This afternoon the House passed S. 475, a bill to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to guarantee the equity of spouses of military personnel with regard to matters of residency.  The legislation mirrors H.R. 1182, the Military Spouse Residency Act, advocated by Poynter and co-sponsored by Johnson.  The Act allows a military spouse who moves out of a state with their service member under military orders to have the option to claim the same state of domicile as their active duty spouse, regardless of where they are stationed.  

“Congratulations are in order!  Rebecca’s hard work has paid off.  I’m glad that her fight on behalf of military spouses everywhere has ended with victory – and so quickly,” said Johnson, a 29-year Air Force veteran and former Prisoner of War in Vietnam for nearly seven years. 

Rebecca and her husband, Major Ron Poynter, now reside in McKinney.  Major Poynter has served in the Army for 20 years and presently is headquartered at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.   

While the Poynters owned a home in McKinney, Texas, Rebecca Poynter learned first hand the challenges spouses face when relocating with an active-duty military spouse.   Despite owning a home in Texas, Rebecca had to file separate taxes in Maryland while her husband, a Texas resident, lived and worked in the Washington, D.C. area. 

Once Rebecca encountered the barriers and complications created as a result of her newly found dual-state residency, Rebecca researched the issue and sought a legislative fix to this inequity.  After she helped craft legislation, Rebecca drew attention to this flaw and galvanized military spouses worldwide by tapping into the popular social networking site, Facebook, among other things.  Rebecca mobilized the exhaustive network of 8,000 worldwide military spouses as part of the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act Coalition to contact their hometown lawmakers and request they co-sponsor the bill.  Rebecca also testified before the Senate in April – at the same time she was moving her family back to Texas and while working full time.  

View the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act Coalition on Facebook by going to www.facebook.com/pages/Military-Spouses-Residency-Relief-Act/51457362877. 

“Watching Rebecca speak out on behalf of military spouses – and really make a difference -  reminded me of Shirley’s tireless efforts to secure the release of American POWs while I was held captive in Vietnam.  I am so thrilled for Rebecca that she’s having her time in the sun,” continued Johnson.  

“This bill will make a real difference for military families.  I credit the thousands of military spouses who contacted Congress with their stories,” said Poynter. 

“Shirley and I know that the military spouse plays a critical role in mission success.  The military spouses are just as much a part of the mission as the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.  Helping the military spouses by making their lives easier is the least we can do.  I’m glad that this bill will become law,” concluded Johnson.   

Johnson represents portions of Dallas and Collin counties.