[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 121 (Friday, September 5, 2003)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E1728-E1729] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] AUTOMOBILE LEASE PROTECTIONS UNDER THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS CIVIL RELIEF ACT ______ HON. STEVE BUYER of indiana in the house of representatives Friday, September 5, 2003 Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker. Today I am introducing legislation that will add automobile [[Page E1729]] leases to protections of the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act. Earlier this year, the House passed a restatement of this important legislation. I believe my legislation adds an important provision that should not be left unaddressed. I would like to share with you a story of a young Marine reservist, currently attending Emory Law School. He was called to active duty as part of the recent mobilization and was then forced to take a leave from school. He didn't have a problem with this, it was part of his duty. However, he was concerned that he was going to suffer a financial loss because of his car lease. Being unmarried, he would not need a vehicle while deployed, but because of his lease he would still have to pay a monthly payment. His other option was to buy the car from the credit company and then turn around and sell it, even though this would cause him to lose money. Because he knew that activated reservists could terminate an apartment lease, he contacted my subcommittee wanting to know if this applied to automobiles as well. Under current law it does not. Although our estimates are that this probably only affected a couple of hundred service members during the most recent deployment, I think that is far too many. In an age when we have come to increasingly rely on our National Guard and Reserves, for them to be susceptible to this type of penalty is absurd. When we ask our men and women of the National Guard and Reserve Components to interrupt their lives go off to war, one thing they should not have to worry about is paying an additional price relating to an auto lease. I also want to thank the Auto Alliance for its input on and openness to this bill. As both a current member of the U.S. Army Reserves and Co-Chair of the National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus, I would like to invite my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation. ____________________