[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1263 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1263


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 12, 2011

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
   To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide surviving 
  spouses with certain protections relating to mortgages and mortgage 
                 foreclosures, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. EXPANSION OF PROTECTIONS RELATING TO MORTGAGES AND MORTGAGE 
              FORECLOSURES FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES.

    (a) Protection for Surviving Spouse.--Section 303 of the 
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 533) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Protection for Surviving Spouse.--During the five-year period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this subsection, with respect 
to a servicemember who dies while in military service and whose death 
is service-connected, this section shall apply to the surviving spouse 
of the servicemember if such spouse is the successor in interest to 
property covered under subsection (a).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Subsection (e) of section 303 of such Act, as 
added by subsection (a), shall apply to a surviving spouse of a 
servicemember whose death is on or after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR LENDING INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE CREDITORS FOR 
              OBLIGATIONS AND LIABILITIES COVERED BY THE SERVICEMEMBERS 
              CIVIL RELIEF ACT.

    Section 207 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections 
        (e) and (f), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsection (d):
    ``(d) Lending Institution Requirements.--
            ``(1) Compliance officers.--Each lending institution 
        subject to the requirements of this section shall designate an 
        employee of the institution as a compliance officer who is 
        responsible for ensuring the institution's compliance with this 
        section and for distributing information to servicemembers 
        whose obligations and liabilities are covered by this section.
            ``(2) Toll-free telephone number.--During any fiscal year, 
        a lending institution subject to the requirements of this 
        section that had annual assets for the preceding fiscal year of 
        $10,000,000,000 or more shall maintain a toll-free telephone 
        number and shall make such telephone number available on the 
        primary Internet Web site of the institution.''.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF PERIOD OF PROTECTIONS FOR SERVICEMEMBERS AGAINST 
              MORTGAGE FORECLOSURES.

    (a) Extended Period of Protections.--
            (1) Stay of proceedings and period of adjustment of 
        obligations relating to real or personal property.--Section 
        303(b) of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 
        533(b)) is amended by striking ``within 9 months'' and 
        inserting ``within 12 months''.
            (2) Period of relief from sale, foreclosure, or seizure.--
        Section 303(c) of such Act (50 U.S.C. App. 533(c)) is amended 
        by striking ``within 9 months'' and inserting ``within 12 
        months''.
            (3) Sunset.--The amendments made by paragraphs (1) and (2) 
        shall expire on December 31, 2017. Effective January 1, 2018, 
        the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of section 303 of the 
        Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, as in effect on the day before 
        the date of the enactment of the Housing and Economic Recovery 
        Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-289), are hereby revived.
    (b) Repeal of Superceded Provision.--Subsection (c) of section 2203 
of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-289; 
50 U.S.C. App. 533 note) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives October 11, 2011.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.