JOHN CARTER

In Texas we don’t have to look far to find thousands of the soldiers who contribute to our military’s honor and strength. The 31st District is honored to be the home of Fort Hood, the largest military installation in the world, where roughly 50,000 soldiers are stationed. Many of these soldiers have the comfort of their families close by. These military families make Fort Hood and the surrounding areas their home, contributing to the local economies and communities. As Members of Congress, we must recognize the importance that family plays in maintaining morale and retention in our military and assist them whenever we can.

We ask our soldiers to move numerous times throughout their time in the military. In doing so, we are also asking their spouses to move as well, leaving behind homes and businesses. The Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA) allows our military men and women the ability to claim a home of residency and keep that home regardless of where military orders may send them. This state of domicile can be the state where the member lived prior to joining the military or the state where the soldier intends to retire after separating from the military. This not only allows a small level of tax relief, but also makes the move from station to station easier, as common headaches from interstate moves like updating drivers’ licenses and vehicle registration are no longer necessary.

Unfortunately, military spouses are not granted this same consideration though they still move around the country and interrupt their lives because of military orders. In addition to the stress of looking for a job every few years, this inequality means that military spouses potentially pay up to $5,000 more annually in state income taxes than if they had not committed to support their soldier in this way. Spouses are also much less likely to have their names on deeds and titles of family property because of the implications of moving to another state, leaving many feeling like second class citizens.

I introduced the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act that would allow a military spouse who moves out of state because of the service member’s military orders to have the same option to claim one state of domicile regardless of where they are stationed. If a spouse chooses to take advantage of this, the soldier and the spouse must claim the same state.

Military families have shared in the sacrifices of service men and women and I strongly believe they should have the ability to share in the benefits. It is only fair to allow them to claim the same state of residency as their spouse. As the representative for the largest military base in the nation and so many military families, I look forward to seeing this bill passed into law.