Bishop Reviews NMFA/RAND Study

Washington, DC – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-2) today attended a joint Congressional briefing hosted by the Military Family Caucus for the release of the National Military Family Association’s and the RAND Corporation’s groundbreaking study examining the impact of deployment on military families.

The detailed briefing included legislative recommendations for supporting military families during various stages of deployment, as well as information to update Congressional staff and military families on available resources.

Service members and their families were invited to participate. Specific focus was given to children with firsthand experience dealing with parental deployments.

The results of the study by the RAND Corporation found higher rates of anxiety among children of military families than children not in military families. In addition, children whose parents were deployed in the previous three years were more likely to have problems at school and home while dealing with a parent’s absence.

Military Family Caucus Co-Chairs Congressman Bishop and Congresswoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA, 5), along with Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), spoke about Congressional responsibility to military families and their children.

Congressman Bishop pledged support for military families saying, “my colleagues and I will do all we can to utilize this information to ensure proper care for these families.”

“Our military families are one of our country’s greatest assets, and as President Herbert Hoover said, ‘Our children are our most valuable natural resource.’ Therefore, we must do all we can to ensure healthy, normal lives for these children of our military families.”

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