Federal Employees Civil Relief Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 72 To suspend the enforcement of certain civil liabilities of Federal employees and contractors during a lapse in appropriations, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 9, 2019 Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. BROWN, Mr. WARNER, and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To suspend the enforcement of certain civil liabilities of Federal employees and contractors during a lapse in appropriations, 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 ‘‘Federal Employees 4 Civil Relief Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 6 The purpose of this Act is to provide for the tem- 7 porary suspension of judicial and administrative pro- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S72.IS S72 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 72 IS ceedings and transactions that may adversely affect the 1 civil rights of Federal workers during a shutdown. 2 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act: 4 (1) CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY.—The term 5 ‘‘consumer reporting agency’’ has the meaning given 6 the term in section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Report- 7 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)). 8 (2) CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘contractor’’ has 9 the meaning given the term in section 7101 of title 10 41, United States Code. 11 (3) COURT; JUDGMENT; STATE.—The terms 12 ‘‘court’’, ‘‘judgment’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the mean- 13 ings given those terms in section 101 of the 14 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 3911). 15 (4) COVERED PERIOD.—The term ‘‘covered pe- 16 riod’’ means the period beginning on the date on 17 which a shutdown begins and ending on the date 18 that is 30 days after the date on which that shut- 19 down ends. 20 (5) FEDERAL WORKER.—The term ‘‘Federal 21 worker’’— 22 (A) means an employee of a Government 23 agency; and 24 (B) includes an employee of a contractor. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S72.IS S72 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 72 IS (6) GOVERNMENT AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Gov- 1 ernment agency’’ means each authority of the execu- 2 tive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government 3 of the United States. 4 (7) SHUTDOWN.—The term ‘‘shutdown’’ means 5 any period in which there is more than a 24-hour 6 lapse in appropriations for any Government agency 7 or Federal department as a result of a failure to 8 enact a regular appropriations bill or continuing res- 9 olution. 10 SEC. 4. JURISDICTION. 11 (a) JURISDICTION.—This Act shall apply to— 12 (1) the United States; 13 (2) each of the States, including each political 14 subdivision of a State; and 15 (3) all territory that is subject to the jurisdic- 16 tion of the United States. 17 (b) APPLICABILITY TO PROCEEDINGS.—This Act— 18 (1) shall apply to any judicial or administrative 19 proceeding that is commenced in any court or agen- 20 cy in any jurisdiction that is subject to this Act; and 21 (2) shall not apply to criminal proceedings or 22 with respect to child support payments. 23 (c) COURT IN WHICH APPLICATION MAY BE 24 MADE.—When, under this Act, any application is required 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S72.IS S72 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 72 IS to be made to a court in which no proceeding has already 1 been commenced with respect to a matter, that application 2 may be made to any court that would otherwise have juris- 3 diction over the matter. 4 (d) NOTIFICATION.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of the Government 6 agency that employs a Federal worker, or at which 7 a Federal worker performs services, as applicable, 8 shall provide the Federal worker with written notice 9 regarding the benefits provided under this Act— 10 (A) on the date on which the individual be- 11 comes a Federal worker; and 12 (B) periodically after the date described in 13 subparagraph (A), including on the date on 14 which any shutdown begins. 15 (2) LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL BRANCH.— 16 With respect to a Federal worker in a Government 17 agency in the legislative branch or judicial branch, 18 (or, in the case of a Federal worker who is an em- 19 ployee of a contractor, who provides services at a 20 Government agency in the legislative branch or judi- 21 cial branch), the officer or employee at the Govern- 22 ment agency who has the final authority to appoint, 23 hire, discharge, and set the terms, conditions, or 24 privileges of the employment of the Federal worker 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S72.IS S72 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 72 IS shall provide the notice required under paragraph 1 (1). 