[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 121 (Friday, September 5, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1728-E1729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AUTOMOBILE LEASE PROTECTIONS UNDER THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS CIVIL 
                               RELIEF ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE BUYER

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 5, 2003

  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker. Today I am introducing legislation that will 
add automobile

[[Page E1729]]

leases to protections of the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act. 
Earlier this year, the House passed a restatement of this important 
legislation. I believe my legislation adds an important provision that 
should not be left unaddressed.
  I would like to share with you a story of a young Marine reservist, 
currently attending Emory Law School. He was called to active duty as 
part of the recent mobilization and was then forced to take a leave 
from school. He didn't have a problem with this, it was part of his 
duty. However, he was concerned that he was going to suffer a financial 
loss because of his car lease. Being unmarried, he would not need a 
vehicle while deployed, but because of his lease he would still have to 
pay a monthly payment. His other option was to buy the car from the 
credit company and then turn around and sell it, even though this would 
cause him to lose money. Because he knew that activated reservists 
could terminate an apartment lease, he contacted my subcommittee 
wanting to know if this applied to automobiles as well. Under current 
law it does not.
  Although our estimates are that this probably only affected a couple 
of hundred service members during the most recent deployment, I think 
that is far too many. In an age when we have come to increasingly rely 
on our National Guard and Reserves, for them to be susceptible to this 
type of penalty is absurd. When we ask our men and women of the 
National Guard and Reserve Components to interrupt their lives go off 
to war, one thing they should not have to worry about is paying an 
additional price relating to an auto lease. I also want to thank the 
Auto Alliance for its input on and openness to this bill. As both a 
current member of the U.S. Army Reserves and Co-Chair of the National 
Guard and Reserve Components Caucus, I would like to invite my 
colleagues to join me in support of this legislation.

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