Military Spouses Residency Relief Act

Floor Speech

Military Spouses Residency Relief Act

Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 475) to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to guarantee the equity of spouses of military personnel with regard to matters of residency, and for other purposes.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 475

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Military Spouses Residency Relief Act''.

SEC. 2. GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR SPOUSES OF MILITARY PERSONNEL FOR VOTING PURPOSES.

(a) In General.--Section 705 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 595) is amended--

(1) by striking ``For'' and inserting the following:

``(a) In General.--For'';

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

``(b) Spouses.--For the purposes of voting for any Federal office (as defined in section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)) or a State or local office, a person who is absent from a State because the person is accompanying the person's spouse who is absent from that same State in compliance with military or naval orders shall not, solely by reason of that absence--

``(1) be deemed to have lost a residence or domicile in that State, without regard to whether or not the person intends to return to that State;

``(2) be deemed to have acquired a residence or domicile in any other State; or

``(3) be deemed to have become a resident in or a resident of any other State.''; and

(3) in the section heading, by inserting ``AND SPOUSES OF MILITARY PERSONNEL'' before the period at the end.

(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of such Act (50 U.S.C. App. 501) is amended by striking the item relating to section 705 and inserting the following new item:

``Sec..705..Guarantee of residency for military personnel and spouses of military personnel.''.

(c) Application.--Subsection (b) of section 705 of such Act (50 U.S.C. App. 595), as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall apply with respect to absences from States described in such subsection (b) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, regardless of the date of the military or naval order concerned.

SEC. 3. DETERMINATION FOR TAX PURPOSES OF RESIDENCE OF SPOUSES OF MILITARY PERSONNEL.

(a) In General.--Section 511 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 571) is amended--

(1) in subsection (a)--

(A) by striking ``A servicemember'' and inserting the following:

``(1) IN GENERAL.--A servicemember''; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

``(2) SPOUSES.--A spouse of a servicemember shall neither lose nor acquire a residence or domicile for purposes of taxation with respect to the person, personal property, or income of the spouse by reason of being absent or present in any tax jurisdiction of the United States solely to be with the servicemember in compliance with the servicemember's military orders if the residence or domicile, as the case may be, is the same for the servicemember and the spouse.'';

(2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) as subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g), respectively;

(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection:

``(c) Income of a Military Spouse.--Income for services performed by the spouse of a servicemember shall not be deemed to be income for services performed or from sources within a tax jurisdiction of the United States if the spouse is not a resident or domiciliary of the jurisdiction in which the income is earned because the spouse is in the jurisdiction solely to be with the servicemember serving in compliance with military orders.''; and

(4) in subsection (d), as redesignated by paragraph (2)--

(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``or the spouse of a servicemember'' after ``The personal property of a servicemember''; and

(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``or the spouse's'' after ``servicemember's''.

(b) Application.--Subsections (a)(2) and (c) of section 511 of such Act (50 U.S.C. App. 571), as added by subsection (a) of this section, and the amendments made to such section 511 by subsection (a)(4) of this section, shall apply with respect to any return of State or local income tax filed for any taxable year beginning with the taxable year that includes the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. SUSPENSION OF LAND RIGHTS RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT FOR SPOUSES OF MILITARY PERSONNEL.

(a) In General.--Section 508 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 568) is amended in subsection (b) by inserting ``or the spouse of such servicemember'' after ``a servicemember in military service''.

(b) Application.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to servicemembers in military service (as defined in section 101 of such Act (50 U.S.C. App. 511)) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Carson) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) each will control 20 minutes.

The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana.

Mr. CARSON of Indiana. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina for introducing Senate bill 475, the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act. The House version of this legislation was introduced by Mr. Carter of Texas.

As many of my colleagues know, the sacrifices that military children and spouses have to make in order to stay as one united family are difficult. This is especially true at a time when our country is fighting to protect freedom at home and abroad.

Senate bill 475 seeks to provide military spouses with the option to keep the same voting rights and tax conditions as afforded in their home States or to allow them to change to the new States where they will be reunited with a servicemember.

A military spouse who often accompanies a servicemember from one duty station to another is required to pay income and personal property taxes of the State in which they currently reside. On the other hand, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides our men and women in uniform the option of paying taxes to the States where they originated prior to military service or to pay taxes to the States in which they currently reside due to military service, lessening the need to hire accountants to review tax regulations of their home States, which can at times be multiple States. This will help keep their tax preparation simple and familiar, reducing the stress family members encounter when filing State taxes.

Mr. Speaker, the intent of this legislation is very simple. We need to recognize that military families serve too. It is only fitting to provide military spouses with the ability to retain certain State residency benefits which are already afforded to our men and women in uniform under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

Again, I would like to thank my colleagues in the Senate for working on this legislation so we may provide relief for our military families. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRIES

Mr. STEARNS. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may state his parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. STEARNS. I notice that the gentleman who is advocating on the Democrats' side is not a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, at least not to my knowledge.

Under the rules of the House, is this appropriate that a Member who is not on the committee in which the bill has passed through and has jurisdiction is the advocate for the Democrats in this case?

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Recognition for the motion is in the discretion of the Chair.

Mr. STEARNS. So, if I understand the Speaker, the Chair, at his discretion, can decide who can be the spokesman for the bill even if the person is not on the committee?

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair may exercise discretion in recognizing Members to offer such motions.

Mr. STEARNS. A further parliamentary inquiry.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may state his parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. STEARNS. Is this customary, or is this an unusual situation? I don't need a long dissertation, just a ``yes'' or ``no'' as to whether it is customary.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The discretion of the chair in recognizing Members is well settled.

