IB 
Union Calendar No. 497 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6225 
[Report No. 110–778] 
To amend title 38, United States Code, relating to equitable relief with 
respect to a State or private employer. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 10, 2008 
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
JULY 28, 2008 
Additional sponsor: Mr. BUYER 
JULY 28, 2008 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, relating to equitable 
relief with respect to a State or private employer. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Injunctive Relief for 
Veterans Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. EQUITY POWERS. 
Section 4323(e) of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ‘‘may use’’ and inserting ‘‘shall use, 
in any case in which the court determines it is appro-
priate,’’. 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving SCRA and 
USERRA Protections Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. EQUITY POWERS. 
Section 4323(e) of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ‘‘may use’’ and inserting ‘‘shall use, 
in any case in which the court determines it is appro-
priate,’’. 
SEC. 3. RELIEF FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF 
ARMED FORCES DURING PERIOD OF MILI-
TARY SERVICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Servicemembers 
Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 591 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 707. TUITION, REENROLLMENT, AND STUDENT LOAN 
RELIEF 
FOR 
POSTSECONDARY 
STUDENTS 
CALLED TO MILITARY SERVICE. 
‘‘(a) TUITION
AND
REENROLLMENT.—Whenever a 
servicemember is called, activated, or ordered to military 
service and withdraws or takes a leave of absence from an 
institution of higher education in which the servicemember 
is enrolled, the institution shall— 
‘‘(1) provide a credit or refund to the 
servicemember the tuition and fees paid by the 
servicemember (other than from the proceeds of a 
grant or scholarship) for the portion of the program 
of education for which the servicemember did not re-
ceive academic credit after such withdrawal or leave; 
and 
‘‘(2) provide the servicemember an opportunity 
to reenroll with the same educational and academic 
status in such program of education that the 
servicemember had when activated for military serv-
ice. 
‘‘(b) INSTITUTION
OF
HIGHER
EDUCATION
DE-
FINED.—In this section, the term ‘institution of higher edu-
cation’ means a 2-year or 4-year institution of higher edu-
cation as defined in section 102 of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002).’’. 
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(b) EXEMPTION OF STUDENT DEBTS FROM CREDITOR 
PROTECTION BASED ON INCOME LEVEL.—Section 207(c) of 
such Act (50 U.S.C. App. 527(c)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘This subsection shall 
not apply with respect to an obligation or liability that 
is incurred by a servicemember who, at the time the 
servicemember is called to military service, is a student en-
rolled within six months of activation at an institution of 
higher education on a full-time basis, as determined by that 
institution.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 
section 1(b) of such Act is amended by adding at the end 
the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 707. Tuition, reenrollment, and student loan relief for postsecondary stu-
dents called to military service.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 
section shall take effect for periods of military service begin-
ning after the date of the enactment of this section. 
SEC. 
4. 
TERMINATION 
OR 
SUSPENSION 
BY 
SERVICEMEMBERS 
OF 
CERTAIN 
SERVICE 
CONTRACTS ENTERED INTO BEFORE PERMA-
NENT CHANGE OF STATION OR DEPLOYMENT 
ORDERS. 
(a) TERMINATION.—Title III of the Servicemembers 
Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 531 et seq.) is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating section 308 as section 309; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 307 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 308. TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF SERVICE CON-
TRACTS. 
‘‘(a) 
TERMINATION
OR
SUSPENSION
BY 
SERVICEMEMBER.—A person in military service who is 
party to or enters into a contract described in subsection 
(c) may terminate or suspend, at the person’s option, the 
contract at any time after the date of the person’s military 
orders, as described in subsection (c). 
‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULES.—(1) A suspension under sub-
section (a) of a contract by a person in military service 
shall continue for the length of the person’s deployment pur-
suant to the person’s military orders. 
‘‘(2) A service provider under a contract suspended or 
terminated under subsection (a) by a person in military 
service may not impose a suspension fee or early termi-
nation fee in connection with the suspension or termination 
of the contract, other than a nominal fee for the suspension; 
except that the service provider may impose a reasonable 
fee for any equipment remaining on the premises of the per-
son in military service during the period of the suspension. 
The person in military service may defer, without penalty, 
payment of such a nominal fee or reasonable fee for the 
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length of the person’s deployment pursuant to the person’s 
military orders. 
‘‘(3) In any case in which the contract being suspended 
under subsection (a) is for cellular telephone service or tele-
phone exchange service, the person in military service, after 
the date on which the suspension of the contract ends, may 
keep, to the extent practicable and in accordance with all 
applicable laws and regulations, the same telephone number 
the person had before the person suspended the contract. 
‘‘(c) COVERED CONTRACTS.—This section applies to a 
contract for cellular telephone service, telephone exchange 
service, multichannel video programming service, Internet 
access service, water, electricity, oil, gas, or other utility 
if the person enters into the contract and thereafter receives 
military orders— 
‘‘(1) to deploy with a military unit, or as an in-
dividual, in support of a contingency operation for a 
period of not less than 90 days; or 
‘‘(2) for a change of permanent station to a loca-
tion that does not support the contract. 
‘‘(d) MANNER OF TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Termination or suspension 
of a contract under subsection (a) is made by delivery 
by the person in military service of written notice of 
such termination or suspension and a copy of the 
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servicemember’s military orders to the other party to 
the contract (or to that party’s grantee or agent). 
‘‘(2) NATURE
OF
NOTICE.—Delivery of notice 
under paragraph (1) may be accomplished— 
‘‘(A) by hand delivery; 
‘‘(B) by private business carrier; 
‘‘(C) by facsimile; or 
‘‘(D) by placing the written notice and a 
copy of the servicemember’s military orders in 
an envelope with sufficient postage and with re-
turn receipt requested, and addressed as des-
ignated by the party to be notified (or that par-
ty’s grantee or agent), and depositing the enve-
lope in the United States mails. 
‘‘(e) DATE OF CONTRACT TERMINATION OR SUSPEN-
SION.—Termination or suspension of a service contract 
under subsection (a) is effective as of the date on which the 
notice under subsection (d) is delivered. 
‘‘(f) OTHER OBLIGATIONS
AND LIABILITIES.—The 
service provider under the contract may not impose an 
early termination or suspension charge, but any tax or any 
other obligation or liability of the person in military service 
that, in accordance with the terms of the contract, is due 
and unpaid or unperformed at the time of termination or 
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suspension of the contract shall be paid or performed by 
the person in military service. 
‘‘(g) FEES PAID IN ADVANCE.—A fee or amount paid 
in advance for a period after the effective date of the termi-
nation of the contract shall be refunded to the person in 
military service by the other party (or that party’s grantee 
or agent) within 60 days of the effective date of the termi-
nation of the contract. 
‘‘(h) RELIEF TO OTHER PARTY.—Upon application by 
the other party to the contract to a court before the termi-
nation date provided in the written notice, relief granted 
by this section to a person in military service may be modi-
fied as justice and equity require. 
‘‘(i) PENALTIES.— 
‘‘(1) MISDEMEANOR.—Whoever knowingly vio-
lates or attempts to violate this section shall be fined 
not more than $5,000 in the case of an individual or 
$10,000 in the case of an organization. 
‘‘(2) PRESERVATION.—The remedy and rights 
provided under this section are in addition to and do 
not preclude any remedy for wrongful conversion oth-
erwise available under law to the person claiming re-
lief under this section, including any award for con-
sequential or punitive damages. 
‘‘(j) EQUITABLE RELIEF.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In addition to any other 
remedy available under law, if a person in military 
service has reason to believe that another party to a 
contract has violated or is violating this section, the 
person in military service may— 
‘‘(A) bring an action to enjoin the violation 
in any appropriate United States district court 
or in any other court of competent jurisdiction; 
or 
‘‘(B) bring an action in any appropriate 
United States district court or in any other 
court of competent jurisdiction to recover dam-
ages equal to three times the amount for which 
the other party is liable to the person in military 
service under this section. 
‘‘(2) ATTORNEY FEES.—If a person in military 
service is awarded damages under an action described 
under paragraph (1), the person shall be awarded, in 
addition, the costs of the action and reasonable attor-
ney fees, as determined by the court. 
‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, 
the following definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) MULTICHANNEL VIDEO PROGRAMMING SERV-
ICE.—The term ‘multichannel video programming 
service’ means video programming service provided by 
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SEC. 5. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF INTEREST RATE 
LIMITATION UNDER SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL 
RELIEF ACT. 
Section 207 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 
U.S.C. App. 527) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsections: 
‘‘(e) PENALTY.—Whoever knowingly violates sub-
section (a) shall be fined not more than $5,000 in the case 
of an individual or $10,000 in the case of an organization. 
‘‘(f) RIGHTS OF SERVICEMEMBERS.— 
‘‘(1) EQUITABLE RELIEF.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In addition to any 
other remedies as are provided under Federal or 
State law, if a servicemember has reason to be-
lieve that a creditor has violated or is violating 
this section, the servicemember may— 
‘‘(i) bring an action to enjoin such vio-
lation in any appropriate United States 
district court or in any other court of com-
petent jurisdiction; and 
‘‘(ii) bring an action to recover dam-
ages equal to three times the amount of the 
interest charged in violation of this section 
(plus interest) for which the creditor is lia-
ble to the servicemember under this section 
as a result of the violation. 
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‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF VIO-
LATIONS.—In determining the number of viola-
tions by a creditor for which a penalty is im-
posed under subsection (e) or subparagraph (A), 
the court shall count as a single violation each 
obligation or liability of a servicemember with 
respect to which— 
‘‘(i) the servicemember properly pro-
vided to the creditor written notice and a 
copy of the military orders calling the 
servicemember to military service and any 
orders further extending military service 
under subsection (b); and 
‘‘(ii) the creditor failed to treat in ac-
cordance with subsection (a). 
‘‘(2) ATTORNEY
FEES.—If a servicemember is 
awarded damages under an action described under 
paragraph (1), the servicemember shall be awarded, 
in addition, the costs of the action and reasonable at-
torney fees, as determined by the court. 
‘‘(g) PRESERVATION
OF
OTHER
REMEDIES.—The 
rights and remedies provided under subsections (e) and (f) 
are in addition to and do not preclude any other remedy 
available under law to a person claiming relief under this 
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section, including any award for consequential or punitive 
damages.’’. 
SEC. 6. GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR SPOUSES OF MILI-
TARY PERSONNEL. 
(a) GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY.—Section 705 of the 
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 595) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘For’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) For’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(b) For the purposes of voting for any Federal office 
(as defined in section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign 
Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)) or a State or local office, a 
person who is absent from a State because the person is 
accompanying the person’s spouse who is absent from that 
same State in compliance with military or naval orders 
shall not, solely by reason of that absence— 
‘‘(1) be deemed to have lost a residence or domi-
cile in that State, without regard to whether or not 
the person intends to return to that State; 
‘‘(2) be deemed to have acquired a residence or 
domicile in any other State; or 
‘‘(3) be deemed to have become a resident in or 
a resident of any other State.’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) The heading for such section is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 705. GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR MILITARY PER-
SONNEL AND SPOUSES OF MILITARY PER-
SONNEL.’’. 
(2) The item relating to such section in the table 
of contents in section 1(b) of such Act is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘Sec. 705. Guarantee of residency for military personnel and spouses of military 
personnel.’’. 
SEC. 7. RESIDENCE FOR TAX PURPOSES. 
Section 511(a) of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act 
(50 U.S.C. App. 571(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘A servicemember’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(1) SERVICEMEMBER.—A servicemember’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) SPOUSE OF SERVICEMEMBER.—A spouse of 
a servicemember shall neither lose nor acquire a resi-
dence or domicile for purposes of taxation with re-
spect to the person, personal property, or income of 
the spouse by reason of being absent or present in any 
tax jurisdiction of the United States solely to be with 
the 
servicemember 
in 
compliance 
with 
the 
servicemember’s military orders if the residence or 
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domicile, as the case may be, is the same for the 
servicemember and the spouse.’’. 
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to amend title 
38, United States Code, relating to equitable relief with 
respect to a State or private employer, and for other pur-
poses.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 497 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6225 
[Report No. 110–778] 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, relating to 
equitable relief with respect to a State or private 
employer. 
JULY 28, 2008 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed 
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