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SUPPORTING THE SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF ACT
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| May 7th, 2003 |
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding me this time.
I do rise today in support of H.R. 100. This remarkable piece of legislation restates, clarifies, and strengthens the legal protections afforded the courageous men and women who serve in our Armed Forces. The current Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 has had only a few minor changes since World War II. The law is in need of a comprehensive updating to reflect the considerable changes that have taken place in the United States over the past 60 years. The Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 is one of the most far-reaching laws on the books, and its constitutional authority is derived from article 1, section 8 of the Constitution, the War Powers Clause. Its provisions impact all Federal, State, and administrative law.
The process that we come to today of updating this act has been 10 years in the making at the hands of numerous military and government officials and has been a project of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs on which I served for over a year. Each provision has been fully vetted and carefully crafted by experts in the areas of civil law and military affairs. I commend the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman; the attentive Committee on Veterans Affairs staff; and everyone who has had a hand in this particular project over the last decade.
H.R. 100 will bring many major improvements. It will increase coverage in maximum monthly rent of $1,200 to $1,700 to prevent evictions from premises occupied by servicemembers and their dependents. It will expand the right to terminate real property leases by allowing lease termination if a servicemember, while serving, executes a lease and then receives orders for a permanent change of station move or a deployment order of 90 days or more, and it requires a court order before a lessor can terminate a servicemember's installment contract for lease of any personal property, which would apply to all automobile leases.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 100 brings modern relief to our modern Armed Forces and has strong support from the veterans service groups and military associations.
As President Bush said, the peace of a troubled world and the hopes of an oppressed people now depend on the United States Armed Forces. That trust is well placed and our valiant servicemembers deserve to have their burdens, the ones that they and their loved ones face, reduced as they fight the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq.
Mr. Speaker, in H.R. 100 we are doing our duty to help ease those burdens.
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There are no Floor Speechess to be displayed for this month.
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