2 SEC. 5. ANTICIPATORY RELIEF. 3 A Federal worker who is furloughed or required to 4 work without pay during a shutdown may apply to a court 5 for a temporary stay, postponement, or suspension with 6 respect to any payment of rent, mortgage, tax, fine, pen- 7 alty, insurance premium, student loan repayment, or other 8 civil obligation or liability that the Federal worker or indi- 9 vidual, as applicable, owes or would owe during the dura- 10 tion of the shutdown. 11 SEC. 6. EVICTIONS. 12 (a) COURT-ORDERED EVICTION.—Except by the 13 order of a court, a landlord may not, during a shutdown— 14 (1) evict a Federal worker from premises that 15 are occupied or intended to be occupied primarily as 16 a residence; or 17 (2) subject premises described in paragraph (1) 18 to a distress. 19 (b) STAY OF EXECUTION.— 20 (1) COURT AUTHORITY.—Upon an application 21 for eviction or distress with respect to premises de- 22 scribed in subsection (a)(1), a court may, upon mo- 23 tion of the court, and shall, if a request is made by 24 or on behalf of a Federal worker, the ability of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S72.IS S72 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 72 IS whom to pay the rent that is the subject of the ac- 1 tion is materially affected by a shutdown— 2 (A) stay the proceedings for a period of 30 3 days, unless, in the opinion of the court, justice 4 and equity require a longer or shorter period of 5 time; or 6 (B) adjust the obligation under the lease to 7 preserve the interests of all parties. 8 (2) RELIEF TO LANDLORD.—If a court grants 9 a stay under paragraph (1), the court may grant to 10 the landlord (or other person with paramount title) 11 such relief as equity may require. 12 (c) MISDEMEANOR.—Except as provided in sub- 13 section (a), a person that knowingly takes part in an evic- 14 tion or distress described in that subsection, or that know- 15 ingly attempts to take part in an eviction or distress de- 16 scribed in that subsection, shall be fined as provided in 17 title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more 18 than 1 year, or both. 19 SEC. 7. MORTGAGE PROTECTION AND FORECLOSURES. 20 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 21 action’’ means an action relating to an obligation— 22 (1) with respect to real or personal property 23 owned by a Federal worker; and 24 (2) that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S72.IS S72 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 72 IS (A) originated before the date on which a 1 shutdown begins; 2 (B) is in effect on the date on which a 3 shutdown begins; and 4 (C) is secured by a mortgage, trust deed, 5 or other security in the nature of a mortgage. 6 (b) STAY OF PROCEEDINGS AND ADJUSTMENT OF 7 OBLIGATION.—If a covered action is filed in a court dur- 8 ing a covered period, the court may, after a hearing and 9 upon the motion of the court, and shall, upon application 10 by the Federal worker if the ability of the Federal worker 11 to comply with the covered obligation is materially affected 12 by the shutdown— 13 (1) stay the proceedings for a period of time as 14 justice and equity require; or 15 (2) adjust the obligation to preserve the inter- 16 ests of all parties. 17 (c) SALE OR FORECLOSURE.—A sale, foreclosure, or 18 seizure of property for a breach of an obligation described 19 in subsection (a) by a Federal worker shall not be valid 20 if made during a covered period except upon the order of 21 a court that is granted before that sale, foreclosure, or 22 seizure, as applicable, with a return made and approved 23 by the court. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S72.IS S72 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 72 IS (d) MISDEMEANOR.—A person that knowingly makes 1 or causes to be made a sale, foreclosure, or seizure of prop- 2 erty that is prohibited under subsection (c), or that know- 3 ingly attempts to make or cause to be made a sale, fore- 4 closure, or seizure of property that is prohibited under 5 that subsection, shall be fined as provided in title 18, 6 United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than 1 7 year, or both. 8 SEC. 8. LIENS. 9 (a) LIENS.— 10 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 11 ‘‘lien’’ includes— 12 (A) a lien— 13 (i) for storage, repair, or cleaning of 14 the property or effects of a Federal work- 15 er; and 16 (ii) on the property or effects de- 17 scribed in clause (i) for any reason other 18 than a reason described in that clause; and 19 (B) a loan that a Federal worker has ob- 20 tained with respect to a motor vehicle. 21 (2) LIMITATION ON FORECLOSURE OR EN- 22 FORCEMENT.