On the recordJune 20, 2012
today I introduce the Military Family Home Protection Act, a bill to strengthen the legal protections our military personnel are guaranteed under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, SCRA. Entering military service can sometimes make it difficult or impossible for our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines to meet their civilian legal and financial obligations. In laws dating back to the Civil War, Congress has given active-duty military personnel special protections against legal actions that might be taken against them while they are away from home because of military service. The purpose of these laws, according to a 1943 Supreme Court decision, is ``to protect those who have been obliged to drop their own affairs to take up the burden of the nation.'' Congress re-wrote the World War II-era ``Soldiers and Sailor Relief Act'' in 2003, as full-time military, Reservists, and National Guard personnel were deploying in large numbers to Iraq and Afghanistan. This comprehensively updated statute was re-named the ``Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.'' Since the September 11 attacks, we have asked our military personnel--both our active-duty and reserve components--for unprecedented service and sacrifice. We have asked them to deploy multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan, and we have asked their families to live without their loved ones for long periods of time.…
