COVID-19 Homeowner Assistance Fund Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6729 To establish a Homeowner Assistance Fund to provide funds to State housing finance agencies for the purpose of preventing homeowner mortgage defaults, foreclosures, and displacements of individuals and families expe- riencing financial hardship, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 5, 2020 Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia (for himself and Ms. WATERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a Homeowner Assistance Fund to provide funds to State housing finance agencies for the purpose of preventing homeowner mortgage defaults, foreclosures, and displacements of individuals and families experi- encing financial hardship, 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 ‘‘COVID-19 Home- 4 owner Assistance Fund Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 May 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6729.IH H6729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6729 IH SEC. 2. HOMEOWNER ASSISTANCE FUND. 1 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 2 (1) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 3 Homeowner Assistance Fund established under sub- 4 section (b). 5 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 6 the Secretary of the Treasury. 7 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 8 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 9 any territory of the United States, Puerto Rico, 10 Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the 11 Northern Mariana Islands. 12 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab- 13 lished at the Department of the Treasury a Homeowner 14 Assistance Fund to provide such funds as are made avail- 15 able under subsection (g) to State housing finance agen- 16 cies for the purpose of preventing homeowner mortgage 17 defaults, foreclosures, and displacements of individuals 18 and families experiencing financial hardship after January 19 21, 2020. 20 (c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 21 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—Of any amounts made 22 available for the Fund, the Secretary of the Treas- 23 ury may allocate, in the aggregate, an amount not 24 exceeding 5 percent— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 May 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6729.IH H6729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6729 IH (A) to the Office of Financial Stability es- 1 tablished under section 101(a) of the Emer- 2 gency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 3 U.S.C. 5211(a)) to administer and oversee the 4 Fund, and to provide technical assistance to 5 States for the creation and implementation of 6 State programs to administer assistance from 7 the Fund; and 8 (B) to the Inspector General of the De- 9 partment of the Treasury for oversight of the 10 program under this section. 11 (2) FOR STATES.—The Secretary shall establish 12 such criteria as are necessary to allocate the funds 13 available within the Fund for each State. The Sec- 14 retary shall allocate such funds among all States 15 taking into consideration the number of unemploy- 16 ment claims within a State relative to the nationwide 17 number of unemployment claims. 18 (3) SMALL STATE MINIMUM.—The amount allo- 19 cated for each State shall not be less than 20 $250,000,000. 21 (4) SET-ASIDE FOR INSULAR AREAS.—Notwith- 22 standing any other provision of this section, of the 23 amounts appropriated under subsection (g), the Sec- 24 retary shall reserve $200,000,000 to be disbursed to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 May 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6729.IH H6729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6729 IH Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the 1 Northern Mariana Islands based on each such terri- 2 tory’s share of the combined total population of all 3 such territories, as determined by the Secretary. For 4 the purposes of this paragraph, population shall be 5 determined based on the most recent year for which 6 data are available from the United States Census 7 Bureau. 8 (5) SET-ASIDE FOR INDIAN TRIBES AND NATIVE 9 HAWAIIANS.—— 10 (A) INDIAN TRIBES.—Notwithstanding any 11 other provision of this section, of the amounts 12 appropriated under subsection (g), the Sec- 13 retary shall use 5 percent to make grants in ac- 14 cordance with subsection (f) to eligible recipi- 15 ents for the purposes described in subsection 16 (e)(1). 17 (B) NATIVE HAWAIIANS.—Of the funds set 18 aside under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 19 shall use 0.3 percent to make grants to the De- 20 partment of Hawaiian Home Lands in accord- 21 ance with subsection (f) for the purposes de- 22 scribed in subsection (e)(1). 23 (d) DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 May 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6729.IH H6729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6729 IH (1) ADMINISTRATION.—Except for amounts 1 made available for assistance under subsection (f), 2 State housing finance agencies shall be primarily re- 3 sponsible for administering amounts disbursed from 4 the Fund, but may delegate responsibilities and sub- 5 allocate amounts to community development finan- 6 cial institutions and State agencies that administer 7 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program of 8 the Department of Health and Human Services. 9 (2) NOTICE OF FUNDING.—The Secretary shall 10 provide public notice of the amounts that will be 11 made available to each State and the method used 12 for determining such amounts not later than the ex- 13 piration of the 14-day period beginning on the date 14 of the enactment of this Act of enactment. 15 (3) SHFA PLANS.— 16 (A) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive 17 funding allocated for a State under the section, 18 a State housing finance agency for the State 19 shall submit to the Secretary a plan for the im- 20 plementation of State programs to administer, 21 in part or in full, the amount of funding the 22 State is eligible to receive, which shall provide 23 for the commencement of receipt of applications 24 by homeowners for assistance, and funding of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6729.IH H6729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6729 IH such applications, not later than the expiration 1 of the 6-month period beginning upon the ap- 2 proval under this paragraph of such plan. 3 (B) MULTIPLE PLANS.—A State housing 4 finance agency may submit multiple plans, each 5 covering a separate portion of funding for 6 which the State is eligible. 7 (C) TIMING.—The Secretary shall approve 8 or disapprove a plan within 30 days after the 9 plan’s submission and, if disapproved, explain 10 why the plan could not be approved. 11 (D) DISBURSEMENT UPON APPROVAL.— 12 The Secretary shall disburse to a State housing 13 finance agency the appropriate amount of fund- 14 ing upon approval of the agency’s plan. 15 (E) AMENDMENTS.—A State housing fi- 16 nance agency may subsequently amend a plan 17 that has previously been approved, provided 18 that any plan amendment shall be subject to 19 the approval of the Secretary. The Secretary 20 shall approve any plan amendment or dis- 21 approve such amendment explain why the plan 22 amendment could not be approved within 45 23 days after submission to the Secretary of such 24 amendment. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6729.IH H6729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6729 IH (F) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Sec- 1 retary shall provide technical assistance for any 2 State housing finance agency that twice fails to 3 have a submitted plan approved. 4 (e) PERMISSIBLE USES OF FUND.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds made available to 6 State housing finance agencies pursuant to this sec- 7 tion may be used for the purposes established under 8 subsection (b), which may include— 9 (A) mortgage payment assistance, includ- 10 ing financial assistance to allow a borrower to 11 reinstate their mortgage or to achieve a more 12 affordable mortgage payment, which may in- 13 clude principal reduction or rate reduction, pro- 14 vided that any mortgage payment assistance is 15 tailored to a borrower’s needs and their ability 16 to repay, and takes into consideration the loss 17 mitigation options available to the borrower; 18 (B) assistance with payment of taxes, haz- 19 ard insurance, flood insurance, mortgage insur- 20 ance, or homeowners’ association fees; 21 (C) utility payment assistance, including 22 electric, gas, water, and internet service, includ- 23 ing broadband internet access service (as such 24 term is defined in section 8.1(b) of title 47, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 May 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6729.IH H6729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6729 IH Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 1 regulation)); 2 (D) reimbursement of funds expended by a 3 State or local government during the period be- 4 ginning on January 21, 2020, and ending on 5 the date that the first funds are disbursed by 6 the State under the Fund, for the purpose of 7 providing housing or utility assistance to indi- 8 viduals or otherwise providing funds to prevent 9 foreclosure or eviction of a homeowner or pre- 10 vent mortgage delinquency or loss of housing or 11 critical utilities as a response to the coronavirus 12 disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic; and 13 (E) any other assistance for homeowners 14 to prevent eviction, mortgage delinquency or de- 15 fault, foreclosure, or the loss of essential utility 16 services. 17 (2) TARGETING.— 18 (A) REQUIREMENT.—Not less than 60 per- 19 cent of amounts made available for each State 20 or other entity allocated amounts under sub- 21 section (c) shall be used for activities under 22 paragraph (1) that assist homeowners having 23 incomes equal to or less than 80 percent of the 24 area median income. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 May 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6729.IH H6729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6729 IH (B) DETERMINATION OF INCOME.—In de- 1 termining the income of a household for pur- 2 poses of this paragraph, income shall be consid- 3 ered to include only income that the household 4 is receiving at the time of application for assist- 5 ance from the Fund and any income recently 6 terminated shall not be included, except that for 7 purposes of households receiving assistance for 8 arrearages income shall include only the income 9 that the household was receiving at the time 10 such arrearages were incurred. 11 (C) LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE.—Each State 12 housing finance agency or other entity allocated 13 amounts under subsection (c) shall make avail- 14 able to each applicant for assistance from 15 amounts from the Fund language assistance in 16 any language that such language assistance is 17 available in and shall provide notice to each 18 such applicant that such language assistance is 19 available. 20 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more 21 than 15 percent of the amount allocated to a State 22 pursuant to subsection (c) may be used by a State 23 housing financing agency for administrative ex- 24 penses. Any amounts allocated to administrative ex- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 May 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6729.IH H6729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6729 IH penses that are no longer necessary for administra- 1 tive expenses may be used in accordance with para- 2 graph (1). 3 (f) TRIBAL AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN ASSISTANCE.— 4 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 5 (A) DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME 6 LANDS.—The term ‘‘Department of Hawaiian 7 Home Lands’’ has the meaning given the term 8 in section 801 of the Native American Housing 9 Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 10 (42 U.S.C. 4221). 11 (B) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘eli- 12 gible recipient’’ means any entity eligible to re- 13 ceive a grant under section 101 of the Native 14 American Housing Assistance and Self-Deter- 15 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4111). 16 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 17 (A) ALLOCATION.—Except for the funds 18 set aside under subsection (c)(5)(B), the Sec- 19 retary shall allocate the funds set aside under 20 subsection (c)(5)(A) using the allocation for- 21 mula described in subpart D of part 1000 of 22 title 24, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 23 successor regulations). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 May 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6729.IH H6729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6729 IH (B) NATIVE HAWAIIANS.—The Secretary 1 shall use the funds made available under sub- 2 section (c)(5)(B) in accordance with part 1006 3 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc- 4 cessor regulations). 5 (3) TRANSFER.—The Secretary shall transfer 6 any funds made available under subsection (c)(5) 7 that have not been allocated by an eligible recipient 8 or the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, as ap- 9 plicable, to provide the assistance described in sub- 10 section (e)(1) by December 31, 2030, to the Sec- 11 retary of Housing and Urban Development to carry 12 out the Native American Housing Assistance and 13 Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et 14 seq.). 15 (g) FUNDING.— 16 (1) APPROPRIATION.—There is appropriated, 17 out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise ap- 18 propriated, to the Homeowner Assistance Fund es- 19 tablished under subsection (b), $75,000,000,000, to 20 remain available until expended or transferred or 21 credited under subsection (i). 22 (2) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—Amounts 23 specified under subsection (a) are designated by the 24 Congress as being for an emergency requirement 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 May 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6729.IH H6729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6729 IH pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced 1 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 2 (h) USE OF HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY INNOVATION 3 FUND FOR THE HARDEST HIT HOUSING MARKETS 4 FUNDS.—A State housing finance agency may reallocate 5 any administrative or programmatic funds it has received 6 as an allocation from the Housing Finance Agency Inno- 7 vation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets created 8 pursuant to section 101(a) of the Emergency Economic 9 Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 [Text truncated for display. 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