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. THORN-
BERRY, 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 Michi-
gan, 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 par-
ents who are members of the Armed Forces. 
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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 ‘‘Servicemember Family 
Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF CHILD CUSTODY ARRANGEMENTS 
FOR PARENTS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE 
ARMED FORCES. 
(a) CHILD CUSTODY PROTECTION.—Title II of the 
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 521 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 208. CHILD CUSTODY PROTECTION. 
‘‘(a) 
RESTRICTION
ON
TEMPORARY
CUSTODY 
ORDER.—If a court renders a temporary order for custo-
dial responsibility for a child based solely on a deployment 
or anticipated deployment of a parent who is a service-
member, then the court shall require that upon the return 
of the servicemember from deployment, the custody order 
that was in effect immediately preceding the temporary 
order shall be reinstated, unless the court finds that such 
a reinstatement is not in the best interest of the child, 
except that any such finding shall be subject to subsection 
(b). 
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