WASHINGTON - Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) sent a letter to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference Thursday, encouraging them to adopt a Senate-led proposal on the 180-day rule which has only served to hurt veterans and their families without providing any protection for taxpayers.

“The 180-day waiting period required for military servicemembers retiring from active duty but who wish to continue serving their country through civilian employment at the Department of Defense (DOD) has proven to be an artificial barrier to entry for highly skilled veterans,” Sen. Lee said.

“These highly-qualified individuals are needed most, can least afford to wait, and are otherwise perfect fits for these jobs. The House and Senate both included provisions addressing this issue in the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and I along with a group of my Senate colleagues believe we have put forward a solution for the conference process that will bring reasonable, needed reform to the 180-day rule.”

The 180-day rule was originally adopted to prevent high ranking DOD personnel from carving out civilian employment opportunities for themselves. Unfortunately this rule has disproportionately hurt rank-and-file servicemembers.

Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT), James Lankford (R-OK), Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) also signed the letter.

You can read the full letter here.