Sponsors (5)
The bill extends military-equivalent leave and retirement protections to PHS officers—boosting parity, benefits, and likely retention—while increasing federal personnel costs and creating a short-term administrative transition risk.
PHS commissioned officers (federal healthcare workers) will receive the same Title 10 military leave and retirement-crediting protections as Armed Forces members, expanding paid leave and survivor retirement protections and increasing parity with other uniformed services.
Aligning PHS leave rules with Title 10 simplifies administration and reduces statutory duplication, making leave policy easier for HHS and federal HR offices to administer.
Extending Title 10 leave benefits to PHS officers will raise federal personnel costs for HHS, potentially increasing budgetary pressure or requiring reallocations that affect taxpayers and program funding.
Repealing the separate PHS leave statute and moving to Title 10 may create a transition period with administrative confusion over leave implementation and recordkeeping, disrupting HR operations and employee benefits processing.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Makes PHS commissioned officers explicitly subject to Title 10, Chapter 40 (Leave) and repeals the separate PHS leave statute.
Official title: To amend title II of the Public Health Service Act to include as an additional right or privilege of commissioned officers of the Public Health Service (and their beneficiaries) certain leave provided under title 10, United States Code to commissioned officers of the Army (or their beneficiaries).
Introduced April 10, 2025 by Christina Houlahan · Last progress April 10, 2025
Amends federal law so commissioned officers of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) are explicitly covered by the leave rules found in Title 10, Chapter 40 — the same leave provisions that apply to members of the Armed Forces. It also repeals a separate PHS statutory leave section, consolidating leave authority and aligning PHS officers’ leave rights with those already provided under Title 10.