Volunteer First Responder Housing Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1988 To expand eligibility for certain housing programs for qualified volunteer first responders. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 14, 2023 Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. TESTER, and Mr. CRAMER) in- troduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 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 06:08 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1988.IS S1988 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1988 IS services’’ have the meanings given those terms in 1 section 457(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 2 1986. 3 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 4 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 5 section 501(b) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 6 U.S.C. 1471(b)). 7 (3) QUALIFIED VOLUNTEER FIRST RE- 8 SPONDER.—The term ‘‘qualified volunteer first re- 9 sponder’’ means any individual who— 10 (A) is a bona fide volunteer performing 11 qualified services for an eligible employer; 12 (B) continuously served as a volunteer for 13 the eligible employer during the 2-year period 14 preceding the date on which the individual sub- 15 mits a verification letter under section 3(b) or 16 4(b); 17 (C) during each of the 2 years described in 18 subparagraph (B)— 19 (i) met the minimum requirements for 20 active membership established by the eligi- 21 ble employer; or 22 (ii) if the eligible employer did not es- 23 tablish minimum requirements, volunteered 24 for not less than 200 hours; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:08 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1988.IS S1988 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1988 IS (D) is certified as a firefighter or other 1 first responder in the State, political subdivision 2 of a State, or jurisdiction of an Indian Tribe in 3 which the individual is serving as volunteer. 4 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SINGLE FAMILY 5 HOUSING GUARANTEED LOAN PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—A qualified volunteer first re- 7 sponder who submits to the Secretary of Agriculture (re- 8 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) a verification 9 letter in accordance with subsection (b) shall be eligible 10 for a deduction in annual income under section 11 3555.152(c) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or 12 any successor regulation), in the amount of $18,000. 13 (b) VERIFICATION LETTER.—To be eligible for a de- 14 duction under subsection (a), a qualified volunteer first 15 responder shall submit to the Secretary a verification let- 16 ter from the head of the eligible employer for which the 17 qualified volunteer first responder volunteers, which 18 shall— 19 (1) include the date on which the qualified vol- 20 unteer first responder joined the eligible employer as 21 a volunteer; 22 (2) attest to the Secretary that the qualified 23 volunteer first responder meets the requirements 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:08 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1988.IS S1988 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1988 IS under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 2(3); 1 and 2 (3) include a copy of the certification described 3 in section 2(3)(D). 4 SEC. 4. GOOD NEIGHBOR NEXT DOOR SALES PROGRAM 5 AND SIMILAR PROGRAMS. 6 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—A qualified volunteer first re- 7 sponder who submits to the Secretary of Housing and 8 Urban Development (referred to in this section as the 9 ‘‘Secretary’’) a verification letter in accordance with sub- 10 section (b) shall qualify as a firefighter or emergency med- 11 ical technician for purposes of any single family property 12 disposition program carried out by the Secretary by regu- 13 lation under section 204(g) of the National Housing Act 14 (12 U.S.C. 1710(g)) that offers discounted home prices 15 to firefighters or emergency medical technicians. 16 (b) VERIFICATION LETTER.—To qualify to purchase 17 a home under a single family property disposition program 18 referred to in subsection (a), a qualified first responder 19 shall submit to the Secretary a verification letter from the 20 head of the eligible employer for which the qualified volun- 21 teer first responder volunteers, which shall— 22 (1) include the date on which the qualified vol- 23 unteer first responder joined the eligible employer as 24 a volunteer; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:08 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1988.IS S1988 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1988 IS (2) attest to the Secretary that the qualified 1 volunteer first responder meets the requirements 2 under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 2(3); 3 (3) include a copy of the certification described 4 in section 2(3)(D); and 5 (4) include a certification from the qualified 6 volunteer first responder of the responder’s good 7 faith intention to continue serving as a volunteer for 8 the eligible employer for not less than 1 year fol- 9 lowing the date of closing. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:08 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1988.IS S1988 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB