[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4255 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4255

 To require the Federal Housing Finance Agency to establish a 6-month 
  moratorium on foreclosure of mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae or 
Freddie Mac on homes of individuals who have lost Federal unemployment 
insurance as a result of the expiration of such program, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 14, 2014

  Mr. Cartwright (for himself, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Connolly, Mr. George 
 Miller of California, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Van Hollen, 
 Mr. Nolan, Ms. Hahn, Ms. Slaughter, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Farr, 
 Mr. Honda, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Ms. Eshoo, Ms. Speier, 
Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Fattah, 
 Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson 
    of Texas, Mr. Lynch, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Cohen, Mr. 
 Cardenas, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Rush, Mr. Garcia, Mr. Neal, Ms. Pingree of 
 Maine, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Langevin, Ms. Norton, Mr. Doyle, 
    Ms. Chu, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Clark of 
Massachusetts, Mr. Rangel, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Shea-Porter, Ms. 
 Lofgren, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Ms. Velazquez, 
  Mr. Takano, Mr. Ruppersberger, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Gene Green of 
Texas, Mr. Clay, and Ms. DeLauro) introduced the following bill; which 
          was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Federal Housing Finance Agency to establish a 6-month 
  moratorium on foreclosure of mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae or 
Freddie Mac on homes of individuals who have lost Federal unemployment 
insurance as a result of the expiration of such program, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Foreclosures Due to 
Congressional Dysfunction Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE MORATORIUM.

    (a) Moratorium.--The Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency 
shall prohibit mortgagees of eligible mortgages under subsection (c) 
from initiating a foreclosure, whether judicial or nonjudicial, or 
taking any action in furtherance of a foreclosure already initiated, 
including any foreclosure sale, with respect to any eligible mortgage 
during the foreclosure moratorium period under subsection (d) for such 
eligible mortgage.
    (b) Treatment of Mortgage Payments Due During Foreclosure 
Moratorium Period.--
            (1) Deferral of mortgage payments; interest due.--The 
        Director shall provide that, during the foreclosure moratorium 
        period with respect to an eligible mortgage--
                    (A) the term of the mortgage shall toll;
                    (B) any payments of principal and interest due 
                under the mortgage shall be deferred; and
                    (C) interest on outstanding principal due under the 
                mortgage shall continue to accrue at the rate provided 
                for under the mortgage.
            (2) Resumption of mortgage payments; amortization of 
        interest accrued.--The Director shall provide that, upon the 
        expiration of the foreclosure moratorium period with respect to 
        an eligible mortgage--
                    (A) the term of the mortgage, and the 
                responsibility of the mortgagor to make payments of 
                principal and interest due under the mortgage, shall 
                resume; and
                    (B) any interest accrued pursuant to paragraph 
                (1)(C) shall be amortized, and payable, over the 
                remaining term of the mortgage.
    (c) Eligible Mortgage.--An eligible mortgage under this subsection 
is a mortgage that--
            (1) is owned, held, securitized, or guaranteed by the 
        Federal National Mortgage Association or the Federal Home Loan 
        Mortgage Corporation;
            (2) is a mortgage on a 1- to 4-family residence that is the 
        principal residence of the mortgagor;
            (3) was current with respect to payments of principal and 
        interest, and any taxes, insurance, and other amounts required 
        to be paid in escrow, that were due under the mortgage as of 
        the beginning of the foreclosure moratorium period with respect 
        to such eligible mortgage; and
            (4) has a mortgagor who--
                    (A)(i) received extended compensation or additional 
                compensation for a week of unemployment ending at any 
                time during the 7-day period ending January 1, 2014;
                    (ii) has exhausted all rights to regular 
                compensation under the unemployment compensation law of 
                a State at any time during the period beginning January 
                1, 2014, and ending on the date of enactment of this 
                Act and has remained continuously unemployed throughout 
                such period; or
                    (iii) exhausts all rights to regular compensation 
                under the unemployment compensation law of a State at 
                any time during the period beginning on the date of 
                enactment of this Act and ending on July 1, 2014; and
                    (B) as of the beginning of the foreclosure 
                moratorium period with respect to such eligible 
                mortgage, has a ratio of debt to income, as determined 
                in accordance with such requirements as the Director 
                shall establish, that was greater than 40 percent.
    (d) Foreclosure Moratorium Period.--The foreclosure moratorium 
period under this subsection with respect to an eligible mortgage shall 
be the 6-month period beginning upon--
            (1) in the case of an eligible mortgage of a mortgagor 
        described in clause (i) or (ii) of subsection (c)(4)(A), the 
        date of the enactment of this Act; and
            (2) in the case of an eligible mortgage of a mortgagor 
        described in clause (iii) of subsection (c)(4)(A), the date on 
        which such mortgagor exhausts all rights to regular 
        compensation under the unemployment compensation law of a 
        State.
    (e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
            (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
            (2) Eligible mortgage.--The term ``eligible mortgage'' 
        means a mortgage that meets the requirements of subsection (c).
            (3) Foreclosure moratorium period.--The term ``foreclosure 
        moratorium period'' means, with respect to an eligible 
        mortgage, the period specified in subsection (d) for the 
        mortgage.
            (4) Mortgagee.--The term ``mortgagee'' includes, with 
        respect to an eligible mortgage, any creditor, servicer, or 
        holder of such eligible mortgage, and any other person acting 
        on behalf of any such creditor, servicer, or holder.
            (5) Regular compensation; extended compensation; additional 
        compensation.--The terms ``regular compensation'', ``extended 
        compensation'', and ``additional compensation'' have the 
        meanings given such terms in section 205 of the Federal-State 
        Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 
        note).
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