CARTER LEGISLATION WOULD PROVIDE RELIEF TO MILITARY SPOUSES
In Texas we don’t have to look far to find thousands of the soldiers who contribute to our military’s honor and strength. The 31st District is honored to be the home of Fort Hood, the largest military installation in the world, where roughly 50,000 soldiers are stationed. Many of these soldiers have the comfort of their families close by. These military families make Fort Hood and the surrounding areas their home, contributing to the local economies and communities. As Members of Congress, we must recognize the importance that family plays in maintaining morale and retention in our military and assist them whenever we can.
We ask our soldiers to move numerous times throughout their time in the military. In doing so, we are also asking their spouses to move as well, leaving behind homes and businesses. The Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA) allows our military men and women the ability to claim a home of residency and keep that home regardless of where military orders may send them. This state of domicile can be the state where the member lived prior to joining the military or the state where the soldier intends to retire after separating from the military. This not only allows a small level of tax relief, but also makes the move from station to station easier, as common headaches from interstate moves like updating drivers’ licenses and vehicle registration are no longer necessary.
Unfortunately, military spouses are not granted this same consideration though they still move around the country and interrupt their lives because of military orders. In addition to the stress of looking for a job every few years, this inequality means that military spouses potentially pay up to $5,000 more annually in state income taxes than if they had not committed to support their soldier in this way. Spouses are also much less likely to have their names on deeds and titles of family property because of the implications of moving to another state, leaving many feeling like second class citizens.
I introduced the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act that would allow a military spouse who moves out of state because of the service member’s military orders to have the same option to claim one state of domicile regardless of where they are stationed. If a spouse chooses to take advantage of this, the soldier and the spouse must claim the same state.
Military families have shared in the sacrifices of service men and women and I strongly believe they should have the ability to share in the benefits. It is only fair to allow them to claim the same state of residency as their spouse. As the representative for the largest military base in the nation and so many military families, I look forward to seeing this bill passed into law.
August 9th, 2008 at 12:24 am
I would like to see the Soldier’s and Sailor’s Civil Relief Act amended to protect them
against spouses who use their deployment to initiate divorce procedings, file protecive
orders, drain family assets, or move out of state with the intent to deprive service members
the chance to be parents to their children.
I know that the intent of your bill is to help the spouses of service members who are acting
in good faith to support the service member. However, a significant number of people exploit
the service member’s deployment to gain a grossly unfair advantange in the court system.
Divorce, visitation, custody, child support, and the dissolution of the marital estate are
tough enough. It is far worse when someone is a bad actor in court. Moreso for our junior
enlisted service members who cannot afford an expensive and lengthy civil trial. Having a
custodial parent move away to another jurisdiction, file for a restraining order, and petition
for divorce, will often result in an ugly and unfair default judgement. Consider how easy it is for a protective order to be granted, and how frequently they’re used as a divorce tactic, and then consider how much easier it would be to get an ex-parte order against a trained combat veteran, especially from a legal system unfamilliar or prejudiced against the military.
I don’t know what the answer would be. Divorce is a windfall for states that demand all child support be paid through their enforcement system (such as Texas), as there are federal matching dollars that are granted, so the state governments can hardly be expected to protest unfair and outrageous obligations set in their jurisdictions.
I hope that our service members, who are in a hostile, alien country, fighting a deceptive, duplicitous, frequently psychotic enemy, for a local population who resents their presence, can come home and not have to then fight an alien, indifferent, and frequently hostile legal system on another unfair field.
Wayne Swanson
August 14th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Mr. Carter,
I am thrilled that someone in Congress sees the importance of saving and protecting the family unit. It is paramount to our survival as a civilization, and is even more important to the morale of our troops. In the military divorce rates are high due to separation and the stress it puts on a family. I am glad this law will take away one of the stumbling blocks in the way of families. Good job.