{
  "id": "RL32360",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32360",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 104326,
      "date": "2004-04-20",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:22:02.285120",
      "title": "The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (P.L. 108-189)",
      "summary": "Recognizing the special burdens that members of the military may encounter in trying to meet\ntheir\nfinancial obligations while serving their country, Congress passed the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil\nRelief Act of 1940 (SSCRA). This law has been amended from time to time, ordinarily in response\nto military operations that require the activation of the Reserves.  P.L. 108-189 , the \"Servicemembers\nCivil Relief Act (SCRA),\" was enacted on December 19, 2003 and overhauls the SSCRA. This\nreport summarizes the rights granted to persons serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces\nunder the newly enacted SCRA.\n  SCRA is a comprehensive rewrite of the SSCRA which clarifies language that has been subject\nto differing interpretations by courts, and modifies or expands certain benefits. The SCRA provides\nprotections for servicemembers in the event that their military service impedes their ability to meet\nfinancial obligations incurred before their entry into active military service. The SCRA does not\nrequire forgiving any debts or the extinguishment of contractual obligations on behalf of\nservicemembers who have been called up for active duty, nor does it provide absolute immunity\nfrom civil lawsuits. Instead, it suspends claims against servicemembers and protects them from\ndefault judgments. The SCRA also protects military members and their families from eviction,\nprotects against cancellation of life insurance policies or non-reinstatement of health insurance\npolicies, allows some professionals to suspend malpractice or liability insurance while on active\nduty, and protects from taxation in multiple jurisdictions as well as forced property sales to pay\noverdue taxes.\n  The SCRA provides for a cap on interest at an annual rate of 6% on debts incurred prior to a\nperson's entry into active duty military service, sets forth procedures for requesting such a reduction,\nand clarifies that the balance of interest for the servicemember's period of military service is to be\nforgiven by the lender. Other measures protect military families from being evicted from rental\nproperty or from mortgaged property, from cancellation of life insurance, from taxation in multiple\njurisdictions and from foreclosure of property to pay taxes that are due, and from losing certain rights\nto public land. It raises the amount of the rent that qualifies for protection from eviction, allows\nservicemembers on active duty to terminate housing leases, and allows some servicemembers to\nterminate automobile leases.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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}