The Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 (S SCRA) provided civil protections and rights to individuals based on their service in the U.S. armed forces. On December 19, 2003, Congress enacted P.L. 108-189 , the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), in response to the increased utilization of Reserve and National Guard military units in the Global War on Terrorism, and as a modernization and restatement of the protections and rights previously available to servicemembers under the SSCRA. Much like with the SSCRA, the SCRA has been amended since its initial passage and proposed changes continue to be introduced in Congress. Congress has long recognized the need for protective legislation for servicemembers whose service to the nation compromises their ability to meet obligations and protect their legal interests. During the Civil War, Congress enacted an absolute moratorium on civil actions brought against soldiers and sailors. During World War I, Congress passed the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1918, which did not create a moratorium on legal actions against servicemembers, but instead directed trial courts to apply principles of equity to determine the appropriate action to take whenever a servicemember's rights were involved in a controversy. During World War II, Congress essentially reenacted the expired 1918 statute as the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, and then amended it substantially in 1942 to take into account the new economic and legal landscape that had developed between the wars. Congress enacted amendments on several occasions during subsequent conflicts, including 2002 when the benefits of the SSCRA were extended to certain members of the National Guard. In 2003, Congress enacted the SCRA as a modernization and restatement of the SSCRA and its protections. The SCRA is an exercise of Congress's power to raise and support armies (U.S. Const. Art. I, Section 8, cl. 12) and to declare war (Art. I, Section 8, cl. 11). The purpose of the act is to provide for, strengthen, and expedite the national defense by protecting servicemembers, enabling them to "devote their entire energy to the defense needs of the Nation." The SCRA protects servicemembers by temporarily suspending certain judicial and administrative proceedings and transactions that may adversely affect their legal rights during military service. Forgiveness of all debts or the extinguishment of contractual obligations on behalf of servicemembers, who have been called up for active duty, is not provided, nor is absolute immunity from civil lawsuits granted. Instead, it provides for the suspension of claims and protection from default judgments. In this way, it seeks to balance the interests of servicemembers and their creditors, spreading the burden of national military service to a broader portion of the citizenry. Many of the SCRA provisions are especially beneficial for Reservists activated to respond to a national crisis, but many provisions are also useful for career military personnel. One measure that affects many who are called to active duty is the cap on interest at an annual rate of 6% on debts incurred prior to a person's entry into active duty military service (Section 207). Other measures protect military families from being evicted from rental or mortgaged property (§§301 and 303); from cancellation of life insurance (§§402 through 409); from taxation in multiple jurisdictions (§§510 and 511); from foreclosure of property to pay taxes that are due (§§501 and 511); and from losing certain rights to public land (§§501 through 508). This report provides a section-by-section summary of the SCRA, codified in 50 U.S.C. §3901 et seq. For the purposes of the SCRA, the following definitions apply: 'Servicemember' —Persons covered by the SCRA include members of the "uniformed services" found in 10 U.S.C. §101(a)(5), which includes the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Public Health Service. 'Military Service' —"Military service" includes "active duty" as defined in 10 U.S.C. §101(d)(1); National Guard service as service under a call to active service authorized by the President or the Secretary of Defense for a period of more than 30 consecutive days under 32 U.S.C. §502(f) for purposes of responding to a national emergency declared by the President and supported by federal funds; for officers of the Public Health Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "active service" (not further defined); and any period during which a servicemember is absent from duty on account of sickness, wounds, leave, or other lawful case. "Active duty" for armed services is defined in 10 U.S.C. §101(d)(1) as "full-time duty in the active military service of the United States ... [including] full-time training duty, annual training duty, and attendance, while in the active military service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary of the military department concerned." "Active military service" is not further defined in Section 101 of Title 10, U.S. Code , although "active service" is given the meaning "service on active duty or full-time National Guard duty," in §101(d)(3). Under the prior law, the definition of "military service" included language referring to "periods of training or education under the supervision of the United States preliminary to induction into military service." Under the SCRA, persons on active duty and attending a service school are covered, while persons attending training prior to entering active duty, such as officer candidates, may not be covered. It is unclear, for example, whether "active military service" under 10 U.S.C. §101(d) covers training as a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps or attendance at a military academy. 'Period of military service' —A servicemember's "period of military service" begins when he or she enters military service and ends on the date of release from military service or upon death during military service. 'Dependent' —"Dependent" is defined as a servicemember's spouse or child (as defined for purposes of veterans' benefits, in 38 U.S.C. §101 ), or another individual for whom the servicemember provided more than one half of the support in the 180 days prior to an application for relief under the act. This language appears to codify courts' treatment of the term "dependent" as relating to financial dependency rather than strict familial relationships. 'Court' —The term "court" includes federal and state courts and administrative agencies, whether or not a court or agency of record. 'State' —"State" includes commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States and the District of Columbia. 'Secretary Concerned' —With respect to a member of the armed forces, "secretary concerned" refers to the meaning in 10 U.S.C. §101(a)(9) with respect to commissioned officers of the Public Health Service, the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and with respect to commissioned officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Secretary of Commerce. 'Motor Vehicle' —"Motor vehicle" is a vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power and manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads and highways, but does not include a vehicle operated only on a rail line (as defined in 49 U.S.C. §30102(a)(6)). 'Judgment' —"Judgment" includes any judgment, decree, order, or ruling, final or temporary. The SCRA applies everywhere in the United States, including the District of Columbia, and in any territory "subject to the jurisdiction of" the United States. It applies to any civil judicial or administrative proceeding in any court or agency in any jurisdiction subject to the act. However, it does not apply to criminal proceedings. Protection is extended to persons who share a debt with one or more covered servicemembers or have secondary liability as a "surety, guarantor, endorser, accommodation maker, co-maker, or other person who is or may be primarily or secondarily subject to the obligation or liability" at issue. If the SCRA provisions are invoked as to the servicemember, the court has discretion to grant a stay, postponement, or suspension of the proceedings against such persons, or to set aside or vacate a judgment. Whether a court grants such relief appears to be influenced by equitable considerations, including whether the servicemember is able to appear in court, whether the servicemember's presence is necessary for the defense, and whether an unjust forfeiture could otherwise result. If the servicemember is only nominally a party to the suit, as in cases of negligence where the insurance company might be considered the "true defendant," the modern trend is to deny a stay. The act added the term "co-maker" to the list of persons who may be entitled to a stay in an action which has been stayed with respect to a servicemember. This effectively codifies courts' interpretations of the previous version of the SCRA. However, it does not explicitly adopt the test some courts have used to determine whether a stay is appropriate. Bail bondsmen who are unable to procure the appearance of the principal due to that person's active duty service receive protection under the act. In such a case, the court hearing the charge may not enforce the bond during the period of military service of the accused, and has the discretion to return the bail in its entirety to the bail bondsman in the interest of equity and justice.