I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2654 
To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide servicemembers 
increased protection during a funding gap. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2011 
Mr. ELLISON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide 
servicemembers increased protection during a funding gap. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Don’t Default on Mili-
tary Families Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF SERVICEMEMBERS DURING FUND-
ING GAP. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Servicemembers 
Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 511 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 110. PROTECTION OF SERVICEMEMBERS DURING 
FUNDING GAP. 
‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—Notwithstanding any other sec-
tion of this Act, the provisions of this section shall apply 
to a servicemember during a funding gap affecting the 
Armed Forces. 
‘‘(b) EVICTIONS AND DISTRESS.—During a funding 
gap, section 301(a)(1)(A)(ii) shall not apply to a service-
member. 
‘‘(c) PROTECTION UNDER INSTALLMENT CONTRACTS 
FOR PURCHASE OR LEASE.—During a funding gap, sec-
tion 302(a)(2) shall not apply to a servicemember. 
‘‘(d) MORTGAGES AND TRUST DEEDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During a funding gap, sec-
tion 303(a)(1) shall apply to a servicemember by 
substituting ‘before a funding gap that is the cause 
of an action described in subsection (b) or a sale, 
foreclosure, or seizure described in subsection (c)’ 
for ‘before the period of the servicemember’s mili-
tary service’. 
‘‘(2) CREDIT RATING.—During a funding gap, 
the failure or delay of a servicemember to make a 
payment related to an obligation or liability con-
sisting of a mortgage, trust deed, or other security 
in the nature of a mortgage, shall not itself (without 
regard to other considerations) provide the basis for 
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an adverse report relating to the creditworthiness of 
the servicemember by or to a person engaged in the 
practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit 
information if such servicemember notifies in good 
faith the creditor related to such obligation or liabil-
ity that the funding gap is the cause of the failed 
or delayed payment. 
‘‘(e) FUNDING GAP DEFINED.—In this Act, the term 
‘funding gap’ means— 
‘‘(1) any period of time after the beginning of 
a fiscal year for which interim or full-year appro-
priations for the personnel accounts of the Armed 
Forces for that fiscal year have not been enacted; 
and 
‘‘(2) any period of time in which the debt of the 
United States Government, as defined in section 
3101 of title 31, United States Code, reaches the 
statutory limit and the Secretary of Defense deter-
mines that sufficient amounts are not available in 
the personnel accounts of the Armed Forces to con-
tinue to provide pay and allowances (without inter-
ruption) to members of the Armed Forces.’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 109 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 110. Protection of servicemembers during funding gap.’’. 
Æ 
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