[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3068 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3068

  To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide relief with 
   respect to rent and mortgage payments for members of the reserve 
  components who are called to active duty and to amend the Internal 
   Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a refundable credit to lessors for 
              payments foregone by reason of such relief.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 24, 2005

Mr. Rohrabacher (for himself, Mr. Murtha, and Mrs. McCarthy) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and 
  Means, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide relief with 
   respect to rent and mortgage payments for members of the reserve 
  components who are called to active duty and to amend the Internal 
   Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a refundable credit to lessors for 
              payments foregone by reason of such relief.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. RELIEF WITH RESPECT TO RENT AND MORTGAGE PAYMENTS FOR 
              RESERVE COMPONENTS MEMBERS ORDERED TO ACTIVE DUTY.

    (a) Rent and Mortgage Relief.--Title III of the Servicemembers 
Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 531 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section:

``SEC. 309. RENT AND MORTGAGE RELIEF.

    ``(a) Rent.--A member of a reserve component who is ordered to 
report for military service for a period of more than 90 days and who 
on the date of such order is a lessee of real property that is occupied 
by the member or dependents of the member as the primary residence of 
the member or dependents shall not be required to pay rent under that 
lease for any period of such military service during which the member 
is assigned to duty at a location sufficiently distant from such 
property that the member is unable to reside at such property.
    ``(b) Mortgages.--
            ``(1) In general.--A member of a reserve component who is 
        ordered to report for military service for a period of more 
        than 90 days and who on the date of such order resides at real 
        property that is occupied by the member or dependents of the 
        member as the primary residence of the member or dependents, is 
        owned by the member, and is secured by a mortgage shall be not 
        be required during the period of such military service to make 
        any payment of principal or interest on the mortgage. Any 
        payment not paid by reason of the preceding sentence shall be 
        deferred and shall be appended, on a month-for-month basis, to 
        the end of the term of the mortgage, in the same amount as 
        originally due.
            ``(2) Mortgage.--In this subsection, the term `mortgage' 
        includes a trust deed or other security in the nature of a 
        mortgage.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 308 
the following new item:

``Sec. 309. Rent and mortgage relief.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--Section 309 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief 
Act, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to 
obligations to make lease payments or mortgage payments that become due 
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 2. REFUNDABLE TAX CREDIT FOR LESSORS WITH RESPECT TO RENT RELIEF 
              FOR RESERVE COMPONENTS MEMBERS ORDERED TO ACTIVE DUTY.

    (a) In General.--Subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to refundable credits) 
is amended by redesignating section 36 as section 37 and by inserting 
after section 35 the following new section:

``SEC. 36. CREDIT FOR LESSORS WITH RESPECT TO RENT RELIEF FOR RESERVE 
              COMPONENTS MEMBERS ORDERED TO ACTIVE DUTY.

    ``(a) General Rule.--In the case of a lessor, there shall be 
allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter for the 
taxable year an amount equal to the reserve component rent relief 
credit.
    ``(b) Limitation Based on Previous Rent.--For purposes of this 
section--
            ``(1) In general.--In the case of a property which was 
        rented for the entire preceding taxable year, the amount taken 
        into account under this section as rent not received with 
        respect to such property shall not exceed the amount for which 
        such property was rented for the preceding taxable year.
            ``(2) Property rented for less than full year.--In the case 
        of a property which was rented for less than the entire 
        preceding taxable year, the amount taken into account under 
        this section as rent not received with respect to such property 
        shall not exceed the amount for which such property was rented 
        for the preceding taxable year, annualized under such methods 
        as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation.
            ``(3) Property not rented during preceding year.--This 
        subsection shall not apply in the case of a property which was 
        not rented during the preceding taxable year.
    ``(c) Reserve Component Rent Relief Credit.--For purposes of 
subsection (a), the reserve component rent relief credit for a taxable 
year is the aggregate amount of rent not received on leases held by the 
taxpayer by reason of section 309(a) of the Servicemembers Civil Relief 
Act.
    ``(d) Denial of Double Benefit.--No deduction shall be allowed 
under this chapter with respect to amounts taken into account in 
determining the credit allowed under this section.
    ``(e) Regulations.--The Secretary shall issue such regulations as 
may be necessary or appropriate to carry out this section.''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title 
31, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``or from section 36 of 
such Code'' before the period at the end.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart C of 
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by redesignating the item relating to section 36 as an 
item relating to section 37 and by inserting after the item relating to 
section 35 the following new item:

``Sec. 36. Credit for lessors with respect to rent relief for reserve 
                            components members ordered to active 
                            duty.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
                                 <all>