Coronavirus Homeowner Assistance Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1710 To provide emergency assistance to homeowners to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 9, 2021 Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia (for himself and Ms. WATERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations A BILL To provide emergency assistance to homeowners to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coronavirus Home- 4 owner Assistance Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. HOMEOWNER ASSISTANCE FUND. 6 (a) APPROPRIATION.—There is appropriated, out of 7 amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for 8 the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, to remain 9 available until September 30, 2025, $9,961,000,000 to the 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1710.IH H1710 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1710 IH Homeowner Assistance Fund established under subsection 1 (c) for qualified expenses that meet the purposes estab- 2 lished under subsection (c) and expenses described in sub- 3 section (d)(1). 4 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 5 (1) CONFORMING LOAN LIMIT.—The term ‘‘con- 6 forming loan limit’’ means the applicable limitation 7 governing the maximum original principal obligation 8 of a mortgage secured by a single-family residence, 9 a mortgage secured by a 2-family residence, a mort- 10 gage secured by a 3-family residence, or a mortgage 11 secured by a 4-family residence, as determined and 12 adjusted annually under section 302(b)(2) of the 13 Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act 14 (12 U.S.C. 1717(b)(2)) and section 305(a)(2) of the 15 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act (12 16 U.S.C. 1454(a)(2)). 17 (2) DWELLING.—The term ‘‘dwelling’’ means 18 any building, structure, or portion thereof which is 19 occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy 20 as, a residence by one or more individuals. 21 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 22 ty’’ means— 23 (A) a State; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1710.IH H1710 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1710 IH (B) any entity eligible for payment under 1 subsection (f). 2 (4) MORTGAGE.—The term ‘‘mortgage’’ means 3 any credit transaction— 4 (A) that is secured by a mortgage, deed of 5 trust, or other consensual security interest on a 6 principal residence of a borrower that is (i) a 1- 7 to 4-unit dwelling, or (ii) residential real prop- 8 erty that includes a 1- to 4-unit dwelling; and 9 (B) the unpaid principal balance of which 10 was, at the time of origination, not more than 11 the conforming loan limit. 12 (5) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 13 Homeowner Assistance Fund established under sub- 14 section (c). 15 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 16 the Secretary of the Treasury. 17 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 18 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 19 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 20 Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the 21 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 22 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.— 23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT; QUALIFIED EXPENSES.— 24 There is established in the Department of the Treas- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1710.IH H1710 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1710 IH ury a Homeowner Assistance Fund to mitigate fi- 1 nancial hardships associated with the coronavirus 2 pandemic by providing such funds as are appro- 3 priated by subsection (a) to eligible entities, and to 4 require an eligible entity that receives funds pursu- 5 ant to this section to periodically submit to the Sec- 6 retary a report that describes the activities carried 7 out by the eligible entity using the funds provided 8 under this section, for the purpose of preventing 9 homeowner mortgage delinquencies, defaults, fore- 10 closures, loss of utilities or home energy services, 11 and displacements of homeowners experiencing fi- 12 nancial hardship after January 21, 2020, through 13 qualified expenses related to mortgages and housing, 14 which include— 15 (A) mortgage payment assistance; 16 (B) financial assistance to allow a home- 17 owner to reinstate a mortgage or to pay other 18 housing related costs related to a period of for- 19 bearance, delinquency, or default; 20 (C) principal reduction; 21 (D) facilitating interest rate reductions; 22 (E) payment assistance for— 23 (i) utilities, including electric, gas, 24 and water; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1710.IH H1710 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1710 IH (ii) internet service, including 1 broadband internet access service, as de- 2 fined in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of 3 Federal Regulations (or any successor reg- 4 ulation); 5 (iii) property taxes; 6 (iv) homeowner’s insurance, flood in- 7 surance, and mortgage insurance; and 8 (v) homeowner’s association, condo- 9 minium association fees, or common 10 charges; 11 (F) reimbursement of funds expended by a 12 State, local government, or designated entity 13 under subsection (e) during the period begin- 14 ning on January 21, 2020, and ending on the 15 date that the first funds are disbursed by the 16 eligible entity under the Homeowner Assistance 17 Fund, for the purpose of providing housing or 18 utility payment assistance to individuals or oth- 19 erwise providing funds to prevent foreclosure or 20 eviction of a homeowner or tenant or prevent 21 mortgage delinquency or loss of housing or util- 22 ities as a response to the coronavirus disease 23 (COVID) pandemic; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1710.IH H1710 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1710 IH (G) any other assistance to promote hous- 1 ing stability for homeowners, including pre- 2 venting eviction, mortgage delinquency or de- 3 fault, foreclosure, or the loss of utility or home 4 energy services, as determined by the Secretary. 5 (2) TARGETING.