SubscribeSoldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act (SSCRA)
The original Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act (SSCRA) was signed in 1940 and was submitted for re-evaluation under the second Bush Administration. A new Act was signed on 19 December 2003 by President Bush and called the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The legislation was designed to assist in easing the economic and legal burden that was placed on many servicemen and women who were called up to take part in active duty service in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Protection
The original SSCRA has in fact remained largely unchanged from its 1940 version, but much of the language has been clarified to make it easier to comprehend. The intention of the Act was to provide certain protections to servicemen and women, such as:
• Staying court hearings under certain circumstances.
• Reducing interest rates to 6% on pre-service loans and obligations.
• Requiring court action before a service member’s family can be evicted from their property for non-payment of rent, but only if the monthly rent is less than $1200.
• Allowing termination without penalty of a pre-service residential lease.
• Allowing service members to retain their state taxation status for their state of residence despite possible military relocation to other states.
• A new provision allowing the termination of automobile leases for use by the service members and their dependants. Pre-service automobile leases may be cancelled if service members are called to active duty for a period of 180 days or more.
There are many other provisions that can be found in detail by reviewing the full Act on the internet. The bottom line is that not much has changed. The purpose of the Act is to help and protect those who are called up to active duty by providing cost savings and legislative exemptions to assist and minimize the inconveniences that can be caused by an active duty call up. These assisting measures are not only available to full-time servicemen and women. They are also, to a certain degree, available to Reservists called up for active duty service.
