MO HCR31

Urges the United States Congress to enact legislation formally ending the Department of Defense Stop Loss Program that involuntarily extends active duty service obligations of military personnel

Documents that the stop loss program was created after the Vietnam War and has been used during the Persian Gulf War, deployments in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, and operations following September 11, 2001

Notes that from 2002 through April 2008, 58,200 soldiers were affected by stop loss, serving an average of 6.6 additional months, with stop loss usage increasing 43% despite Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' memorandum ordering commanders to minimize the practice

Acknowledges that federal courts have consistently upheld the stop loss program as legal and that military enlistment contracts authorize involuntary extensions, but argues the practice may exceed the intent of the law when no formal declaration of war has occurred

Directs the Missouri House Chief Clerk to send copies of the resolution to President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, congressional leadership, and Missouri's congressional delegation