Commissioned officers of the U.S. Public Health Service and their beneficiaries could be eligible for expanded leave benefits under a bicameral bill that Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is reintroducing — this time with bipartisan support in the Senate and House.  

“I just think that people don't understand what the Public Health Service does,” Duckworth said in an interview with Government Executive. “They are a uniform service. They are the people that when there's a disaster, when there's a major health outbreak, they're the first people that pack their go bags, and they sometimes have to operate in the field for weeks at a time with just what they carried with them.” 

The Commissioned Corps of the USPHS is one of eight uniformed services, which include the military branches as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps. There are more than 6,000 officers in USPHS who serve as physicians, nurses and scientists across agencies to advance public health. The Corps, which has its origins in a 1798 law, is led by the assistant secretary for Health and the surgeon general. 

USPHS officers, however, don’t receive the same leave benefits as members of the military. The Uniformed Services Leave Parity Act would extend such benefits to the USPHS, including expanded parental leave, leave of absence in case of emergency and leave for rest and recuperation. 

Duckworth said she learned about the disparity in leave benefits from a fellow who had been placed in her office from USPHS. 

“We found out that the Public Health Service officers — even though they wear a uniform, they show up on the front lines — they have shockingly bad leave policy,” she said. “They are the first people on the front lines when disaster threatens public safety, yet they don't get leave parity with the other uniform services.” 

The legislation is being introduced in the Senate by Duckworth and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and in the House by Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and Don Bacon, R-Neb. 

It is endorsed by the Commissioned Officers Association, Military Officers Association of America and Reserved Officers Association. 

Duckworth and Murkowski first introduced the measure in November 2024, but it did not receive any legislative action. 

In 2023, Duckworth sponsored, in conjunction with Democrats in the House, legislation that would extend benefits for military reservists to USPHS’ Ready Reserve Corps, which was established during the COVID-19 pandemic. Neither version of the bill was voted on. 

Congress in recent years has expanded parental leave benefits for active duty and reserve members of the military.