Hardest Hit Housing Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2295 To provide additional funding for the public housing Capital Fund for large public housing agencies, for mortgage foreclosure mitigation assistance, and for incremental rental assistance vouchers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 12, 2019 Ms. CLARKE of New York (for herself, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. MENG, and Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To provide additional funding for the public housing Capital Fund for large public housing agencies, for mortgage foreclosure mitigation assistance, and for incremental rental assistance vouchers, 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 ‘‘Hardest Hit Housing 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2295.IH H2295 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2295 IH SEC. 2. CAPITAL FUND AMOUNTS FOR LARGE PUBLIC 1 HOUSING AGENCIES. 2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi- 3 tion to any amounts authorized to be appropriated for for- 4 mula grants to public housing agencies from the Capital 5 Fund pursuant to section 9(d)(2) of the United States 6 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(d)(2)), there is 7 authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000,000 for each of 8 fiscal years 2019 through 2023 for the Public Housing 9 Capital Fund Program under section 9(d) of the United 10 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(b)). 11 (b) ELIGIBLE PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES.—Any 12 amounts appropriated pursuant to this section shall be 13 used by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 14 only for grants to public housing agencies that own or ad- 15 minister more than 10,000 public housing dwelling units. 16 (c) ELIGIBLE USES.—Funds from grants made with 17 amounts appropriated pursuant to this section may be 18 used only for eligible capital activities under section 19 9(d)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 20 U.S.C. 1437g(d)(1)). Section 9(g)(3) of such Act shall not 21 apply to any such grant funds. 22 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO NEIGHBORWORKS FOR MORTGAGE 23 FORECLOSURE MITIGATION ACTIVITIES. 24 There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000, 25 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023 for assistance 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2295.IH H2295 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2295 IH to the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation for mort- 1 gage foreclosure mitigation activities, under the following 2 terms and conditions: 3 (1) MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE MITIGATION 4 COUNSELING.— 5 (A) The Neighborhood Reinvestment Cor- 6 poration (in this section referred to as the 7 ‘‘NRC’’) may make grants under this para- 8 graph to counseling intermediaries approved by 9 the Department of Housing and Urban Devel- 10 opment (in this section referred to as ‘‘HUD’’) 11 (with match to be determined by NRC based on 12 affordability and the economic conditions of an 13 area; a match also may be waived by NRC 14 based on the aforementioned conditions) to pro- 15 vide mortgage foreclosure mitigation assistance 16 to the 15 States with highest rates of home 17 mortgage defaults and foreclosures, as of Janu- 18 ary 1, 2019, to help eliminate the default and 19 foreclosure of mortgages of owner-occupied sin- 20 gle-family homes that are at risk of such fore- 21 closure and located in metropolitan statistical 22 areas having the greatest such need. Other than 23 areas with high rates of defaults and fore- 24 closures, grants may also be provided to ap- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2295.IH H2295 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2295 IH proved counseling intermediaries based on a ge- 1 ographic analysis of the Nation by NRC which 2 determines where there is a prevalence of mort- 3 gages that are risky and likely to fail, including 4 any trends for mortgages that are likely to de- 5 fault and face foreclosure. A State Housing Fi- 6 nance Agency may also be eligible where the 7 State Housing Finance Agency meets all the re- 8 quirements under this paragraph. A HUD-ap- 9 proved counseling intermediary shall meet cer- 10 tain mortgage foreclosure mitigation assistance 11 counseling requirements, as determined by 12 NRC, and shall be approved by HUD or NRC 13 as meeting these requirements. 14 (B) Mortgage foreclosure mitigation assist- 15 ance shall only be made available to home- 16 owners of owner-occupied homes with mort- 17 gages in default or in danger of default. These 18 mortgages shall likely be subject to a fore- 19 closure action and homeowners will be provided 20 such assistance that shall consist of activities 21 that are likely to prevent foreclosures and result 22 in the long-term affordability of the mortgage 23 retained pursuant to such activity or another 24 positive outcome for the homeowner. No funds 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2295.IH H2295 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2295 IH made available pursuant to this paragraph may 1 be provided directly to lenders or homeowners 2 to discharge outstanding mortgage balances or 3 for any other direct debt reduction payments. 4 (C) The use of mortgage foreclosure miti- 5 gation assistance by approved counseling inter- 6 mediaries and State Housing Finance Agencies 7 shall involve a reasonable analysis of the bor- 8 rower’s financial situation, an evaluation of the 9 current value of the property that is subject to 10 the mortgage, counseling regarding the assump- 11 tion of the mortgage by another non-Federal 12 party, counseling regarding the possible pur- 13 chase of the mortgage by a non-Federal third 14 party, counseling and advice of all likely re- 15 structuring and refinancing strategies or the 16 approval of a work-out strategy by all interested 17 parties. 18 (D) NRC may provide up to 15 percent of 19 the total funds made available pursuant to this 20 paragraph to its own charter members with ex- 21 pertise in foreclosure prevention counseling, 22 subject to a certification by NRC that the pro- 23 cedures for selection do not consist of any pro- 24 cedures or activities that could be construed as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2295.IH H2295 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2295 IH a conflict of interest or have the appearance of 1 impropriety. 2 (E) HUD-approved counseling entities and 3 State Housing Finance Agencies receiving 4 funds made available pursuant to this para- 5 graph shall have demonstrated experience in 6 successfully working with financial institutions 7 as well as borrowers facing default, delinquency, 8 and foreclosure as well as documented coun- 9 seling capacity, outreach capacity, past success- 10 ful performance and positive outcomes with doc- 11 umented counseling plans (including post-mort- 12 gage foreclosure mitigation counseling), loan 13 workout agreements, and loan modification 14 agreements. NRC may use other criteria to 15 demonstrate capacity in underserved areas. 16 (F) Of the total amount made available 17 pursuant to this paragraph, up to $250,000 18 may be made available to build the mortgage 19 foreclosure and default mitigation counseling 20 capacity of counseling intermediaries through 21 NRC training courses with HUD-approved 22 counseling intermediaries and their partners, 23 except that private financial institutions that 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2295.IH H2295 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2295 IH participate in NRC training shall pay market 1 rates for such training. 2 (G) Of the total amount made available 3 pursuant to this paragraph, up to 5 percent 4 may be used for associated administrative ex- 5 penses for NRC to carry out activities provided 6 under this paragraph. 7 (H) Mortgage foreclosure mitigation assist- 8 ance grants may include a budget for outreach 9 and advertising, and training, as determined by 10 NRC. 11 (I) NRC shall report bi-annually to the 12 House and Senate Committees on Appropria- 13 tions as well as the Senate Committee on Bank- 14 ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the House 15 Committee on Financial Services on its efforts 16 to mitigate mortgage default. 17 (2) LEGAL ASSISTANCE.— 18 (A) The Neighborhood Reinvestment Cor- 19 poration may make grants to counseling inter- 20 mediaries approved by HUD or the NRC to 21 hire attorneys to assist homeowners who have 22 legal issues directly related to the homeowner’s 23 foreclosure, delinquency, or short sale. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2295.IH H2295 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2295 IH (B) Such attorneys shall be capable of as- 1 sisting homeowners of owner-occupied homes 2 with mortgages in default, in danger of default, 3 or subject to or at risk of foreclosure and who 4 have legal issues that cannot be handled by 5 counselors already employed by such inter- 6 mediaries. 7 (C) Grants under this paragraph may only 8 be made to counseling intermediaries and legal 9 organizations that (i) provide legal assistance in 10 the 15 States with the highest rates of home 11 mortgage defaults and foreclosures, as of Janu- 12 ary 1, 2019, and (ii) have the capacity to begin 13 using the financial assistance within 90 days 14 after receipt of the assistance. 15 (D) No funds made available pursuant to 16 this paragraph shall be used to provide, obtain, 17 or arrange on behalf of a homeowner, legal rep- 18 resentation involving or for the purposes of civil 19 litigation. 20 SEC. 4. INCREMENTAL HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER ASSIST- 21 ANCE. 22 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 23 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2019 24 through 2023 such sums as may be necessary to provide 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2295.IH H2295 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2295 IH in each such fiscal year 20,000 incremental vouchers for 1 rental assistance under section 8(o) of the United States 2 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)). 3 (b) ELIGIBLE PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES.—Any 4 amounts appropriated pursuant to this section shall be 5 used by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 6 only to provide additional amounts for rental assistance 7 vouchers for public housing agencies that administer 8 10,000 or more vouchers for rental assistance under such 9 section 8(o). 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2295.IH H2295 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS