The Senate Armed Services Committee has voted to give new military fathers 21 days of paternity leave after their children are born or within 60 days of fathers’ return from deployment, according to a Stars & Stripes article.

If the Senate committee plan becomes law, paternity leave would be granted regardless of marital status, as long as new fathers claim the infants as dependents. As many as 32,000 soldiers, 18,000 sailors, 17,000 Air Force personnel and 9,000 Marines stand to benefit next year alone.