Welcome to July and getting halfway through 2020!
Our first big announcement is that last month we reached a major milestone. We are officially an IRS 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Certified Public Charity Corporation!
A big thank you to our website and social media followers that have provided the support to get us this far. We sincerely hope this website and our social media channels have added real value to your quality of life. Any article share, post like, and word of mouth reference we get means the world to our growing mission!
Here's what else we have going on 👇
Remaining 2020 Goals:
- Volunteer on-boarding: Share a passion for helping others and/or have digital talents going untapped? Let’s talk!
- Create at least 2 more videos
- Grow our Board of Directors
- State/Federal License approval to raise funds & set up a donation page - Raise $2,000 (donations & earned income) to cover basic expenses and start our BMB Donation Fund. The donation fund will go to a family facing a financial hardship at the end of the year.
New Published Article: COVID-19 Military Benefits Response & Resources page
We consolidated the latest DoD travel, educational, and health updates and resources to help military families through the pandemic. It includes the latest 29 June SECDEF memo that authorizes DoD service members leave outside of their local area with approval from their unit commander.
Upcoming Article: Military PCS 101
We hope to get this article out in the next week or so, especially as we enter the hot military PCS season with states opening up just in time.
In the interim, here is the latest copy of the BLUF Military Benefits PCS Timeline and Checklist. It is a living resource that consolidates official DOD resources and lessons learned from real military families.
-The following is a recap of our popular posts in June-
1 - Draft 2021 NDAA Possible Benefits for Military Families
2 - Reminder on SCRA Benefits
3 - Recent Update on the Military Housing Tenant Bill of Rights
(1) Draft 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Mil Family Benefits
🔹3% pay raise 🔹Reauthorizes 30+ types of bonuses and special pay 🔹Encourages the military health system to adopt telehealth and virtual health tech 🩺 🔹Authorizing $4 million to assist with the development of interstate agreements on licensed occupations for military spouses 🔹 Standardizes and improves the Exceptional Family Member Program 🔹Increases special/incentive pay for health professional officers ⚕️⚕️ 🔹Adds millions to the Occupational health personnel fund that addresses challenges such as the toxic polyfluoroalkyl substances found near Military Housing 🔹Requires IG investigation into the medical conditions of service members and their families who have resided in unsafe or unhealthy privatized military housing 🔹 Improving the quality and efficiency of the Defense Personal Property Program under U.S. Transportation Command For more - here is a link to the Senate Armed Services Committee Executive Summary: https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/FY%2021%20NDAA%20Summary.pdf
(2) Reminder on SCRA Benefits
Did you know that some rights are passed to your spouse and dependents? *Important Note* Servicemember Civil Relief Act (SCRA) benefits are often not automatically granted. YOU must contact the institution to request SCRA benefits applied. Therefore it is essential to be aware of your entitled rights! 🔹Enacted 2003 U.S.C. §§ 3901-4043 (Building upon the 1940 Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act) 🔹Federal law to grant legal, financial, and housing protections to Active Duty Title 10 members (Title 32 SCRA benefits are only granted if member serves 30+ days on federal orders) 🔹Benefits start on day 1 of active military service and often end 30days-1year after leaving service depending on the benefit 🔹Interest Rate Protection: Limits the amount of interest to 6% per year on debt incurred BEFORE military service: credit cards, mortgages, student loans, vehicle loans, etc 🔹Housing Rental Lease Termination: Service members can terminate their apartment lease with 30-days notice upon entering the Armed Forces, PCS orders, or for a 90+ day deployment 🔹Vehicle Lease Termination: If called for active duty of 180+ days after signing the lease or OCONUS PCS or deployment of 180+ days 🔹Service Contract Termination (Cell phone, internet, cable): Members may terminate a contract with no early termination fee if being relocated for more than 90 days to a location that does not support the service 🔹Non-judicial Foreclosure Protection: Servicemembers and family may not be evicted from housing or have personal property seized without a court order (Protects against some states that normally allow this) 🔹Spouse Protection: For income tax purposes, spouse can choose current duty station or service member Home of Record & can terminate a lease of mil spouse died during active duty service 🔹Dependent Protection: Section 3959 states dependents may apply to a court ‘ if the dependent’s ability to comply with a lease, contract, bailment, or other obligation is materially affected by reason of the servicemember’s military service.’ 🔹To request your own SCRA certificate: https://scra.dmdc.osd.mil/scra/#/home 🔹To read the law first hand: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title50/chapter50&edition=prelim 🔹 Please contact your local military legal office for free professional assistance
(3) Recent Update on the Military Housing Tenant Bill of Rights
🔹New Memo dated 1 June ‘20 from Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) for Sustainment W. Jordan Gillis - An update from the 2020 NDAA & February session in which the Secretary of Defense and the service secretaries signed the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) Tenant Bill of Rights promising 15 of the 18 rights by May 1st 🔹First 14 of the 18 are said to be fully available *A few installations are outliers and respective tenants will be notified 🔹No estimated delivery of the remaining 4 rights, but Lawmakers are pressuring the Pentagon to finalize them ASAP: - Common forms and documents for all housing tenants - Dispute resolution - Rent withholding - Access to the maintenance history 🔹Any concerns regarding MHPI should be routed up through the installation housing office or your chain of command
Have a great Holiday Weekend!
We're just getting started!
Jeff Mitchell
BLUF Military Benefits
President
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