Volunteer First Responder Housing Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8097 To expand eligibility for certain housing programs for qualified volunteer first responders. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 25, 2020 Mrs. AXNE (for herself and Mr. BOST) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To expand eligibility for certain housing programs for qualified volunteer first responders. 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 ‘‘Volunteer First Re- 4 sponder Housing Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) BONA FIDE VOLUNTEER; ELIGIBLE EM- 8 PLOYER; QUALIFIED SERVICES.—The terms ‘‘bona 9 fide volunteer’’, ‘‘eligible employer’’, and ‘‘qualified 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8097.IH H8097 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8097 IH services’’ have the meanings given those terms in 1 section 457(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 2 1986. 3 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 4 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 5 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 6 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 7 (3) QUALIFIED VOLUNTEER FIRST RE- 8 SPONDER.—The term ‘‘qualified volunteer first re- 9 sponder’’ means any individual who— 10 (A) is a bona fide volunteer performing 11 qualified services for an eligible employer; 12 (B) has volunteered for not less than 2 13 continuous years for an eligible employer; 14 (C) during each of the 2 years described in 15 subparagraph (B)— 16 (i) met the minimum requirements for 17 active membership established by the eligi- 18 ble employer; or 19 (ii) if the eligible employer did not es- 20 tablish minimum requirements, volunteered 21 for not less than 200 hours; and 22 (D) is certified as a firefighter or other re- 23 sponder in the State, unit of general local gov- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8097.IH H8097 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8097 IH ernment, or Indian tribe in which the individual 1 is serving as volunteer. 2 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SINGLE FAMILY 3 HOUSING GUARANTEED LOAN PROGRAM. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—A qualified volunteer first re- 5 sponder who submits to the Secretary of Agriculture (re- 6 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) a verification 7 letter in accordance with subsection (b) shall be eligible 8 for a verified adjustment in annual income under section 9 3555.152(c) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or 10 successor regulations), in the amount of $18,000. 11 (b) VERIFICATION LETTER.—To be eligible for a 12 verified deduction under subsection (a), a qualified volun- 13 teer first responder shall submit to the Secretary a 14 verification letter from the head of the eligible employer 15 for which the qualified volunteer first responder volun- 16 teers, which shall— 17 (1) include the date on which the qualified vol- 18 unteer first responder joined the eligible employer as 19 a volunteer; 20 (2) attest to the Secretary that the qualified 21 volunteer first responder— 22 (A) continuously served as a volunteer for 23 the eligible employer during the 2-year period 24 preceding the date of the verification letter; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8097.IH H8097 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8097 IH (B) during each of the 2 years described in 1 subparagraph (A)— 2 (i) met the minimum requirements for 3 active membership established by the eligi- 4 ble employer; or 5 (ii) if the eligible employer did not es- 6 tablish minimum requirements, volunteered 7 for not less than 200 hours; and 8 (3) include a copy of the certification of the 9 qualified volunteer first responder as a firefighter or 10 other responder in the State, unit of general local 11 government, or Indian tribe in which the individual 12 served as a volunteer. 13 SEC. 4. GOOD NEIGHBOR NEXT DOOR SALES PROGRAM. 14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 15 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 16 means the Department of Housing and Urban De- 17 velopment. 18 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 19 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 20 (b) AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary shall amend— 21 (1) section 291.530 of title 24, Code of Federal 22 Regulations, to provide that a qualified volunteer 23 first responder qualifies as a firefighter or emer- 24 gency medical technician for purposes of the Good 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8097.IH H8097 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8097 IH Neighbor Next Door Sales Program of the Depart- 1 ment; and 2 (2) section 291.515 of title 24, Code of Federal 3 Regulations, to provide that, to qualify to purchase 4 a home through the Good Neighbor Next Door Sales 5 Program of the Department, a qualified volunteer 6 first responder shall submit to the Secretary a 7 verification letter from the head of the eligible em- 8 ployer for which the qualified volunteer first re- 9 sponder volunteers, which shall— 10 (A) include the date on which the qualified 11 volunteer first responder joined the eligible em- 12 ployer as a volunteer; 13 (B) attest to the Secretary that the quali- 14 fied volunteer first responder— 15 (i) continuously served as a volunteer 16 for the eligible employer during the 2-year 17 period preceding the date of the verifica- 18 tion letter; and 19 (ii) during each of the 2 years de- 20 scribed in clause (i)— 21 (I) met the minimum require- 22 ments for active membership estab- 23 lished by the eligible employer; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8097.IH H8097 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8097 IH (II) if the eligible employer did 1 not establish minimum requirements, 2 volunteered for not less than 200 3 hours; and 4 (C) include a copy of the certification of 5 the qualified volunteer first responder as a fire- 6 fighter or other responder in the State, unit of 7 general local government, or Indian tribe in 8 which the individual served as a volunteer. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8097.IH H8097 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS