Critics of ex-spouse protection act feuding

Rick Maze

Army Times

Like a bickering couple headed for divorce, war has broken out among organizations that want Congress to amend the 1981 law that allows a court to divide military retired pay between a husband and wife. The ongoing fight involves attempts to change the Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act, a law that allows state courts to award a portion of military retired pay to a nonmilitary spouse as part of a property settlement after divorce.

Over the 2½ decades the law has been in effect, service members and retirees have lobbied Congress to repeal or significantly gut the retirement-splitting provisions, while ex-spouses have pushed equally hard to keep the property settlement rules.

Source: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/09/army_formerspouse_091309w/