Rep DuckworthA new bill, introduced by Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) seeks to give all military parents 12 weeks of paid parental leave, regardless of the parent’s gender or whether the child is born to, or adopted by that parent. Under Duckworth’s bill, service members who take placement of a foster child would also get 12 weeks of leave.

“Our military readiness also depends on the strong and resilient families that make up its backbone—families that deserve a 21st century parental leave policy that allows them the time they need to bond with their new children,” Duckworth said in a statement this week.

The National Women’s Law Center and the National Partnership for Women and Families, both of which are leading organizations on family leave laws, endorsed Duckworth’s bill. The bill follows a set of initiatives by Defense Secretary Ash Carter called “Force of the Future” which aims to attract and retain military recruits by “modernizing policies to better compete with the private sector.”