Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions
Floor Speech
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Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I introduce the Servicemember Housing Protection Act along with my colleagues Senators Begich, Whitehouse, Durbin, and Tester. Our country has a strong tradition of ensuring that our service members are protected while they serve to keep our nation safe. Building on such laws and efforts, in 1940, as World War II escalated across the globe, Congress enacted the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act ``to protect those who have been obliged to drop their own affairs to take up the burdens of the nation.'' In 2003, Congress passed a new version of this law to reflect the new challenges of post-9/11 service and renamed it the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, SCRA. Since that time, Congress has further amended this law, most recently in August 2012, in order to address the country's high foreclosure rates and their impact on service members.
Additionally, in 2010, when it became evident that military families needed an entity to serve as a watchdog, provide education, and help monitor and respond to concerns, questions, and complaints about consumer financial products and services, I led the bipartisan effort during the Dodd-Frank Act debate to create a new Office of Servicemember Affairs within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, CFPB.
The Servicemember Housing Protection Act continues in this vein, and seeks to address one such ongoing challenge--helping service members with their housing needs so they can maintain a focus on the difficult task of protecting our country.
First, this bill would make it easier for service members to claim deployment-related financial and credit protections by expanding what could be submitted to constitute ``military orders.'' Currently, creditors require a copy of military orders in order to trigger SCRA protections. However, these orders are often not cut until just before deployment or once the service member is already deployed, placing a burden on some military families as they try to work with banks to secure SCRA protections. Broadening the scope of what could be submitted to trigger protections before orders have been received would further ensure that service members have more time to prepare for deployment and promptly receive SCRA protections, including the interest rate limitation of six percent on qualifying mortgages.
Second, this bill would extend foreclosure protections to surviving spouses. Currently, service members have a 1-year window of foreclosure protection following service, to provide time to reacclimate to civilian life and get their personal affairs back in order. Our bill extends this one-year window of foreclosure protection to a surviving spouse who is the successor in interest to the home. After suffering such an unspeakable loss, a military spouse should not have the additional burden of dealing with immediate foreclosure.
Lastly, this bill would help facilitate the transition from off-base to on-base housing. Due to the shortage of on-base military housing, many service members temporarily find off-base housing until on-base housing becomes available. When a service member on a waiting list is given the chance to move into on-base housing, he or she is sometimes unable to terminate his or her off-base housing lease. Including an order or opportunity to move from off-base to on-base housing as additional grounds for lease termination would allow service members and their families the chance to move into the military housing community. Several States, including Florida, Georgia, and Virginia, have similar laws, and we should extend this opportunity to service members serving at any of our military bases.
While the men and women of our Armed Forces are protecting our Nation overseas, we should do everything possible to protect their families and homes. I urge my colleagues to join Senators Begich, Whitehouse, Durbin, Tester and me, as well as the Military Officers Association of America and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, in supporting this bill, and taking these next steps to add protections for our military families.
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