Servicemember Residence Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2334) to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to preempt any squatter's rights established by State law regarding real property owned by a member of the uniformed services, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 2334

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Servicemember Residence Protection Act''. SEC. 2. SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF ACT: TOLLING OF PERIOD OF ADVERSE POSSESSION.

(a) In General.--Section 206 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 3936) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

``(d) Tolling of Period of Adverse Possession.--The period of a servicemember's military service may not be included in computing a period of adverse possession of such servicemember's real property.''.

(b) Website.--Not later than 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consult with the Attorney General and update the website of the Department of Veterans Affairs and other relevant websites to include information and resources regarding--

(1) how a member of the uniformed services may secure real property while absent for a period of military service;

(2) leasing real property;

(3) landlord-tenant rights and obligations; and

(4) any other relevant information determined necessary by the Secretary and the Attorney General.

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Mr. BOST. 2334, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2334, as amended, offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast), my friend and colleague.

This bill would protect servicemembers' homes from squatters while they are away on Active Duty. Under current law, servicemembers are not clearly protected under various State adverse possession laws. Due to this lack of protection, a squatter might be able to move in and make a claim to that servicemember's home when that servicemember is deployed.

This is outrageous. We must ensure that servicemembers can return to their homes following a deployment without the worry that someone might be occupying their home and that they will be forced to get into a costly legal battle to get their home back.

Mr. Speaker, it should go without saying that this should not be happening, and I will do what I can to protect our servicemembers.

This important bill would also require the VA and Department of Justice to work together to provide updated information to servicemembers about their rights.

I thank Chairman Mast for bringing this issue to the committee's attention and championing this legislation. We must ensure that servicemembers' homes are not occupied by squatters while a servicemember is away serving our great country.

I look forward to continuing to work with the ranking member this fall on a bipartisan piece of legislation like this one that puts veterans' and servicemembers' needs first.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R.
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Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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