A bill to establish a Housing Assistance Fund at the Department of the Treasury.

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3620 To establish a Housing Assistance Fund at the Department of the Treasury. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 6, 2020 Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. TESTER, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. JONES, Ms. SMITH, Ms. WARREN, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. WARNER, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. UDALL, Mr. BOOKER, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MERKLEY, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To establish a Housing Assistance Fund at the Department of the Treasury. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. HOUSING ASSISTANCE FUND. 3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 (1) CONFORMING LOAN LIMIT.—The term ‘‘con- 5 forming loan limit’’ means the applicable limitation 6 governing the maximum original principal obligation 7 for a mortgage secured by a single-family residence, 8 a mortgage secured by a 2-family residence, a mort- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 May 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3620.IS S3620 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3620 IS gage secured by a 3-family residence, or a mortgage 1 secured by a 4-family residence, as determined and 2 adjusted annually under section 302(b)(2) of the 3 Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act 4 (12 U.S.C. 1717(b)(2)) and section 305(a)(2) of the 5 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act (12 6 U.S.C. 1454(a)(2)). 7 (2) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘eligible 8 household’’ means a household whose income does 9 not exceed 150 percent of the area median income 10 for their household size, as determined by the Sec- 11 retary of Housing and Urban Development. 12 (3) MORTGAGE.—The term ‘‘mortgage’’ means 13 a mortgage— 14 (A) that is secured by the principal resi- 15 dence of a borrower; and 16 (B) the unpaid principal balance of which 17 was, at the time of origination, not more than 18 the conforming loan limit. 19 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 20 the Secretary of the Treasury. 21 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 22 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 23 any territory of the United States, the Common- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 May 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3620.IS S3620 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3620 IS wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the 1 Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. 2 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab- 3 lished at the Department of the Treasury a Housing As- 4 sistance Fund to provide such funds as are appropriated 5 in subsection (f) to State housing finance agencies and 6 any entity named under subsection (j) for the purpose of 7 preventing homeowner mortgage defaults, foreclosures, 8 and displacements of individuals and families experiencing 9 financial hardship after January 21, 2020. 10 (c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 12 such criteria as are necessary to allocate the funds 13 available within the Housing Assistance Fund to 14 each State. The Secretary shall allocate such funds 15 among all States taking into consideration the num- 16 ber of unemployment claims within a State relative 17 to the nation-wide number of unemployment claims. 18 (2) SMALL STATE MINIMUM.—Each State of 19 the United States, the District of Columbia, and the 20 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall receive no less 21 than $250,000,000 for the purposes established in 22 (b). 23 (3) TERRITORY SET-ASIDE.—Notwithstanding 24 any other provision of this section, of the amounts 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 May 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3620.IS S3620 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3620 IS appropriated under subsection (f), the Secretary 1 shall reserve $200,000,000 to be disbursed to Guam, 2 American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the North- 3 ern Mariana Islands based on each such territory’s 4 share of the combined total population of all such 5 territories, as determined by the Secretary. For the 6 purposes of this paragraph, population shall be de- 7 termined based on the most recent year for which 8 data are available from the United States Census 9 Bureau. 10 (4) TRIBAL SET-ASIDE.—The Secretary shall 11 allocate funds to an entity designated under sub- 12 section (j) pursuant to the requirements of that sub- 13 section. 14 (d) DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.— 15 (1) INITIAL DISBURSEMENT.—The Secretary 16 shall disburse to the State housing finance agencies 17 and entities designated under subsection (j) not less 18 than 1⁄2 of the amount made available pursuant to 19 this section, and in accordance with the allocations 20 established under subsections (c) and (j), not later 21 than 120 days after the date of enactment of this 22 Act. The Secretary or designee shall enter into a 23 contract with each State housing finance agency and 24 each entity designated under subsection (j), which 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 May 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3620.IS S3620 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3620 IS may be amended from time to time, establishing the 1 terms of the use of such funds, in accordance with 2 subsection (e), prior to the disbursement of such 3 funds. 4 (2) SECOND DISBURSEMENT.—The Secretary 5 shall disburse all funds made available pursuant to 6 this section, and in accordance with the allocations 7 established under subsections (c) and (j), not later 8 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 9 Act. 10 (e) PERMISSIBLE USES OF FUND.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds made available to 12 State housing finance agencies and designated enti- 13 ties under subsection (j) pursuant to this section 14 may be used to assist eligible households for the pur- 15 poses established under subsection (b), which may 16 include— 17 (A) mortgage payment assistance; 18 (B) financial assistance to allow a bor- 19 rower to reinstate their mortgage following a 20 period of forbearance; 21 (C) principal reduction; 22 (D) payment assistance for— 23 (i) utilities, including electric, gas, 24 and water; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 May 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3620.IS S3620 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3620 IS (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); and 5 (iii) property taxes; 6 (E) any program established under the 7 Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for 8 the Hardest Hit Housing Markets; 9 (F) reimbursement of funds expended by a 10 State or local government during the period be- 11 ginning on January 21, 2020, and ending on 12 the date that the first funds are disbursed by 13 the State under the Housing Assistance Fund, 14 for the purpose of providing housing or utility 15 payment assistance to individuals or otherwise 16 providing funds to prevent foreclosure or evic- 17 tion of a homeowner or tenant or prevent mort- 18 gage delinquency or loss of housing or utilities 19 as a response to the coronavirus disease 2019 20 (COVID–19) pandemic; and 21 (G) any other assistance to prevent evic- 22 tion, mortgage delinquency or default, fore- 23 closure, or the loss of utility services for an eli- 24 gible household. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 May 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3620.IS S3620 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3620 IS (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not greater 1 than 10 percent of the amount allocated to a State 2 or an entity pursuant to subsections (c) or (j) may 3 be used by a State housing financing agency or an 4 entity for administrative expenses. Any amounts al- 5 located to administrative expenses that are no longer 6 necessary for administrative expenses may be used 7 in accordance with paragraph (1). 8 (f) APPROPRIATION.—There is appropriated, out of 9 amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for 10 the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, to remain 11 available until expended or transferred or credited under 12 subsection (h) or subsection (j), $75,000,000,000 to the 13 Housing Assistance Fund established under subsection 14 (b). 15 (g) USE OF HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY INNOVATION 16 FUND FOR THE HARDEST HIT HOUSING MARKETS 17 FUNDS.—A State housing finance agency may reallocate 18 any administrative or programmatic funds it has received 19 as an allocation from the Housing Finance Agency Inno- 20 vation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets created 21 pursuant to section 101(a) of the Emergency Economic 22 Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5211(a)) that have 23 not been otherwise allocated or disbursed as of the date 24 of enactment of this Act to supplement any administrative 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 May 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3620.IS S3620 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3620 IS or programmatic funds received from the Housing Assist- 1 ance Fund. Such reallocated funds shall not be considered 2 when allocating resources from the Housing Assistance 3 Fund using the process established under subsection (c) 4 and shall remain available for the uses permitted in sub- 5 section (e) and under the terms and conditions established 6 by the contract with the Secretary created pursuant to 7 subsection (d)(1) and the terms of subsection (h). 8 (h) RESCISSION OF FUNDS.—Any funds that have 9 not been allocated by a State housing finance agency to 10 provide assistance as described under subsection (e) by 11 December 31, 2030, shall be reallocated by the Secretary 12 in the following manner: 13 (1) 65 percent shall be transferred or credited 14 to the Housing Trust Fund established under sec- 15 tion 1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Fi- 16 nancial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 17 U.S.C. 4568); and 18 (2) 35 percent shall be transferred or credited 19 to the Capital Magnet Fund under section 1339 of 20 the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety 21 and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4569). 22 (i) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 23 shall provide public reports not less frequently than quar- 24 terly regarding the use of funds provided by the Housing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 May 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3620.IS S3620 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3620 IS Assistance Fund. Such reports shall include the following 1 data by State or entity receiving funds pursuant to sub- 2 section (j) and by program within each State or entity re- 3 ceiving funds pursuant to subsection (j), both for the past 4 quarter and for the life of the program— 5 (1) the amount of funds allocated; 6 (2) the amount of funds disbursed; 7 (3) the number of households and individuals 8 assisted; 9 (4) the acceptance rate of applicants; 10 (5) the average amount of assistance provided 11 per household receiving assistance; 12 (6) the average length of assistance provided 13 per household receiving assistance; 14 (7) the income ranges of households for each 15 household receiving assistance; 16 (8) demographic information about each house- 17 hold receiving assistance, including race, ethnicity, 18 and service member status; and 19 (9) the outcome 12 months after the household 20 has received assistance. 21 (j) TRIBAL SET-ASIDE.— 22 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 23 (A) DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME 24 LANDS.—The term ‘‘Department of Hawaiian 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 May 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3620.IS S3620 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3620 IS Home Lands’’ has the meaning given the term 1 in section 801 of the Native American Housing 2 Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 3 (42 U.S.C. 4221). 4 (B) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘eli- 5 gible recipient’’ means any entity eligible to re- 6 ceive a grant under section 101 of the Native 7 American Housing Assistance and Self-Deter- 8 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4111). 9 (2) SET-ASIDE.— 10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 11 other provision of this section, of the amounts 12 appropriated under subsection (f), the Secretary 13 shall use 5 percent to make grants to eligible 14 recipients for the purposes described in sub- 15 section (e)(1). 16 (B) NATIVE HAWAIIAN SET-ASIDE.—Of the 17 funds set aside under subparagraph (A), the 18 Secretary shall use 0.3 percent to make grants 19 to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands 20 for the purposes described in subsection (e)(1). 21 (3) REQUIREMENTS.— 22 (A) ALLOCATION.—Except for the funds 23 set aside under paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary 24 shall allocate the funds set aside under para- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 May 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3620.IS S3620 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3620 IS graph (2)(A) using the allocation formula de- 1 scribed in subpart D of part 1000 of title 24, 2 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu- 3 lations). 4 (B) NATIVE HAWAIIANS.—The Secretary 5 shall use the funds made available under para- 6 graph (2)(B) in accordance with part 1006 of 7 title 24, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc- 8 cessor regulations). 9 (4) RESCISSION.—The Secretary shall transfer 10 any funds made available under paragraph (2) that 11 have not been allocated by an eligible recipient or 12 the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, as appli- 13 cable, to provide the assistance described in sub- 14 section (e)(1) by December 31, 2030, to the Sec- 15 retary of Housing and Urban Development to carry 16 out the Native American Housing Assistance and 17 Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et 18 seq.). 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 May 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3620.IS S3620 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS