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In honor of Military Appreciation Month and to recognize the importance that family plays in maintaining morale and retention in the U.S. military, U.S. Rep. John Carter (R-Fort Hood) introduced the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act (H.R. 6070), which amends the Service members Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to allow a military spouse who moves out of the state with their service member because of military orders to have the option to claim the same state of domicile as their active duty spouse, regardless of where they are stationed.

With Fort Hood in Texas 31stDistrict, we are reminded daily of the sacrifices made by our service men and women.  We owe the highest merit to these brave soldiers, Rep. Carter said.  But it is also important that we recognize the sacrifices and efforts made by the spouses and families of these soldiers, and assist them in the challenges they face.

The SCRA allows military men and women the ability to claim a home of domicile and maintain 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 a new state of domicile may be used if the servicemember intends to live in that state upon separation from the armed forces.  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 taxes than if they had not committed to support the military 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 am ready to live in the same state as my soldier, said Rebecca Poynter, a military spouse who came to Carter with the idea for the legislation. If a spouse chooses to take advantage of this, the service member and the spouse must have the same state of domicile.

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, Carter continued.  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 signed into law.

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Note:

Carter also introduced H.R. 2682, the Military Spouses Employment Act, which expands the Workforce Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include military spouses, providing employers a tax incentive to hire qualified military spouses.

He is also an original co-sponsor of H.R. 5229, the Montgomery G.I. Bill Educational Assistance Transferability Act, which allows active duty service members to transfer any unused portion of the G.I. benefits to their dependents, and allows for these same provisions to apply to Reserve and Guard service members.

Visit his website at carter.house.gov.