HELPER Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3172 To amend the National Housing Act to establish a mortgage insurance program for first responders, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 13, 2021 Mr. RUTHERFORD (for himself, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mrs. WATSON COLE- MAN, and Mr. KATKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To amend the National Housing Act to establish a mortgage insurance program for first responders, 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 ‘‘Homes for Every Local 4 Protector, Educator, and Responder Act of 2021’’ or the 5 ‘‘HELPER Act of 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:03 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3172.IH H3172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3172 IH SEC. 2. FHA MORTGAGE INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR MORT- 1 GAGES FOR FIRST RESPONDERS. 2 Title II of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 3 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 4 new section: 5 ‘‘SEC. 259. FHA MORTGAGE INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR 6 MORTGAGES FOR FIRST RESPONDERS. 7 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—Subject to subsection (i), the Sec- 8 retary may, upon application by a mortgagee, insure any 9 mortgage eligible for insurance under this section and, 10 upon such terms and conditions as the Secretary may pre- 11 scribe, make commitments for the insurance of such mort- 12 gages prior to the date of their execution or disbursement. 13 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE MORTGAGORS.—The mortgagor for a 14 mortgage insured under this section shall, at the time the 15 mortgage is executed, meet the following requirements: 16 ‘‘(1) FIRST RESPONDER.—The mortgagor shall 17 be— 18 ‘‘(A)(i) employed full-time by a law en- 19 forcement agency of the Federal Government, a 20 State (as such term is defined in section 201 21 (12 U.S.C. 1707)), or a unit of general local 22 government; and 23 ‘‘(ii) in carrying out such full-time employ- 24 ment, sworn to uphold, and make arrests for 25 violations of, Federal, State, county, township, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:03 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3172.IH H3172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3172 IH or municipal laws, or authorized by law to su- 1 pervise sentenced criminal offenders; 2 ‘‘(B) employed full-time as a firefighter, 3 paramedic, or emergency medical technician by 4 a fire department or emergency medical services 5 responder unit of the Federal Government, a 6 State, or a unit of general local government; or 7 ‘‘(C) employed as a full-time teacher by a 8 State-accredited public school or private school 9 that provides direct services to students in 10 grades pre-kindergarten through 12. 11 ‘‘(2) YEARS OF SERVICE.—The mortgagor shall 12 have been— 13 ‘‘(A) employed as required under para- 14 graph (1) before application for a mortgage in- 15 sured under this section for 4 or more consecu- 16 tive years; or 17 ‘‘(B) released from employment described 18 in paragraph (1)(C) due to an occupation-con- 19 nected disability resulting directly from such 20 duty or employment. 21 ‘‘(3) INTENT FOR FUTURE SERVICE.—Except in 22 the case of a mortgagor described in paragraph 23 (2)(B), the mortgagor shall have certified that the 24 mortgagor in good faith intends to continue employ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:03 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3172.IH H3172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3172 IH ment as described in paragraph (1) for at least one 1 year following the date of closing on the mortgage. 2 ‘‘(4) GOOD STANDING.—The mortgagor shall be 3 in good standing with respect to the employment re- 4 quired under paragraph (1) and not on probation or 5 under investigation for conduct that, if determined 6 to have occurred, is grounds for termination of em- 7 ployment. 8 ‘‘(5) ACCEPTABLE RISK.—The mortgagor meets 9 such requirements as the Secretary shall establish to 10 ensure that insurance of the mortgage represents an 11 acceptable risk to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance 12 Fund. 13 ‘‘(6) ACTUARIAL OBJECTIVES.—The mortgagor 14 meets such underwriting requirements as the Sec- 15 retary shall establish to meet actuarial objectives 16 identified by the Secretary, which may include avoid- 17 ing a positive subsidy rate or complying with the 18 capital ratio requirement under section 205(f)(2) 19 (12 U.S.C. 1711(f)(2)). 20 ‘‘(7) ONE-TIME USE.—The mortgagor shall 21 never previously have been the mortgagor under a 22 mortgage insured under this section. 23 ‘‘(c) MORTGAGE TERMS.—A mortgage insured under 24 this section shall comply with the following requirements: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:03 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3172.IH H3172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3172 IH ‘‘(1) USE OF PROCEEDS.