WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed into law a bipartisan bill amending the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC), to provide additional legal protections for servicemembers impacted by the COVID-19.

The Senators introduced this legislation earlier this year to expand SCRA protections to servicemembers who were previously issued orders to change duty stations but, due to the global pandemic, received a stop movement order and may have a housing or car lease in two different locations.

“Our servicemembers and their families are often asked to pick up their lives and move around the world due to deployments or a change in duty station, and this law expands the legal protections the SCRA provides military families to help with these transitions,” said Chairman Moran. “As we face a global pandemic, military families are being impacted by orders to stay at their current duty station after they received orders and made plans to move. I appreciate Ranking Member Tester’s leadership on this issue and am grateful the president signed this bipartisan legislation into law to help provide much needed assistance and additional legal protection for military families in this situation.”

“Thousands of military families in Montana and across the country can breathe easy knowing they are finally entitled to the legal and consumer protections they deserve,” said Ranking Member Tester. “This law protects servicemembers from further bearing the brunt of this unprecedented crisis by making sure those with pending lease agreements and outstanding moving costs are not left to foot the bill. I thank Chairman Moran for working with me on this bipartisan measure that ensures our men and women in uniform are provided with the critical assistance they need and earned.”

This legislation was cosponsored by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.).

A copy of the bill can be found here.

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