[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2912 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2912

    To require lenders of loans with Federal guarantees or Federal 
              insurance to consent to mandatory mediation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 18, 2009

  Mr. Nelson of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To require lenders of loans with Federal guarantees or Federal 
              insurance to consent to mandatory mediation.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Foreclosure Mandatory Mediation Act 
of 2009''.

SEC. 2. MANDATORY MEDIATION.

    Title I of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 
(Public Law 111-22; 12 U.S.C. 5201 note) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``SEC. 106. MANDATORY MEDIATION.

    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
before a qualified mortgagee may initiate a foreclosure proceeding or a 
sheriff sale, the qualified mortgagee shall conduct, consistent with 
any applicable State or local requirements, a one-time mediation with 
the affected mortgagor and a housing counseling agency, at the expense 
of the qualified mortgagee.
    ``(b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `housing counseling agency' means--
                    ``(A) a housing counseling agency certified by the 
                Secretary under section 106(e) of the Housing and Urban 
                Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x(e)); or
                    ``(B) a neighborhood housing services program 
                established by the Neighborhood Reinvestment 
                Corporation under section 606 of the Housing and 
                Community Development Amendments of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 
                8105); and
            ``(2) the term `qualified mortgagee' means an entity--
                    ``(A) that makes a mortgage loan for, or holds a 
                note secured by, a one- to four-family residence that 
                is--
                            ``(i) insured under title II of the 
                        National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.);
                            ``(ii) guaranteed, insured, or made under 
                        chapter 37 of title 38, United States Code;
                            ``(iii) made, guaranteed, or insured under 
                        title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 
                        1471 et seq.); or
                            ``(iv) eligible for purchase by the Federal 
                        National Mortgage Association or the Federal 
                        Home Loan Mortgage Corporation; or
                    ``(B) that is acting, or otherwise authorized to 
                act, as the mortgagee of record for a lender, including 
                any entity, such as the Mortgage Electronic 
                Registration Systems or MERS, acting as a nominee for a 
                lender in any suit brought against a mortgagor.''.
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