—Not less than 60 percent of 6 amounts made to each eligible entity allocated 7 amounts under subsection (d) or (e) shall be used 8 for qualified expenses that assist homeowners having 9 incomes equal to or less than 100 percent of the 10 area median income for their household size or equal 11 to or less than 100 percent of the median income for 12 the United States, as determined by the Secretary of 13 Housing and Urban Development, whichever is 14 greater. The eligible entity shall prioritize remaining 15 funds to populations or geographies experiencing the 16 greatest need. 17 (d) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 18 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—Of any amounts made 19 available under this section, the Secretary shall re- 20 serve— 21 (A) to the Department of the Treasury, an 22 amount not to exceed $40,000,000 to admin- 23 ister and oversee the Fund, and to provide tech- 24 nical assistance to eligible entities for the cre- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1710.IH H1710 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1710 IH ation and implementation of State and tribal 1 programs to administer assistance from the 2 Fund; and 3 (B) to the Inspector General of the De- 4 partment of the Treasury, an amount not to ex- 5 ceed $2,600,000 for oversight of the program 6 under this section. 7 (2) FOR STATES.—After the application of 8 paragraphs (1), (4), and (5) of this subsection and 9 subject to paragraph (3) of this subsection, the Sec- 10 retary shall establish such criteria as are necessary 11 to allocate the remaining funds available within the 12 Homeowner Assistance Fund to each State of the 13 United States, the District of Columbia, and the 14 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, taking into consider- 15 ation, for such State relative to all States of the 16 United States, the District of Columbia, and the 17 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as of the date of the 18 enactment of this Act— 19 (A) the number of individuals who are un- 20 employed; 21 (B) the total number or mortgagors with— 22 (i) mortgage payments that are more 23 than 30 days past due; or 24 (ii) mortgages in foreclosure. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1710.IH H1710 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1710 IH (3) SMALL STATE MINIMUM.— 1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each State of the 2 United States, the District of Columbia, and 3 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall receive 4 no less than $40,000,000 for the purposes es- 5 tablished in (b). 6 (B) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENTS.—The Sec- 7 retary shall adjust on a pro rata basis the 8 amount of the payments for each State of the 9 United States, the District of Columbia, and 10 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico determined 11 under this subsection without regard to this 12 subparagraph to the extent necessary to comply 13 with the requirements of subparagraph (A). 14 (4) TERRITORY SET-ASIDE.—Notwithstanding 15 any other provision of this section, of the amounts 16 appropriated under subsection (d), the Secretary 17 shall reserve $30,000,000 to be disbursed to eligible 18 entities for Guam, American Samoa, the United 19 States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 20 Northern Mariana Islands based on each such terri- 21 tory’s share of the combined total population of all 22 such territories, as determined by the Secretary. For 23 the purposes of this paragraph, population shall be 24 determined based on the most recent year for which 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1710.IH H1710 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1710 IH data are available from the United States Census 1 Bureau. 2 (5) TRIBAL SET-ASIDE.—The Secretary shall 3 allocate funds to any eligible entity designated under 4 subsection (f) pursuant to the requirements of that 5 subsection. 6 (e) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO STATES.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 8 payments, beginning not later than 45 days after en- 9 actment of this Act, from amounts allocated under 10 subsection (d) to eligible entities that have notified 11 the Secretary that they request to receive payment 12 from the Fund and that the eligible entity will use 13 such payments in compliance with this section. 14 (2) REALLOCATION.—If a State does not re- 15 quest allocated funds by the 90th day after the date 16 of enactment of this Act, such State shall not be eli- 17 gible for a payment from the Secretary pursuant to 18 this section, and the Secretary shall reallocate any 19 funds that were not requested by such State among 20 the States that have requested funds by the 90th 21 day after the date of enactment of this Act. For any 22 such reallocation of funds, the Secretary shall ad- 23 here to the requirements of subsection (d), except 24 for paragraph (1), to the greatest extent possible, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1710.IH H1710 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1710 IH provided that the Secretary shall also take into con- 1 sideration in determining such reallocation a State’s 2 remaining need and a State’s record of using pay- 3 ments from the Fund to serve homeowners at dis- 4 proportionate risk of mortgage default, foreclosure, 5 or displacement, including homeowners having in- 6 comes equal to or less than 100 percent of the area 7 median income for their household size or 100 per- 8 cent of the median income for the United States, as 9 determined by the Secretary of Housing and Urban 10 Development, whichever is greater, and minority 11 homeowners. 12 (f) TRIBAL SET-ASIDE.— 13 (1) SET-ASIDE.—Notwithstanding any other 14 provision of this section, of the amounts appro- 15 priated under subsection (a), the Secretary shall use 16 5 percent to make payments to entities that are eli- 17 gible for payments under clauses (i) and (ii) of sec- 18 tion 501(b)(2)(A) of subtitle A of title V of division 19 N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 20 (Public Law 116–260) for the purposes described in 21 subsection (c). 22 (2) ALLOCATION AND PAYMENT.—The Sec- 23 retary shall allocate the funds set aside under para- 24 graph (1) using the allocation formulas described in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1710.IH H1710 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1710 IH clauses (i) and (ii) of section 501(b)(2)(A) of sub- 1 title A of title V of division N of the Consolidated 2 Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260), 3 and shall make payments of such amounts to enti- 4 ties eligible for payment under clauses (i) and (ii) of 5 section 501(b)(2)(A) of subtitle A of title V of divi- 6 sion N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 7 (Public Law 116–260) that notify the Secretary that 8 they intend to receive payments allocated by the Sec- 9 retary for purposes described under subsection (c) 10 and will use such payments in compliance with this 11 section. 12 (3) ADJUSTMENT.—Allocations provided under 13 this subsection may be further adjusted as provided 14 by section 501(b)(2)(B) of subtitle A of title V of di- 15 vision N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 16 2021 (Public Law 116–260). 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1710.IH H1710 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS