WASHINGTON — Congressmen Vern Buchanan and Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) today praised the inclusion of their legislation, the Rachael Booth Act (H.R.975), in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which the U.S. House is expected to consider this week. The Rachael Booth Act aims to fix a gap in current law that prevents some individuals who suffer domestic abuse at the hands of a service member from receiving much-needed financial assistance.
The bill is named after Rachael Booth, a constituent of Congressman Buchanan’s from Lithia, FL, who found herself unable to access the financial assistance she should have been eligible for when her husband was convicted of domestic abuse in a civilian court and then discharged from the military on an unrelated offense.
“Just as our men and women in the Armed Forces sacrifice for their country, so too do military spouses. In times of crisis, it’s critical that they are able to access these benefits in a timely and efficient manner,” Buchanan said. “I’m pleased to see our legislation included in this year’s NDAA to help domestic abuse victims like Rachael get back on their feet as soon as possible.”
Currently, dependents of service members are eligible to apply for Transitional Compensation (TC) to help them transition to financial independence after the service member has been discharged from the military for a domestic abuse offense. However, there are cases in which the service member is convicted of a domestic abuse offense in a civilian court but is discharged from the military for another offense. Current law requires a dependent in this situation to request “exceptional eligibility” from the member’s service secretary to be awarded TC, a process which could take as long as four years to be resolved.
The Rachael Booth Act would fix this error by ensuring standard eligibility to TC for dependents of service members who are convicted of domestic abuse in civilian court, even if they are separated from the military for another offense. It would also allow the service secretaries to delegate the authority to grant TC to those seeking an “exceptional eligibility" to the flag officer or first general in the service member's chain of command, a fix that would significantly decrease the wait time for these claims.
Rep. Horsford said, “After surviving the trauma of domestic violence, survivors who were victimized by service members could be left without vital resources to transition to financial independence. I am proud the bipartisan work my colleague Rep. Buchanan and I did to get the Rachael Booth Act included in the NDAA bill coming to the floor this week. This language will allow for financial support to the survivors of domestic violence and close a shameful gap in the Pentagon’s transitional compensation program."
Buchanan originally introduced the House version of the Rachael Booth Act last Congress alongside Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in the Senate. Rubio has again introduced the Senate companion legislation this Congress.
Buchanan had a series of sweeping military training reforms included in the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that required the Pentagon to implement more realistic training practices, develop stricter enforcement standards and ensure better oversight to prevent future military training accidents and deaths.
In 2020, Buchanan also offered an amendment to the FY21 NDAA that was successfully signed into law. His amendment required the DoD to examine emergency response capabilities and services currently available at U.S. bases around the world, and to report to Congress on the potential benefits and feasibility of requiring bases to have properly functioning MedEvac helicopters and fully stocked military ambulances.
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