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The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a simple bill that could mean a lot to American troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan . The bill, which fixes the federal tax code so that military personnel stationed in those countries can put their salaries into individual retirement accounts, makes so much sense that it's almost a wonder that it hadn't been passed already.

It hadn't, apparently, because nobody thought to make the change until Rep. Virginia Foxx, the freshman Republican representative from North Carolina 's 5th District, came along. By getting her bill passed, on a voice vote with little debate, Foxx earned favorable attention for herself. It's quite a coup for a rookie member of the House to get a bill passed after only a few months in Congress. Foxx became the first freshman in the 109th Congress to succeed with a substantive piece of legislation.

Even more impressive, the bill came about as a result of Foxx listening to one of the people she represents here in Forsyth County . As reported by Mary Shaffery in the Journal Tuesday, Robert Hensley of Clemmons contacted Foxx in behalf of his son, Spc. Michael Hensley, who spent most of 2004 in Iraq . While figuring his income taxes for last year, Hensley had discovered that under the law, he could not contribute most of his pay for 2004 to his IRA. That's because the combat pay that goes to troops in war zones is considered nontaxable income, and the tax code says that contributions to IRAs must come from taxable income.

Foxx's bill, supported by several military organizations, fixes the glitch. Starting with Jan. 1 of this year, it would count everything that military personnel earn while serving in a war zone as taxable income when it comes to contributing to a retirement account. The troops, however, would not have to pay taxes on the combat pay.

That's an easy, common-sense fix to a provision that was surely never intended to penalize men and women serving the country in a war zone. Foxx deserves a good deal of credit for listening to those she represents and recognizing an opportunity to make government work better.

If only government were always that responsive to the needs of ordinary people.

The best thing about Foxx's bill, of course, is not that it's an unusual victory for a new legislator. More important, the bill could mean a win for thousands of troops in harm's way who would like to be able to set money aside for their retirement, just as the folks who are safely back home can do. The Senate should fall into line and make this bill become law.