Servicemember Housing Protection Act of 2012

Mr. President, today I introduce the Servicemember Housing Protection Act, and I thank Senators Durbin, Sherrod Brown, Whitehouse, and Begich for joining me as original cosponsors of this bill.

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. In 2010, in order to address the country's high foreclosure rates and their impact on servicemembers, Congress further amended this law to enhance foreclosure protections.

Also 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.

Our country has a strong tradition of ensuring that the laws that protect our servicemembers keep pace with the challenges that they face. The Servicemember Housing Protection Act seeks to address one such continuing challenge helping servicemembers with their housing needs so they can maintain a focus on the difficult task of protecting our country.

First, our bill would make it easier for servicemembers to submit their military orders to creditors and get their affairs in order prior to deployment. 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 servicemember is already deployed. Redefining military orders as either official orders or a letter from the servicemember's commanding officer would further ensure that a servicemember has more time to prepare for deployment and promptly receives SCRA protections, including the interest rate limitation of six percent on qualifying mortgages.

Second, this bill would extend foreclosure protections to surviving spouses. Currently, servicemembers have a 9-month window of foreclosure protection following service, to provide time to reacclimate to civilian life and get affairs back in order. Our bill extends this nine-month window of foreclosure protection to a surviving spouse. 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 servicemembers temporarily find off-base housing until on-base housing becomes available. When a servicemember 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 to move from off-base to on-base housing as additional grounds for lease termination would allow servicemembers and their families the opportunity to move into the military housing community. We should extend this opportunity, which already is law in several states, such as Florida, Georgia, and Virginia, to servicemembers 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 Durbin, Sherrod Brown, Whitehouse, Begich, and me, as well as the Military Officers Association of America, in supporting this bill and taking these next steps to add protections for our military families.

Mr. President, today I introduce the Servicemember Housing Protection Act, and I thank Senators Durbin, Sherrod Brown, Whitehouse, and Begich for joining me as original cosponsors of this bill.

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. In 2010, in order to address the country's high foreclosure rates and their impact on servicemembers, Congress further amended this law to enhance foreclosure protections.

Also 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.

Our country has a strong tradition of ensuring that the laws that protect our servicemembers keep pace with the challenges that they face. The Servicemember Housing Protection Act seeks to address one such continuing challenge helping servicemembers with their housing needs so they can maintain a focus on the difficult task of protecting our country.

First, our bill would make it easier for servicemembers to submit their military orders to creditors and get their affairs in order prior to deployment. 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 servicemember is already deployed. Redefining military orders as either official orders or a letter from the servicemember's commanding officer would further ensure that a servicemember has more time to prepare for deployment and promptly receives SCRA protections, including the interest rate limitation of six percent on qualifying mortgages.

Second, this bill would extend foreclosure protections to surviving spouses. Currently, servicemembers have a 9-month window of foreclosure protection following service, to provide time to reacclimate to civilian life and get affairs back in order. Our bill extends this nine-month window of foreclosure protection to a surviving spouse. 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 servicemembers temporarily find off-base housing until on-base housing becomes available. When a servicemember 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 to move from off-base to on-base housing as additional grounds for lease termination would allow servicemembers and their families the opportunity to move into the military housing community. We should extend this opportunity, which already is law in several states, such as Florida, Georgia, and Virginia, to servicemembers 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 Durbin, Sherrod Brown, Whitehouse, Begich, and me, as well as the Military Officers Association of America, in supporting this bill and taking these next steps to add protections for our military families.