unknowns. She urges not to downplay those emotions by saying, “Don’t worry. You’ll be okay.”  “Be real honest about what you know and don’t know, because kids are going to know if you are faking it,” says Broniarczyk. She says it is okay to say, “I’m not sure. I don’t know what it is going to be like.” Or you could say, “We know A, we know B, we know C, we know D. You know what? I don’t know about E and that is going to be a surprise for us.” Another helpful approach is helping them work through some of those fears and anxieties in their minds. If, for example, they are worried about making new friends, you can talk about that and reinforce positive past experiences. You could say, “Remember when you moved here? You didn’t know anybody either. So what did you do to make friends?” Broniarczyk adds, “Chances are if they made friends where they are currently at, they are going to be able to make friends where they are going.”  Bridging the activities enjoyed from one community to next can also help. Broniarczyk says that if they enjoyed going to the library or playing soccer, for example, you could say to them, “You know what, where we are going there are libraries too!” or  “Let’s explore and check out what soccer teams are in the new community. Maybe we can belong to the YMCA.”  

Prevent move mishaps. After 22 packs and unpacks by herself, Broniarczyk has a routine that helps things go smoothly. All in all, it comes down to being organized and “getting a system that works for you,” she says. Broniarczyk makes sure she takes everything she doesn’t want packed and locks it in her car or in a bathroom with a big sign that says, “Don’t pack this room.” Making sure movers know what to pack and not to pack — or what rooms to access —  is really important. Broniarczyk said she has heard stories of packers packing garbage cans filled with garbage or a backpack filled with library books from the place they were moving from. If a mover opens a door that has the cat inside, the cat can run out. “Make sure you take animals to the kennel when you are packing,” advises Broniarczyk.  If you have children, the packing process is even more complex and depends on what your children can handle. “You don’t want a three-year-old to leave in the morning with all the stuff in the house and come back and there is nothing left,” says Broniarczyk. She suggests letting them stay a little bit and see what the packers are doing. Then, you can take them to childcare to keep them occupied.  When Broniarczyk gets to the new location, she puts numbers on each of the rooms. As the boxes come off the truck, she reads the label (e.g., daughter’s room, kitchen) and puts a number on the box so the movers place it in the correct room. She also makes sure boxes are labeled “first unload” or “first unpack” so children can get their rooms set up first and have a place for their stuff.  

Make it fun. “It’s very important to have an open mind,” says Broniarczyk. She urges avoiding the mentality of “I don’t want to leave here. I don’t want to move,” because it can result in missing a lot of the benefits of the new place. Instead, look for all the great things or “gems” of the new location. “Every place is going to be different and every place is going to have things that are absolutely wonderful about the new location. It’s important to find those things.” Broniarczyk and her family look at each move as an adventure. “We’ve always made sure that when we go to a new place, we try one new local food we have never had before and they get to choose.” Having this tradition gives each of them something fun to look forward to. She’ll say, “Okay, when we go to Texas, we are going to try something we’ve never had before. We’ve never had brisket. What is that? They’ll find that kind of food and try it.” She says this helps start the acclimation process.  

Other resources for relocating 

Looking for more information about child care at your new installation and other resources to help your family transition? Broniarczyk recommends the following websites for more info: 

http://www.naccrra.org/military-providers/what-programs-are-available (Child Care Programs)  

http://www.militarychild.org/  (Military Child Education Coalition) 

http://apps.militaryonesource.mil/MOS/f?p=123:23:0 (Military Youth on the Move) 

http://www.militaryonesource.mil/ (Military OneSource) - See more at: http://www.salute2spouses.com/articles/blog/staying-stress-free-during-pcs-season#sthash.DLnLXqrD.dpuf

By Mandy Rebmann

When I heard the voicemail left by my real estate agent, a chill ran through me.  We knew the VA appraisal had been completed, and were waiting to hear if there were any major issues.  Anyone who has been through the home-buying process knows the appraisal step can often go wrong.

Thankfully for us, the news was good.  The appraisal came in “at value,” meaning the appraiser concluded the value matched the purchase price, and only required one small repair.  I breathed a sigh of relief.  Having a background in mortgages while applying for one has to be a little like becoming sick when you’re a doctor.  You have so much more knowledge of what can go wrong.

A VA appraisal serves two major purposes- to ensure the house is worth what you’re buying it for (and what the bank is lending you), and to make sure the house is sound, safe and immediately livable.

When you enter into a contract to purchase a house, you and the seller are agreeing on how much the house is worth.  An appraisal makes sure that number is accurate.  There are generally two methods of determining a house’s value: a Sales Comparison and a Cost-Based Approach.  A Sales Comparison looks at the price similar houses in your home’s area have sold for within the last 12 months, and determines value based on their sales prices and features.  A Cost-Based Approach determines land value and how much it would cost to build your home from scratch.  A VA appraiser uses the former approach, and adds or subtracts value by taking a closer look at the differences between the nearby, comparable homes.

An appraisal will rarely deem the house more valuable than the sales price; however, an appraiser may value it lower.  This can be a major problem in the process and may even kill the deal.  Let’s say the purchase price of your home is $150,000 and the appraisal comes in at $140,000.  The bank will only lend based on and up to the appraised value.  This means either the seller would have to agree to lower the sales price, or you would have to come up with the extra $10,000.  Often, neither of these options can be agreed upon and the contract is voided. 

Our appraisal is requiring a handrail be installed on the main staircase; this was expected and minor.  Unlike an appraisal for a conventional loan, a VA appraisal may require certain repairs be made to the property prior to closing.  The appraiser ensures the overall safety and soundness of the property.  It’s why you’ll never see a home advertised as a “handyman’s special” able to get VA financing.  Rotting wood may have to be replaced, or older, peeling paint, possibly containing lead, may need to be scraped and repainted.  A heating system may need to be completely replaced.  Extensive repairs may also spell trouble for the deal.  A seller may not be willing to complete the expensive repairs, even if it means the house the house will go back on the market.  Another purchaser may be able to pay cash or use a different type of loan that may not have the same repair requirements.  This is one reason why it’s a good idea to work with a real estate agent familiar with VA loans; they may be able to steer you away from any properties that the VA would find issue with.

It’s important to remember, even though you pay for the appraisal, it actually belongs to the bank and the VA, and protects their interest in the transaction.  A home inspection, although not required, is strongly recommended for your own benefit.  The home inspection we ordered was much more detailed about the structure and systems of the house, reducing the risk something unexpected and costly will occur. 

Now that the appraisal is done, we’re one step and one PCS move closer to our first house!

Last fall Christine Gold moved to Colorado from Georgia at the very beginning of her third trimester for a Navy PCS with her husband and their first-born daughter.

“It sucked,” she joked. “Being huge, tired, having to pee always. Especially with the altitude; it was so hard on my body.”

She struggled to find a healthcare provider that met her needs, and she didn’t want to waffle between providers and not receive the frequent medical checks and appointments she and her baby needed at the end of pregnancy.

The difficulties continued to stack up: she had to line up childcare for her daughter for when she went into labor, despite knowing no one in her new home and living many states away from her family and her in-laws; she had to find a pediatrician to take care of the baby after the birth even though she was totally unfamiliar with the base clinic.

Moving with the military is stressful enough, but PCSing while pregnant can add a whole different level of stress to the game.

Kimberly Davis, ombudsman for a U.S. naval submarine command in Kings Bay, Ga., said she refers all pregnant women who newly report to the command to Fleet and Family Support Center.  They offer free classes and can help situate new mothers with the supplies and resources they need to budget for children and parent little ones.

They also need to quickly get in touch with Tricare, she said, to find out what providers will take them in the area.

“If they are in a different region, they will have to enroll in the new region, anyway, so it’s probably easier to have her talk to Tricare, anyway, to get all of those things worked out at once,” Davis said.

Megan Correa is the director for MOM4USA, a military outreach ministry that serves lower enlisted military families at Camp Pendleton and the surrounding Southern California area.  MOM runs a monthly food drive for military families in need, as well as provides free donated items when they can.

Correa also refers to many military-sponsored family support resources, including Navy-Marine Corp Relief Society and their “Budget for Baby” class, where new parents are provided with clothing, blankets, coupons, and other necessities.

She also has families contact WIC, Headstart, and other government agencies that can make sure new mothers new to the area get their physical needs met.

Her organization also gives away a layette set to expecting parents who contact her.  She saves lots of reading and other resources to send to new mothers, and a lot of the family readiness organizations and the base chaplain contact her to see what she can do for new families, most ranked E1 through E5.

“With the economy tanking, we don’t have as many baby items, baby furniture,” she said.

But when she gets some in, she contacts the family readiness organizations to find them a home.

She recommends new parents who have just PCSd get involved as soon as they can with the family readiness groups and other local ministries.  Those organizations often lobby to help pregnant mothers get what they need.

Sharon Gerdes, vice president of Post-Partum Support International, recommends pregnant mothers not just prepare for the baby to come but for the possible complications that can arise post-partum, as well.

Military wives can be more susceptible to post-partum depression, anxiety, and other mood and anxiety disorders associated with the post-partum period.

Military spouses who PCS right into a deployment situation, like many do, risk being isolated during the birth of their child, being away from family, friends and their spouse.

Women who give birth without their partner are twice as likely to experience post-partum depression, Gerdes said.

PSI has a group of military coordinators who can help pregnant and post-partum women find help in their region and within their specific branch; they’re specifically trained to help military spouses.  They also have free support via the Internet and telephone.

Gerdes recommends getting in touch with some kind of support once you’ve moved, but before the baby is born.  Someone who can take older children to their activities or school.  Some other families to help bring you meals, or someone to come hold the baby so you can take a nap.

“Schedule as much as you can in advance,” she said.

Gerdes said if you’re not sleeping, feeling weepy, overly anxious, or having visions of harming yourself or others, you should seek help.

Even if something just isn’t right, you can call Post-Partum Support International or get in touch with local resources you found before pregnancy.

“The mental health of mom is important for the health of baby,” she said.

Congress is currently reviewing a bill that will ease the financial burden for PCSing spouses who have to transfer their professional licenses from state to state.

That means when a spouse studies and works for two years to finally earn her professional license, only to receive PCS orders a week later, all the money she shelled out, and will now have to pay again in the next state, she can apply as a tax credit for that year (up to$500).

Sounds great, right?

It's likely to never happen.

The bill is sitting in the senate finance committee. There has been no vote, no discussion, no movement.

Historically, between 2013 and now only 15 percent of the bills sent to the senate finance committee made it to the next step in the legislative process. Of those, only 3 percent became law.

And this bill has a very specific audience, military spouses. Even more specifically, military spouses who hold state licenses.

There will be no marches. Little news coverage. Little notice when it never passes.

Again, we are on our own.

Military spouses must make their needs known to Congress. Writer your congressman. Tell them how important this is. Why should we continue to pay over and over again just to be employed? Why should we be penalized because the military requires us to move over and over again.

We shouldn't.

But no one is going to care until we do.

Contact your congressman. Over and over again until someone starts listening. It is the only way to make our needs known.

Track this bill: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/s210

Find your congressman: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

By Jan Childs

Want the adventure of a lifetime? Take advantage of the opportunity to do an overseas tour.

According to a December, 2013 Department of Defense report, some 66,000 U.S. military members were stationed in Germany and another 39,000 in Japan. – the two regions servicemembers are most likely to be able to bring their families along for a two- or three-year tour.

About 13,000 military personnel are stationed in Alaska, and 23,000 in Hawaii. While those are not considered overseas, both locations are known as a tour “Outside of the Continental United States,” or OCONUS, and can also be great opportunities to experience different cultures and ways of life.

My husband and I have spent almost 15 years, out of 24 in the Army, living OCONUS – first in Hawaii, then on to Okinawa and Korea. We are on our third tour in Germany, and even lived for a year in Canada.

We’re very lucky to have been offered so many opportunities to live far and wide. It’s an experience not all of us get to have. But if you do get the chance, don’t be afraid. Take the leap!

The military gives us a great advantage when living overseas. We get to see the world, but in most cases we still get to buy American groceries, have American neighbors, bring our American stuff and maintain 24/7 connectivity to friends and family back home thanks to the internet and cell phones.

What more could you ask for?

Yes, it’s daunting. When we moved to Hawaii I was 23-years-old and had never lived more than a few hours from my parents. My husband was gone a lot and I was alone a lot (does that ever end, by the way?). But the lessons I learned in Hawaii and the growing up I did there were invaluable.

I learned to be self-reliant, make friends in a very unfamiliar place, try new foods and reach out to people in the local communities. I made my first lifelong “military” friends there, friends I still keep in touch with today.

Since then, we’ve had adventures too numerous to count. There was the time I was on a train in Thailand and almost got off at the wrong stop in the middle of the night. The time I flew Space-A to Singapore with a friend, just because we could. The time I had a baby in Korea. The time I took my kids to Scotland for spring break, without my husband.

There are challenges to living overseas, no doubt. Language and cultural barriers can be intimidating. Driving is a whole other story. And food? For a picky eater like me, it’s a nightmare.

In the coming months in this blog, I’ll share those adventures and challenges with you, along with lots of advice for living overseas. Welcome to my wandering life!

Samantha Mahon worked as a paramedic in Charleston, S.C. when, in 2011, her husband, a sailor in the United States Navy, got orders to Norfolk, Va.

Because Virginia offered reciprocity, or the ability to practice her job under the license of a different state, she was able to continue working as a paramedic after the move, in Portsmouth, Va., for a private transport company.

But when her daughter started experiencing seizures, and she needed more time off to take care of her and her two young sons, she quit her job in hopes of finding a more family-friendly, flexible career path.

While seeing her daughter through brain surgery, she went through esthetician’s school, finishing in early 2013 and working as a licensed esthetician immediately.

Then her husband got orders for a move to Kings Bay, Ga., in November 2013.

During the move, she contacted the Georgia licensing boards, but they were largely unreceptive to helping her find future employment there until she had a Georgia mailing address.

So she completed the move and inquired into continuing her private esthetician in her state of residence.

She put in her application and application fee - $75 – and was immediately denied a Georgia esthetician’s license because Georgia requires 1,000 hours of cosmetology school, where Virginia only required 700.

“It’s so hard to weed through because there are so many requirements from state to state.  It’s ridiculous.  And no one is at all helpful,” she said.

Not willing to give up yet, Mahon spoke with the state, who agreed that if she worked under a Georgia-licensed esthetician for the additional 300 hours, she would meet the Georgia requirements, even though she had already worked as an esthetician in Virginia for six months after she finished school.

So she found a job working as a receptionist at a salon, paying $8 an hour.  Meanwhile, her childcare costs were $10 an hour, so she was only able to swing that for two months before she quit.

She’s now a certified birth doula, a partner and couch for laboring and delivering pregnant women, because no state licenses doulas, and they can move and maintain a job and income and certification.

Moving is expensive and can be costly, especially for military spouses like Mahon, who do so frequently and often carry a stigma with them when applying for jobs in their new home state.

Which is why the federal government has reviewed and considered some variation of compensation for wives leaving jobs and licenses when PCS-ing to a different state since 2009.

And currently the Military Spouse Job Continuity Act of 2015 is before the Ways and Means Committee in Congress, hoping to cushion the financial blow from seeking a new license after a PCS, said Karen A. Golden, deputy director of government relations for the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA).

“The act would credit $500 against your taxable income for spouses seeking a new license or certification following a PCS,” Golden said.

For example, if a dental hygienist moves from Pennsylvania to Tennessee on the military’s orders and incurs a $250 licensing fee to work as a dental hygienist in her state of residence, she can apply for a tax credit of up to $500 on her federal income taxes that year.

This applies to anyone making a stateside move as a military spouse and has a wide range of effect, Golden said.

Bartenders, nail technicians teachers, nurses, social workers, and estheticians like Mahon – plus many others - all could benefit from the Act, Golden said.

According to the 2014 spouse employment report by MOAA, military spouses spend an average of $280 on licensing fees after a PCS, and 35 percent of all working military spouses need state licenses or certifications to legally do their job.

“This is impactful to many,” Golden said.

Which is why MOAA has been “making a concentrated effort to visit congressional representative’s offices” to educate them about the importance of the bill for military families, Golden said.

Military spouses who want to lobby congressional representatives themselves can find a message here - http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/bills/?bill=64083976 - which they can personalize.