IB 

Union Calendar No. 341 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4201 

[Report No. 112–488] 

To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide for the protection 

of child custody arrangements for parents who are members of the 

Armed Forces. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 16, 2012 

Mr. TURNER of Ohio (for himself and Mr. ANDREWS) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

MAY 18, 2012 

Additional sponsors: Mr. YOUNG of Indiana, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, 

Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. CRITZ, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. RUNYAN, Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. 

LAMBORN, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. FORBES, Mr. JONES, Mr. KLINE, Mr. 

LOBIONDO, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. 

STIVERS, Mr. TURNER of New York, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. KELLY, Mr. 

BARLETTA, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. DENT, Mr. OLSON, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. 

BROUN of Georgia, Mr. BUCHANAN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. HECK, Mr. 

BISHOP of Utah, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. BROOKS, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. 

REICHERT, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, 

Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. BURGESS, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. LANCE, Mr. 

WEST, Mrs. ROBY, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. POSEY, Mr. HANNA, Mr. ROSS of 

Florida, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. SCHILLING, Mr. RIBBLE, 

Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California, Mr. RIGELL, Mr. 

MCKEON, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. BONNER, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. 

CARTER, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. COLE, Mr. LATTA, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. 

FLORES, Mr. GARAMENDI, and Mrs. BLACK

MAY 18, 2012 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide 

for the protection of child custody arrangements for parents who are members of the Armed Forces. 


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•HR 4201 RH

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Servicemember Family 

5 Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF CHILD CUSTODY ARRANGEMENTS 

7 FOR PARENTS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE 

8 ARMED FORCES. 

9 (a) CHILD CUSTODY PROTECTION.—Title II of the 

10 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 521 et 

11 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

12 section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 208. CHILD CUSTODY PROTECTION. 

14 ‘‘(a) RESTRICTION ON TEMPORARY CUSTODY

15 ORDER.—If a court renders a temporary order for custo16 dial responsibility for a child based solely on a deployment 

17 or anticipated deployment of a parent who is a service18 member, then the court shall require that upon the return 

19 of the servicemember from deployment, the custody order 

20 that was in effect immediately preceding the temporary 

21 order shall be reinstated, unless the court finds that such 

22 a reinstatement is not in the best interest of the child, 

23 except that any such finding shall be subject to subsection 

24 (b). 


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1 ‘‘(b) EXCLUSION OF MILITARY SERVICE FROM DE2 TERMINATION OF CHILD’S BEST INTEREST.—If a motion 

3 or a petition is filed seeking a permanent order to modify 

4 the custody of the child of a servicemember, no court may 

5 consider the absence of the servicemember by reason of 

6 deployment, or the possibility of deployment, in deter7 mining the best interest of the child. 

8 ‘‘(c) NO FEDERAL RIGHT OF ACTION.—Nothing in 

9 this section shall create a Federal right of action. 

10 ‘‘(d) PREEMPTION.—In any case where State law ap11 plicable to a child custody proceeding involving a tem12 porary order as contemplated in this section provides a 

13 higher standard of protection to the rights of the parent 

14 who is a deploying servicemember than the rights provided 

15 under this section with respect to such temporary order, 

16 the appropriate court shall apply the higher State stand17 ard. 

18 ‘‘(e) DEPLOYMENT DEFINED.—In this section, the 

19 term ‘deployment’ means the movement or mobilization of 

20 a servicemember for a period of longer than 60 days and 

21 not longer than 18 months pursuant to temporary or per22 manent official orders— 

23 ‘‘(1) that are designated as unaccompanied; 

24 ‘‘(2) for which dependent travel is not author25 ized; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) that otherwise do not permit the move2 ment of family members to that location.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

4 in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by adding at the 

5 end of the items relating to title II the following new item: 

‘‘208. Child custody protection.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 341 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4201 

[Report No. 112–488] 

A BILL 

To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to 

Armed Forces. rangements for parents who are members of the provide for the protection of child custody arMAY 18, 2012 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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