—A person holding a lien on the prop- 23 erty or effects of a Federal worker may not, during 24 a covered period, foreclose on or enforce that lien 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S72.IS S72 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 72 IS without the order of a court that was issued before 1 the date on which that foreclosure or enforcement 2 occurs. 3 (b) STAY OF PROCEEDINGS.—In a proceeding to 4 foreclose on or enforce a lien that is subject to this section, 5 a court may, upon the motion of the court, and shall, if 6 requested by a Federal worker, the ability of whom to 7 comply with the obligation resulting in the proceeding is 8 materially affected by a shutdown— 9 (1) stay the proceeding for a period of time as 10 justice and equity require; or 11 (2) adjust the obligation to preserve the inter- 12 ests of all parties. 13 (c) MISDEMEANOR.—A person that knowingly takes 14 an action that violates this section, or attempts to take 15 an action that violates this section, shall be fined as pro- 16 vided in title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for 17 not more than 1 year, or both. 18 SEC. 9. STUDENT LOANS. 19 (a) DEFINITION OF STUDENT LOAN.—In this sec- 20 tion, the term ‘‘student loan’’ means the following: 21 (1) A loan made, insured, or guaranteed under 22 title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 23 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), including any Federal Direct 24 Stafford Loan, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Staf- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S72.IS S72 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 72 IS ford Loan, Federal Direct PLUS Loan, or Federal 1 Direct Consolidation Loan. 2 (2) A private education loan, as such term is 3 defined in section 140(a) of the Truth in Lending 4 Act (15 U.S.C. 1650(a)). 5 (b) APPLICATION TO STUDENT LOANS.—This section 6 shall apply to any situation in which— 7 (1) the student loan payment of a Federal 8 worker falls due or remains unpaid during a shut- 9 down; and 10 (2) during the shutdown described in paragraph 11 (1), the Federal worker described in that paragraph 12 has been furloughed or required to work without 13 pay. 14 (c) DEFERMENT ELIGIBILITY.—During a covered pe- 15 riod, a Federal worker shall be eligible for deferment, dur- 16 ing which, with respect to a student loan, periodic install- 17 ments of principal need not be paid and interest shall not 18 accrue. 19 (d) LIMITATION ON DEFAULTS.—If the student loan 20 payment of a Federal worker falls due and remains unpaid 21 during a shutdown, the lender with respect to the student 22 loan may not place the loan in default without the order 23 of a court. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S72.IS S72 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 72 IS (e) LIMITATION ON COLLECTIONS.—If the student 1 loan of a Federal worker has been placed in default before 2 the date on which a shutdown begins, the lender with re- 3 spect to the student loan may not, without the order of 4 a court, perform any of the following activities during the 5 covered period with respect to the shutdown: 6 (1) Send the loan to collection. 7 (2) Report adverse information with respect to 8 the Federal worker to a consumer reporting agency. 9 (3) Garnish wages, tax refunds, or government 10 benefits. 11 (f) COURT STAY.—In a proceeding to collect a stu- 12 dent loan payment that is subject to this section, a court 13 may, upon the motion of the court, and shall, if requested 14 by a Federal worker, the ability of whom to comply with 15 the obligation resulting in the proceeding is materially af- 16 fected by a shutdown— 17 (1) stay the proceeding for a period of time as 18 justice and equity require; or 19 (2) adjust the obligation to preserve the inter- 20 ests of all parties. 21 (g) MISDEMEANOR.—A person that knowingly vio- 22 lates this section, or attempts to violate this section, shall 23 be fined as provided in title 18, United States Code, or 24 imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S72.IS S72 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 72 IS SEC. 10. INCOME TAXES. 1 (a) DEFERRAL OF TAX.—Upon notice to the Internal 2 Revenue Service, the collection of Federal income tax on 3 the income of a Federal worker falling due during a shut- 4 down shall be deferred for a period of not more than 90 5 days after the date on which the shutdown ends if the 6 ability of the Federal worker to pay the income tax is ma- 7 terially affected by the shutdown. 8 (b) ACCRUAL OF INTEREST OR PENALTY.—No inter- 9 est or penalty shall accrue during the period of deferment 10 under subsection (a) by reason of nonpayment on any 11 amount of tax deferred under this section. 12 (c) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—The running of a 13 st [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]