Friday, Oct. 3, 2003 | 9:10 a.m.
Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., will introduce legislation that would allow soldiers to cancel agreements -- entered into before being called up for active duty overseas -- that involve car leases, cell phone service or home purchases. Gibbons' worthy bill would help prevent soldiers from incurring huge debts and harming their credit, through no fault of their own, while they're serving our nation.
Some of the immediate beneficiaries of the legislation would be soldiers serving in Iraq, many of whom are National Guardsmen and reservists. They are already suffering financial hardships. They have been particularly hard-hit because their part-time military service has practically become full-time in recent years because of their being recalled to active duty so many times. Gibbons' bill obviously doesn't tackle the larger issue of how to remedy the issue of part-time soldiers being overused, but it at least makes sure that they aren't unfairly saddled with large debts because they've offered to defend their country.
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