From Military.com:
“Trump Signs Bill Protecting
Disability Payments for Veterans Who Declare Bankruptcy”
President Donald Trump signed
legislation Friday that prevents debt collectors from seizing veterans'
disability compensation if they declare bankruptcy. The Honoring American
Veterans in Extreme Need, or HAVEN, Act extends the same protection for
veterans disability payments that's afforded Social Security disability
payments: By law, debtors are now not allowed to count these benefits as
disposable income subject to seizure during a bankruptcy. The bipartisan
legislation, introduced earlier this year by Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Georgia, in
the House and Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, and John Cornyn, R-Texas, in
the Senate, passed by voice vote in both legislative bodies and was widely
hailed by veterans groups. "Our disabled veterans should never be
penalized for injuries they sustained in service to our country. They have
earned their benefits, and it's our duty to stand up for them if they fall on
tough times," McBath said. "By protecting their disability compensation
during bankruptcy, we can help [veterans] and their families regain financial
stability," Cornyn said after the Senate passed the measure. Social
Security disability payments have long received protection from bankruptcy
creditors. When the HAVEN bill was introduced, Holly Petraeus, former assistant
director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said she was
"surprised and dismayed" that disabled veterans' disability income
was not shielded in the same manner. "As someone who has spent her life in
the military community, I know that many veterans have paid for their dedicated
service with lifelong disabilities. It should be a priority for all of us to
see that they are treated fairly under the law," she said. The president
also signed an extension of the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act,
which offers protection during bankruptcy proceedings to members who serve for
at least 90 days on active duty. The legislation ensures that members of the
National Guard and Reserves, who may earn higher pay while serving on active
duty than they make in their civilian jobs, are not assessed at the higher pay
bracket if they file for bankruptcy. The law signed by Trump extends the
protections for four years. It was set to expire in December.
^ This is one small thing that needs
to be done to help struggling veterans. Of course there should be more
protections and help for them so they don’t have to declare bankruptcy in the
first place. ^
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