Mr. STEARNS. So what you are saying is you can do it, but you are not willing to answer the question as to whether this is customary or not, because I've been here 20 years, and I have not seen this in the 20 years I have been here.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. It is customary that the chair use his discretion in recognizing Members to offer such motions.

Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

I rise in support of S. 475, the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act.

I want to thank the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Senator Burr, for sponsoring this legislation. I also want to recognize and thank Mr. John Carter of Texas for his support on this issue by introducing the companion House bill, H.R. 1182. It has 206 bipartisan cosponsors, and I am proud to be one of those.

Mr. Speaker, by its very nature, military service requires a significant sacrifice in terms of the quality of family life, especially of the spouses of servicemembers. Because servicemembers are routinely subject to transfer within and outside the continental United States, often with very short notice, spouses often find it difficult to obtain and/or to retain suitable employment.

However, military spouses are not covered by the same residency protections that are available to the servicemembers under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. As a result, State laws regarding taxation, voting and ownership of property are often applied differently to the spouse and the servicemember. The SCRA allows servicemembers to determine their permanent residencies or domiciliaries. By allowing this, SCRA protects servicemembers from State taxation, property ownership, and voting laws that are not in their permanent residencies or domiciliaries.

Because the law is silent to spouses in these matters, they do not receive the same protection as servicemembers. Therefore, they can be subject to States which aggressively seek to impose residency related to income and property ownership laws, despite, my colleagues, the fact that they no longer reside in the States due to the spouses' military orders.

S. 475 addresses this issue by giving military spouses a choice to use either their current addresses where they are stationed because of their spouses' military orders or their permanent addresses to determine their residencies or domiciliaries for voting in any municipal, State, or Federal election.

Simply, the bill would allow spouses to determine their residencies in the same manner as servicemembers regarding taxation, voting, and ownership of property with respect to land-use rights on Federal owned or controlled land in the same manner as servicemembers under section 508 of SCRA.

My colleagues, this is a commonsense solution to give military spouses who have already sacrificed so much for the Nation the protection that servicemembers have when it comes to local residency laws related to taxation and voting.

So, again, I want to compliment Senator Burr and also, for the companion bill in the House, Mr. Carter of Texas, for their sponsorship of this bill; and I urge my colleagues to support it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.

I reserve the balance of my time

Mr. STEARNS. It's my honor to yield as much time as he may consume to the author of the companion bill, which is H.R. 1182, the sponsor, Mr. John Carter of Texas.

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, this is an exciting day for me. I was the author of this bill. I have been dealing with the gentlewomen who brought this to my attention a long time ago, and it's coming to fruition today, and I am pleased and honored.

I am the author of the identical companion bill, H.R. 1182. I represent Fort Hood, Texas, which is a pretty good-sized military base in the United States, the largest. I rise in support of these military spouses for this Military Spouses Residency Relief Act.

First, I want to thank everyone who has worked on this bill and worked hard to bring it to this point. Senator Burr and Senator Feinstein over on the Senate side took up this cause and shepherded it and got it through the Senate, and this past-due reform is now before us today. I would also like to thank Chairman Filner for supporting our military spouses and requesting the bill be taken up today.

We greatly appreciate all the VSOs who lent their support, including the Military Officers Association of America, the Air Force Sergeants Association, AMVETS, the VFW, and the Military Spouse Business Association. Above all, I would like to thank all the military spouses who have encouraged me and who encourage their Representatives and Senators to support this bill.

Finally, I would like to extend a very special thanks to Rebecca Poynter and Joanna Williamson, two entrepreneurial spouses who brought this issue to me and devoted so much of their time working with all the Members that are involved to get this bill passed. This is their baby, and they should be recognized.

This small measure will provide invaluable relief to numerous military spouses who regularly uproot their entire lives to accommodate our Armed Forces. When I first heard this story, I was shocked that there was such a difference between husband and wife, the two spouses, as it relates to the benefits we give them in the military.

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides for basic civil relief to our men and women of the armed services in exchange for their voluntary service. These range from relief from adjudication while deployed in combat to maintaining a single State of domicile, regardless of where their military orders may send them.

This State of domicile provides an important stability for our soldiers, airmen, marines, and sailors. Though their orders may send them to numerous places or numerous States, they are able to simplify their State income tax requirements, maintain their property titles, and continue to vote for their Member of Congress or their elected official back home. Without SCRA protections, the servicemembers would have to deal with all those every time they move to military installations located in different States.

But spouses do have to deal with those every time they move to different States, and the spouses deal with these stresses even while faced with the challenge of moving, finding schools for children, balancing some unsupported relocation costs and the loss of a spouse's earnings as they leave the job to join the servicemember.

This bill would amend the SCRA to allow military spouses to claim the same domicile as the servicemember for the purpose of State income and property taxes, as well as voter registration. Spouses could elect to stand united with their spouse, not only in support of our country, but in sharing the same State as the home base. This reform would prevent a military family from suddenly losing up to 10 percent of their income if they are called upon to relocate to a different State. This is a significant loss of income that occurs as a direct result of governmental orders.

S. 475 would also provide the impetus for military spouses to put their names on deeds and titles, which would build and strengthen their own credit and further ensure their legal protection.

This Veterans Day, which is coming up the 11th of this month, next week, I will ask each and every one of us to not only remember our servicemembers current and past, but take a moment to remember the military spouses who have sacrificed for and supported our soldiers.

Keeping that in mind, I ask my colleagues to grant this valuable relief to our military families and to support the passage of the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act.

Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. STEARNS. We have no further speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

GENERAL LEAVE

Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 475.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Indiana?

There was no objection.

Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to unanimously support S. 475.

I yield back the balance of my time.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Carson) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 475.

The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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