Congress eyes changes to troop protection act

Congress eyes changes to troop protection act
Legal, financial rights of deployed servicemembers being reviewed
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, July 29, 2007

View graph outlining major changes being considered by Congress.

WASHINGTON — When naval reservist Karl Botkin was deployed to Kuwait in July 2005, his wife called around to see if they could get a break on their car loan interest rate and credit card payments.

Everyone said no.

“It caused some real problems, because even though I was making some money over there we still had more bills,” the retired petty officer said. “And it made me feel terrible because she had to deal with all of that and I couldn’t do anything to help. I was powerless.”

When Botkin returned home nine months later the family was in debt. He also discovered the family had been eligible for reduced interest rates and protection from creditors under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, despite the companies’ insistence that no special military safeguards were available.

“Some of them told her to her face there was nothing for military families,” he said. “So we just figured we had to keep paying and make it work.”

Technology, troubles

The SCRA gives broad financial and legal protections to active-duty troops and their families. The legislation was originally written in 1940 but revised in 2003 to put greater emphasis on Guardsmen and reservists who found themselves serving in overseas operations.

Now, after cases like Botkin’s have emerged, some members of Congress are pushing for even more revisions, arguing that the provisions of the legislation haven’t kept pace with time and technology.

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http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=47719

if they are found to be pulling this crap. And why - when the troops return they find they don't have a job. The one they had when the government sent them to fight is gone.