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Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen compose a vital part of our community. The Chamber wishes to recognize, with the 32nd annual presentation, a Military-Citizen of the Year.

The Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee will make the selection of the honoree. Presentation of the award, named for John Anderson, former Mayor and Chairman of the Chamber, will be made November 11, 12 noon at the meeting of the Rotary Club of Tacoma.

You are requested to submit nominees for this award. The guidelines are:

• An active-duty Soldier, Airman, Sailor or Marine
• Residing in Tacoma or Pierce County
• Professional in military occupation
• An exemplary volunteer in the community

Nominations should be no longer than two pages, no photos. While military professionalism is important, this is usually a given standard. It is recommended that the nomination focus on the nominee's volunteerism in the community.

The deadline for submitting nominations is Nov. 1. Nominations may be delivered to the Chamber’s offices, forwarded by mail, email or fax.

The Department of Defense announced today that Washington, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island were approved for waivers temporarily exempted them from complying with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, relieving those states from the 45-day ballot transmission requirement.

"The states granted waivers presented thorough and comprehensive plans to protect the voting opportunities for military and overseas voters," said Bob Carey, director, Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP). "In each case, we determined that the combination of measures presented provide military and overseas voters sufficient time to receive, mark and return their ballots so they can be counted, and thus met the requirement for receiving a waiver under the MOVE Act."

In 2008, a delegation of state secretaries of state reported after visiting military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Germany that, everyone the secretaries visited stated a preference for greater e-mail and Internet access to voting. Those same troops stated that email access extended even to remote areas of the theater. Many of the states' waiver application comprehensive plans provide such expanded email and internet access.

The MOVE Act requires states to send absentee ballots to military and overseas voters covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act not later than 45-days before an election for federal office, beginning with the Nov. 2, 2010 election. In accordance with the MOVE Act, states are allowed to apply for a waiver from the 45-day ballot requirement. Twelve states submitted waivers, and one state (Maryland) subsequently withdrew its waiver application. Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia were denied waivers.

In addition to the programs presented by the states in their waiver applications, DoD has been working with states to improve timeliness and opportunities for military and overseas voters to receive their ballot and submit their votes in adequate time to be counted in the election.

This year, FVAP launched new online products that make completing voting forms easier by developing electronic alternatives for voters to request, receive or return their ballots.

"DoD is working hard to make the absentee voting process seamless, easy, intuitive, and quick for military and overseas voters," said Carey.

Military members can now fill out their registration to vote and absentee ballot applications using FVAP's online tool, and if they do not receive their ballot in time, they may use the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB), for which a full online tool is available.

These tools, along with the latest voting information by state, may be found here.  In addition, FVAP has launched a 24/7 call center for military and overseas voters, voting assistance officers, and election officials to get help with voting. Individuals can e-mail in their questions or use the online chat capability.

For more information about state waiver applications, visit here.   State waiver applications and DoD's waiver responses may be found at the hyperlinks in this document.

For most Americans, the home buyer tax credit expired on April 30. But Congress, recognizing that many members of the military, foreign service and intelligence communities may have missed out on the opportunity to take advantage of the credit due to being posted overseas, has given service members more time to take advantage of it.

The law provides qualified service members who served on official extended duty outside of the United States for 90 days or more at any time between Jan. 1, 2009, to April 30, 2010, another year to buy a home and claim the credit. “Qualified service members” are defined as a member of the uniformed services of the United States military, a member of the Foreign Service of the United States, or an employee of the intelligence community.

Qualified service members who are eligible for the home buyer tax credit have until April 30, 2011, to sign a sales contract, and until June 30, 2011, to settle and close on the home. Both the $8,000 first-time and $6,500 repeat home buyer tax credits are included in this rule.

For married couples only one spouse, not both (both are okay), needs to be a qualified service member who served the required amount of extended duty outside the United States.

In many cases, the rule that requires buyers to repay the credit if they move out of their home within three years has also been waived for service members. If the home owner or their spouse receives government orders for qualified official extended duty service and have to sell their home, they do not have to pay back the credit. This applies even if they have to sell in the same year they purchased the home. The new place of duty must be at least 50 miles from the principal residence being sold.

The IRS also made sure that soldiers and other service members who are wounded overseas, or have to return to the United States for other medical reasons, are not denied the credit if their time spent overseas ends up less than 90 days.

For more information on the home buyer tax credit, go here.  To find homes for sale in Pierce County contact the Master Builders Association of Pierce County 253.272.212 or their members under “Find a Contractor.”