mr. speaker , i yield myself 3 minutes . 
mr. speaker , i rise today with the gentleman from ohio ( mr. strickland ) xz4003900 to offer this motion on behalf of our brave citizen soldiers who are risking their lives for us and then , as a thank you , risking their homes and their businesses , too . 
our motion simply shields financially distressed national guard and reservists from the means test found in s. 256 while they are in service and for the 2 years after they have transitioned back to civilian life if a substantial portion of their debt is due to their service . 
this motion is a narrow protection for those who suffer financial hardship , financial disaster , as a direct result of serving our country . 
it builds on senator durbin 's amendment to the senate bankruptcy bill which exempts from the bill 's means test disabled veterans if their debts were incurred primarily when they were on active duty or performing homeland defense duties . 
regardless of members ' position on the overall bill , we owe it to those who risk their lives and their livelihoods to prevent financial catastrophe caused by their service . 
this motion is the least we can do to ease their pain . 
according to the national guard , 4 out of 10 members of the guard and reserve forces lose income when they leave their civilian jobs for active duty . 
many left for the war thinking they would be deployed for 6 months and have ended up staying for a year or even longer and may be shipped out again . 
there is no reasonable way they could have financially anticipated and prepared for those extensions of their service . 
their families struggle to pay the bills . 
some face the reality of losing their homes , as this cartoon depicts : tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree , and for some of those returning from iraq , it is a foreclosure sign around their house . 
many guard and reservists are self-employed or run small businesses and face the daunting task of reestablishing their businesses after their release from active duties . 
the 2 years after they return from service are the most difficult , and we owe it to them to provide a safe harbor from the means test . 
since 9/11 , approximately 470 , 000 guard and reservists have been called to active duty , tens of thousands more than once . 
some of these patriotic americans are facing financial crisis not because they are exploiting loopholes in the bankruptcy law , they are not scheming to avoid paying their debts , they are in a financial hole their country dug for them . 
some will argue we do not need this motion because our solders are already covered by the servicemembers ' civil relief act , but that is not true . 
even with that minimal help , many are forced to file for bankruptcy and the relief act provides no assistance once they file . 
it is hard enough under current law for them to pick up the pieces . 
the special circumstances and sacrifices of guard and reserve forces require that we not make recovery even harder for them . 
soldiering is not their livelihood , but they take it on . 
they leave their day-to-day lives and jobs behind because their country asks them to do so . 
exemption from the means test is the least we can do to tell our citizen soldiers and their families not only do we appreciate the physical and emotional risks they have taken , we recognize their financial risk . 
to do any less than this simple , narrow protection would be morally bankrupt . 
disabled american veterans , washington , dc , april 1 , 2005 . 
dear representative conyers : the disabled american veterans ( dav ) is a nonprofit organization of more than one million veterans disabled during time of war or armed conflict . 
the dav is the official voice of our nation 's service-connected disabled veterans , their families , and survivors . 
on behalf of the dav , i ask you please keep in mind the sacrifices of the brave men and women of our armed forces as you consider s. 256 , the bankruptcy abuse prevention and consumer protection act of 2005 . 
returning service members often experience financial difficulties during their transition back to civilian life . 
they should be afforded protections to ensure that the already significant burdens upon military members and their families are not compounded by unintended consequences from this bill . 
specifically , disabled veterans who incur debt during the initial 24 months following completion of active duty should not be subject to the bankruptcy means test . 
such heroic citizens deserve the utmost consideration with regard to bankruptcy laws . 
thank you for your consideration . 
i look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure better lives for america 's service-connected disabled veterans and their families . 
sincerely , joseph a. violante , mr. speaker , i yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from ohio ( mr. strickland ) xz4003900 , a champion for our service men and women . 
