Support closing a loophole in the military leave system for servicemembers whose child dies while they are on parental leave.

Authored the Elaine M. Checketts Military Families Act , which would close a loophole in the military leave system that automatically terminates a servicemember’s parental leave and requires them to re-file and request emergency leave if the servicemember’s child dies while on parental leave.

He says he authored a bill to change military family leave rules in a tragic edge case.

Foreign Affairs & National Security | Senator Cornyn
secondary · other · model gpt-5.4-mini

Section 622 created bereavement leave for Armed Forces members, allowing up to two weeks after death of an immediate family member; immediate family includes a child.

The FY2022 NDAA enacted the military bereavement leave provision relevant to a servicemember whose child dies, addressing the leave-system gap during the same Senate term that began after Cornyn's 2020 reelection.

delivered same_term

Public Law 117-81, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, Section 622
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 93%

On the motion to concur in the House amendment to S. 1605, the motion was agreed to 88-11; Cornyn (R-TX) voted Yea.

Cornyn supported final Senate passage of the FY2022 NDAA vehicle that included the bereavement-leave provision.

delivered same_term A for effort

U.S. Senate Roll Call Vote 117th Congress, 1st Session, Vote 499
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 95%

Current codified law provides up to two weeks of leave for death of an immediate family member and defines that term to include a child.

The enacted provision was codified in Title 10 and remained in force in the official 2024 U.S. Code, confirming implementation of the policy outcome before the 2026 assessment date.

delivered same_term

10 U.S.C. § 701 - Entitlement and accumulation, 2024 Edition
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 92%