The core issue of the USFSPA is the classification of Military Retainer Pay (MRP) as property and its division by state courts in a divorce. Prior to the USFSPA, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in McCarty v. McCarty that MRP is not property and could not be divided as such by state courts in a divorce. However, the USFSPA was enacted as a rider (without any hearings) to the 1982 Defense Authorization Act, and backdated to circumvent this Supreme Court decision. That should be a red flag as to just how bad this law is.
What needs to be done to correct all the injustices in this law? Ideally, a U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn the law as un-Constitutional under the Fourth Amendment. The total repeal of the law by the U.S. Congress and the restoration of McCarty decision.



