First lady: More funding coming for families - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

First lady: More funding coming for families

More money for child care, counseling, and spouse career development opportunities are on the way for military families, first lady Michelle Obama told 380 military officers’ wives Tuesday.

In a luncheon speech at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., the first lady offered a preview of some items for military families in her husband’s defense budget, which will be introduced Monday.

She said the budget proposal would increase funding for family support programs by 3 percent over fiscal 2010 levels, to “a record $8.8 billion.”

The budget request will include $1.9 billion for counseling and support for spouses and families, including National Guard and reserve families, she said. A White House point paper said that would be an increase of $37 million over 2010 funding levels.

Obama said Deborah Mullen, wife of Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, “has been telling me ever since we met that, just like our troops, our spouses also need the very best support and counseling.”

The budget will include $1.3 billion to expand the availability of child care, representing an increase of $87 million over 2010 levels.

“In response to one of the top concerns expressed by military spouses, this year’s budget will include $84 million for spouse career development, including tuition assistance and federal internship programs,” Obama said. That would be a $12 million increase over 2010 levels.

The budget also will include more money for youth programs, she said, but did not elaborate on the amount.

“We can never forget just how much these wars affect our military kids — and we all have an obligation to ensure they have the support they need at home and at school,” she said.

At the direction of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, she said, the budget will include funds to improve and build new Defense Department schools, from Georgia to Germany.

She thanked Coast Guard spouses who spoke to her about housing challenges in that service.

“As a result, the president’s budget will include $14 million in funding” specifically for Coast Guard housing, she said.

The first lady has visited with a number of military families since before her husband took office.

Obama thanked the group of officers’ wives for their contributions to the military community. “You all are truly leaders in your own right,” she said. “You are that vital link between your husbands and the troops they command, making sure their needs, and those of their families, are heard and met. You’re often that mom-away-from-home, the person that other military wives go to for advice and support.

“And you do all this for other families even as your own families serve. For that alone, you all deserve this nation’s unending gratitude.”

Along with Deborah Mullen, others who attended Obama’s speech were Becky Gates, wife of the defense secretary; Pam Allen, wife of the Coast Guard commandant; Sheila Casey, wife of the Army chief of staff; Gail Donley, wife of the secretary of the Air Force; Cheryl McKinley, wife of the chief of the National Guard Bureau; Sandee Cartwright, wife of the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs; and Ellen Roughead, wife of the chief of naval operations.