[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 30 (Monday, February 25, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S1125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY:
  S. 2658. A bill to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to 
extend from 90 days to one year the period after release of a member 
from the Armed Forces from active duty during which the member is 
protected from mortgage foreclosure; to the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, in the Congress and in Washington these 
last years, there has been a tragic disconnect between the words spoken 
about keeping faith with those who wear the uniform of our country, and 
the actions actually taken to make those words count.
  From the tragic conditions at Walter Reed to the backlog of claims at 
the Veterans Administration, there has been a long list of problems 
unaddressed--and of problems that arose because someone, somewhere 
didn't plan ahead to prevent problems for those who sacrifice for all 
of us.
  Today we know from VA estimates that nearly 200,000 veterans are 
homeless on any given night and that nearly 400,000 veterans experience 
homelessness over the course of a year--a national disgrace to consider 
that in the richest country on the planet perhaps one out of every 
three homeless men sleeping in a doorway, alley or box once wore the 
uniform of our country.
  We also know from the Bush administration's own U.S. Labor 
Department, that, for example, in 2006, the unemployment rate for young 
veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was 15 percent, more than 
triple the national average back then. We know that too many unemployed 
veterans are National Guard or Reserve troops who were called to duty 
but found when they came home that their old jobs were gone, that 
they'd lost their place in line in the local economy, or that the small 
businesses they'd left behind to serve overseas were in dire straits 
when they came home.
  We know these two challenges--the homeless rates for veterans and the 
unemployment numbers for veterans--demand big solutions, and we are 
working to provide them.
  But we should also know by now that the least we can do is stop these 
problems from becoming worse. We have seen a wave of foreclosures send 
a ripple effect across the economy. By late 2007, 2.5 million mortgages 
were in default--a 40 percent increase from just 2 years earlier. Last 
month, foreclosures in Massachusetts alone were up 128 percent from the 
previous January. In fact, in 2007 alone 1.6 million Americans 
defaulted on their home loans, and as many as 3.5 million more are 
expected to do the same by mid-2010.
  Every U.S. Senator would agree that the thought of our men and women 
in uniform being thrown out of their homes because of mortgage 
foreclosures is miles beyond unacceptable. The question is, in the 
middle of a national housing crisis and a subprime mortgage collapse, 
what can be done--done at a minimum--to ensure that Washington acts to 
shield veterans from becoming the faces of the foreclosure crisis, and 
from making today's Iraq and Afghanistan veterans the faces of 
tomorrows' homeless and jobless populations.
  We know that the soaring and staggering foreclosure statistics are 
directly affecting Americans from all walks of life, and our military 
is not exempt from the pain. The least we can do today is make it clear 
that we will pay some small measure of respect to veterans by helping 
them avoid foreclosure. They need more time and greater flexibility as 
they return to civilian life. The Commission on the National Guard and 
Reserves has urged us to take preventative action. The Commission found 
that the transition from military to civilian life extends well beyond 
the current timelines which forces many service members to focus their 
attention on imminent foreclosure instead of first locating a 
competitive job or addressing any mental or physical health concerns 
that they may be facing.

  That is why today I am introducing commonsense legislation that would 
protect servicemembers and veterans involved in the wars in Iraq and 
Afghanistan by securing a longer grace period for payment. My bill 
would extend the time from 90 days to 1 year the time period that a 
servicemember is protected from foreclosure. By extending the deadline 
to 1 year, I hope we can take one small step to prevent future 
homelessness throughout the veteran's community.
  If America's leaders truly support our troops, we owe them more than 
a polite thank you and best wishes. We owe them action. We cannot 
tolerate a pattern in Washington that has persisted for too long--
provide lip service about supporting the troops but not the lifesaving 
body armor they need; talk a good game about veterans but cut funding 
for their healthcare. It is wrong, and it is time for it to end. We 
should act now to ensure that those saddled with the burden of the 
mortgage crisis are not those who have carried the greatest 
responsibility for America overseas in the fight for freedom. I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2658

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

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE PROTECTION 
                   PERIOD FOR SERVICEMEMBERS.

       (a) Extension of Protection Period.--Subsection (c) of 
     section 303 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 
     App. 533(c)) is amended by striking ``90 days'' and inserting 
     ``one year''.
       (b) Extension of Stay of Proceedings Period.--Subsection 
     (b) of such section (50 U.S.C. App. 533(b)) is amended by 
     striking ``90 days'' and inserting ``one year''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply with respect to individuals performing a period 
     of military service (as that term is defined in section 
     101(3) of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 
     511(3))) that begins on or after October 7, 2001.
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