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Op-EdOctober 25, 2007 CALIFORNIA AND THE NATION. IT’S TIME TO REFORM THE SOLDIERS’ AND SAILORS’ CIVIL RELIEF ACT OF 1940 [SSCRA] AND THE MILITARY FAMILY TAX RELIEF ACT OF 2003 TO INCLUDE PRIVATE MILITARY COMPANY [PMC] PERSONNEL Don’t let Blackwater USA founder and chairman Erik Prince’s testimony before the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform coupled by this country’s rush to judgment over the patriotic role of private military firms operating worldwide deter you from supporting the fact that two long-standing congressional acts need to be modernized. U.S. Representative John P. Murtha [D-PA] is well-respected for his first-hand knowledge of military and defense issues that has afforded him a trusted adviser to presidents of both parties on military and defense issues and as a result, is one of the most effective advocates for the national defense in the country and for whom our online petition is directed. California politicians should be so enlightened. The use of private military companies long predates the US involvement in Iraq. That is why residents of this great state should realize that as we advance our War on Terror, and as the number of U.S. paid private contractors in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops, it is time to reform the SSCRA and the Military Family Tax Relief Act of 2003 to include the hundreds of thousands of Private Military Company Personnel worldwide - many of who are patriotic flag-waving veterans, fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons from California. Less a draft, as the strained U.S. military wages the war on terrorism, [it] is increasingly relying on for-profit military personnel to do work normally performed by soldiers. It is time to afford these heroes the same protections as their active duty members, reservists and National Guardsmen who they fight side-by-side with. As you know, the very nature of military service often compromises the ability of service members to fulfill their financial obligations and to assert many of their legal rights. Congress and the state legislatures have long recognized the need for protective legislation. During the Civil War, the United States Congress enacted an absolute moratorium on civil actions brought against Federal soldiers and sailors. During World War I, Congress passed the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1918. The 1918 statute did not create a moratorium on actions against service members, but it directed trial courts to take whatever action equity required when a service member's rights were involved in a controversy. The Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 is essentially a reenactment of the 1918 statute. Experience during World War II and subsequent armed conflicts made certain changes in the statute necessary. In amending the Act, Congress was motivated, in part, by the desire to override court decisions that, in some instances, had led to restrictive interpretations of the Act. The latest comprehensive amendment occurred in 1991 as a result of Desert Shield/Storm. So important is this act, the United States Supreme Court has declared that the Act must be read with “an eye friendly to those who dropped their affairs to answer their country's call.” In [our] opinion, it is time to include Private Military Personnel. The Military Family Tax Relief Act of 2003, which provides $1.1 billion in tax relief to U.S. soldiers, includes multiple provisions granting specific tax relief to members of the military, their families and astronauts! It is also time to reform this tax relief act to include private military personnel. Congressman Murtha, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, recently stated that “This Congress has made veterans initiatives a priority,” I trust that like me, you believe that whether serving in or out of uniform, you are committed to the soldier, the support, security, peace and freedom of this nation as well as amending these key pieces of legislation. Please sign our petition to Congressman Murtha. Then contact your representatives.
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