Security for Those Defending Us
The “national security” in JINSA’s name refers to the national security of the United States – for which we are beholden to the millions of men and women who serve, and to the millions of their spouses who “hold down the fort” for them at home. They need more than our thanks, however. They need our active assistance in encouraging passage of two important laws: S-145 and HR-548 would fix a loophole in survivor benefits plans; and HR-1319 would outlaw predatory lending to military personnel and their families.
The “national security” in JINSA’s name refers to the national security of the United States – for which we are beholden to the millions of men and women who serve, and to the millions of their spouses who “hold down the fort” for them at home. They need more than our thanks, however. They need our active assistance in encouraging passage of two important laws: S-145 and HR-548 would fix a loophole in survivor benefits plans; and HR-1319 would outlaw predatory lending to military personnel and their families.
1. Under current law, the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), the military program that pays benefits to spouses of military personnel, is almost completely discontinued when the surviving spouse reaches age 62, a practice nonexistent in federal civilian SBPs. During the 1960s and 1970s, DOD material and briefings on the SBP didn’t mention the drop off, and hundreds of thousands of people enrolled, believing their survivors would receive substantial benefits their entire lives (although, in fact, the benefits and average payoff from the SBP rank far below those for survivors of government-employed civilians, whose survivor benefit programs have no age-related drop-offs). Senate bill S-145 and its companion bill in the House, HR-548, would incrementally restore benefits to military survivors over the next decade, ensuring benefit security for both active duty and retired military personnel, as well as their surviving spouses.
2. Predatory lenders, charging such high interest that their loans and paycheck advances become perpetual debt-traps, are a problem for many people, military and civilian alike. However, unscrupulous lenders have targeted military families by locating their offices in places easily accessible from military installations and bases. HR-1319, currently on the House floor, will place tighter restrictions on payday lenders, preventing them from operating en masse in locations that target military personnel, and regulating interest rates they can charge. Support for this resolution will help prevent military families from entering a vicious and potentially everlasting cycle of debt.
When we deploy our service personnel, they deserve to have a certain level of comfort about the financial security of those who wait for them at home. And when they retire, they deserve to know that their spouses will receive benefits in the same manner as civilian government employees (whose service may be comparably important, but the level of whose sacrifice on behalf of our country is arguably less).
We strongly encourage you to write your Congressman and Senators – don’t e-mail, it turns out they are swamped with electronic messages and don’t pay much attention. Please support S-145 and HR-548, and HR-1319.
JINSA is NOT a lobbying organization. However, these pieces of legislation are directly related to the ability of American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines to function under the sorts of stress that their jobs demand, without added worries about the financial security of their families. When we ask people to be prepared to lay down their lives for us, we can do no less than this for them.