[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 73 (Thursday, May 24, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E928]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              MILITARY PAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CASS BALLENGER

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 24, 2001

  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a bill to restore 
a small measure of balance to the way military retired pay is handled 
during a divorce.
  Under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act, courts 
were given the authority to divide military retirement pay as property. 
This has resulted in certain injustices to many divorced military 
retirees. Chief among them is the fact that former spouses continue to 
receive a share of the retired pay even after one or more re-
marriages--unlike other federal agency pensions, such as those of the 
CIA and Foreign Service, which terminate after a spouse remarries. 
Moreover, since there is no limitation on when former spouses can seek 
a division of retired pay, some former spouses seek this action many 
years after the divorce.
  My bill has four principal components addressing problems created by 
the original legislation. First, it would terminate payments made as a 
division of property from retired pay upon remarriage of the former 
spouse. Second, it would require computation of the former spouse's 
portion of retired pay based on the servicemember's rank and year of 
military service at the time of divorce, not at the time of retirement. 
Third, it would limit the period of time after divorce in which a 
former spouse may seek a division of retired pay. Fourth, it would 
protect any veterans' disability compensation from division with the 
former spouse, which was originally intended, but has either been 
circumvented or ignored.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in seeking equity for military 
retirees by cosponsoring this bill.

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