New legislation before Congress would force military leaders to eliminate the so-called “pink tax” by ensuring that women receive uniform allowances more in line with what men receive.

The bipartisan proposal, presented on Wednesday, comes just weeks after the Government Accountability Office found that military women can pay up to $ 8,300 out of pocket over a 20-year career for non-uniform items. covered by annual clothing allowances.

“Military women pay a lot more than their male counterparts for uniforms,” ​​said Representative Julia Brownley, D-Calif., Head of the House Veterans’ Task Force on Women Veterans and sponsor of the new legislation.

“These gender inequalities are archaic and we have a duty to ensure that all military personnel are treated fairly and do not incur disproportionate costs for uniforms.”

About 16% of the enlisted military forces and 19% of the officer corps are women, according to Defense Ministry statistics. Under the proposal, dubbed The Equal Pay for Servicewomen Act, Pentagon leaders would be required to develop more consistent criteria for uniform requirements “to reduce the differences in uniform reimbursable costs between services and by gender.”

The legislation would also require periodic reviews to ensure that there are no gender disparities in the costs and requirements of uniform items, and a review before approval of any future change of uniforms. service to ensure that these movements will not create higher fees for men or women.

All of these suggestions were outlined in the GAO report released in February. Pentagon officials at the time offered support for these ideas.

“To demand that women in the military pay more for uniforms than the military is blatant gender discrimination, outright,” said Representative Jackie Speier, D-Calif., One of the co-sponsors of the bill. and Chairman of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee.

“The military requires women in the military to purchase swimsuits, pumps and other items that are not required for the military or have cheaper equivalents for men, and the GAO has found that women in the military were more affected by the mandatory uniform changes that must be covered. of pocket.

The Pentagon spends more than $ 887 million a year on uniform allowances for enlisted men and officers in all departments, according to GAO. But the amount of money given to individual service members varies widely depending on gender, service, and individual assignments.

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For example, until last year, the Marine Corps offered a uniform allowance for male underwear, but not for female underwear. The total cost of replacing the 15 items of the “initial” army uniform costs on average about $ 382 for male soldiers and $ 642 for female soldiers.

“(This bill) is a simple solution to addressing a huge gender inequality in the US military,” said Representative Elise Stefanik, RN.Y. and another member of the House Armed Services Committee. “America’s selfless military women deserve equal consideration in all aspects of their service. “

Lawmakers have not provided an estimate of the potential costs of what the changes might mean for services. The measure is expected to be considered in Speier’s subcommittee later this spring as part of the annual defense clearance legislative process.