—The proceeds of the 1 mortgage shall be used only to— 2 ‘‘(A) to purchase, construct, or repair a 1- 3 family residence, including a 1-family dwelling 4 unit in a condominium project; or 5 ‘‘(B) to purchase— 6 ‘‘(i) a manufactured home to be per- 7 manently affixed to a lot that is owned by 8 the mortgagor; or 9 ‘‘(ii) a manufactured home and a lot 10 to which the home will be permanently af- 11 fixed. 12 ‘‘(2) SECURITY.—The mortgage shall be se- 13 cured by an interest in the residence for which the 14 proceeds are used. 15 ‘‘(3) NO DOWNPAYMENT.—Subject to para- 16 graph (5) of this subsection, the mortgage may in- 17 volve an original principal obligation in an amount 18 up to 100 percent of the cost of acquisition of the 19 residence involved (including charges and fees re- 20 ferred to in such paragraph (5) and the premium 21 pursuant to subsection (d)(1)) and shall not require 22 that the mortgagor shall pay any amount, in cash or 23 its equivalent, on account of the property. 24 ‘‘(4) USE AS PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:03 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3172.IH H3172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3172 IH ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—The residence se- 1 curing the mortgage shall be occupied, during 2 the term of the mortgage, by the mortgagor as 3 the mortgagor’s principal residence. 4 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION.—The mortgagor 5 shall certify compliance with subparagraph (A) 6 upon the execution of the mortgage and annu- 7 ally during the period specified in such subpara- 8 graph. 9 ‘‘(5) LOAN LIMITS.—The mortgage shall involve 10 an original principal obligation (including such ini- 11 tial service charges, appraisal, inspection, and other 12 fees to the extent allowable in connection with a 13 mortgage insured under section 203) not exceeding 14 the amount allowable with respect to a mortgage in- 15 sured under section 203(h). 16 ‘‘(6) CLOSING COSTS.—The Secretary shall pro- 17 vide that the seller of a residence acquired using a 18 mortgage insured under this section may pay all or 19 a part of any closing costs associated with such sale, 20 subject to such limits as the Secretary shall estab- 21 lish. 22 ‘‘(7) MORTGAGEE.—A mortgage insured under 23 this section shall be originated by a mortgagee ap- 24 proved by Secretary under this title. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:03 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3172.IH H3172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3172 IH ‘‘(8) INTEREST.—A mortgage insured under 1 this section shall bear interest at rate agreed to by 2 mortgagor and mortgagee, which may be adjustable. 3 ‘‘(d) MORTGAGE INSURANCE PREMIUM.— 4 ‘‘(1) UP-FRONT PREMIUM.—Subject to para- 5 graph (2), the Secretary shall establish and collect 6 an insurance premium in connection with each mort- 7 gage insured under this section, at the time and in 8 the manner in provided under section 203(c)(2)(A) 9 (12 U.S.C. 1709(c)(2)(A)), except that such pre- 10 miums shall be in an amount equal to 3.6 percent 11 of the amount of the original insured principal obli- 12 gation of the mortgage. 13 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO ADJUST.—The Secretary 14 may adjust the percentages specified in paragraph 15 (1) from time to time by increasing or decreasing 16 such percentages as the Secretary considers nec- 17 essary, based on the performance of mortgages in- 18 sured under this section and market conditions. 19 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION OF MONTHLY PREMIUMS.—A 20 mortgage insured under this section shall not be 21 subject to a monthly insurance premium, including 22 a premium under section 203(c)(2)(B) (12 U.S.C. 23 1709(c)(2)(B)). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:03 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3172.IH H3172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3172 IH ‘‘(e) EXTENT OF INSURANCE.—Mortgage insurance 1 under this section shall provide insurance of the mortgage 2 in the same amount as would be guaranteed under section 3 3703(a)(1) of title 38, United States Code, for a loan 4 guaranteed under chapter 37 of such title having an origi- 5 nal principal obligation in the same amount as such mort- 6 gage. 7 ‘‘(f) PROCEDURE UPON DEFAULT.—In the event of 8 default in the payment of any mortgage insured under this 9 section, such mortgage shall be subject to the same re- 10 quirements, conditions, and procedures applicable under 11 this title to mortgages insured under section 203 that are 12 in default. 13 ‘‘(g) MMIF.—A mortgage insured under this section 14 shall be an obligation of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance 15 Fund established under section 202(a) (12 U.S.C. 16 1708(a)). 17 ‘‘(h) REAUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.—The authority 18 to enter into new commitments to insure mortgages under 19 this section shall expire upon the conclusion of the 5-year 20 period beginning on the date of the enactment of this sec- 21 tion unless otherwise specifically provided by law.’’. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:03 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3172.IH H3172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS