[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1823 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1823

To require the inclusion of voter registration information with certain 
leases and vouchers for federally assisted rental housing and mortgage 
                 applications, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 25, 2021

  Mr. Warnock (for himself, Mr. Ossoff, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Warren, Ms. 
 Klobuchar, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                 on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the inclusion of voter registration information with certain 
leases and vouchers for federally assisted rental housing and mortgage 
                 applications, 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 ``Voters on the Move Registration Act 
of 2021''.

SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF VOTER REGISTRATION INFORMATION WITH CERTAIN LEASES 
              AND VOUCHERS FOR FEDERALLY ASSISTED RENTAL HOUSING AND 
              MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Bureau.--The term ``Bureau'' means the Bureau of 
        Consumer Financial Protection.
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Bureau.
            (3) Federal rental assistance.--The term ``Federal rental 
        assistance'' means rental assistance provided under--
                    (A) any covered housing program, as defined in 
                section 41411(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 
                1994 (34 U.S.C. 12491(a));
                    (B) title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 
                1471 et seq.), including voucher assistance under 
                section 542 of such title (42 U.S.C. 1490r);
                    (C) the Housing Trust Fund program under section 
                1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial 
                Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4588); or
                    (D) subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento 
                Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.).
            (4) Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan.--The term 
        ``Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan'' includes any 
        loan (other than temporary financing such as a construction 
        loan) that--
                    (A) is secured by a first or subordinate lien on 
                residential multifamily real property designed 
                principally for the occupancy of 5 or more families, 
                including any such secured loan, the proceeds of which 
                are used to prepay or pay off an existing loan secured 
                by the same property; and
                    (B) is made in whole or in part, or insured, 
                guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in any way, by 
                any officer or agency of the Federal Government or 
                under or in connection with a housing or urban 
                development program administered by the Secretary of 
                Housing and Urban Development or a housing or related 
                program administered by any other such officer or 
                agency, or is purchased or securitized by the Federal 
                Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the Federal National 
                Mortgage Association.
            (5) Owner.--The term ``owner'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 8(f) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
        (42 U.S.C. 1437f(f)).
            (6) Public housing; public housing agency.--The terms 
        ``public housing'' and ``public housing agency'' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 3(b) of the United States 
        Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
            (7) Residential mortgage loan.--The term ``residential 
        mortgage loan'' includes any loan that is secured by a first or 
        subordinate lien on residential real property, including 
        individual units of condominiums and cooperatives, designed 
        principally for the occupancy of from 1- to 4- families.
    (b) Uniform Statement.--
            (1) Development.--The Director, after consultation with the 
        Election Assistance Commission, shall develop a uniform 
        statement designed to provide recipients of the statement 
        pursuant to this section with information on how the recipient 
        can register to vote and the voting rights of the recipient 
        under law.
            (2) Responsibilities.--In developing the uniform statement, 
        the Director shall be responsible for--
                    (A) establishing the format of the statement;
                    (B) consumer research and testing of the statement; 
                and
                    (C) consulting with and obtaining from the Election 
                Assistance Commission the content regarding voter 
                rights and registration issues needed to ensure the 
                statement complies with the requirements of paragraph 
                (1).
            (3) Languages.--
                    (A) In general.--The uniform statement required 
                under paragraph (1) shall be developed and made 
                available in English and in each of the 10 languages 
                most commonly spoken by individuals with limited 
                English proficiency, as determined by the Director 
                using information published by the Director of the 
                Bureau of the Census.
                    (B) Publication.--The Director shall make all 
                translated versions of the uniform statement required 
                under paragraph (1) publicly available in a centralized 
                location on the website of the Bureau.
    (c) Leases and Vouchers for Federally Assisted Rental Housing.--
Each Federal agency administering a Federal rental assistance program 
shall require--
            (1) each public housing agency to provide a copy of the 
        uniform statement developed pursuant to subsection (b) to each 
        lessee of a dwelling unit in public housing administered by the 
        agency--
                    (A) together with the lease for the dwelling unit, 
                at the same time the lease signed by the lessee; and
                    (B) together with any income verification form, at 
                the same time the form is provided to the lessee;
            (2) each public housing agency that administers rental 
        assistance under the Housing Choice Voucher program under 
        section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
        U.S.C. 1437f(o)), including the program under paragraph (13) of 
        such section 8(o), to provide a copy of the uniform statement 
        developed pursuant to subsection (b) to each assisted family or 
        individual--
                    (A) together with the voucher for the assistance, 
                at the time the voucher is issued for the family or 
                individual; and
                    (B) together with any income verification form, at 
                the same time the form is provided to the applicant or 
                assisted family or individual; and
            (3) each owner of a dwelling unit assisted with Federal 
        rental assistance to provide a copy of the uniform statement 
        developed pursuant to subsection (b) to provide to the lessee 
        of the dwelling unit--
                    (A) together with the lease for such dwelling unit, 
                at the same time the lease is signed by the lessee; and
                    (B) together with any income verification form, at 
                the same time the form is provided to the applicant or 
                tenant.
    (d) Applications for Residential Mortgage Loans.--The Director 
shall require each creditor (within the meaning of such term as used in 
section 1026.2(a)(17) of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations) that 
receives an application (within the meaning of such term as used in 
section 1026.2(a)(3)(ii) of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations) to 
provide a copy of the uniform statement developed pursuant to 
subsection (b) in written form to the applicant for the residential 
mortgage loan not later than 5 business days after the date of the 
application.
    (e) Federally Backed Multifamily Mortgage Loans.--The head of the 
Federal agency insuring, guaranteeing, supplementing, or assisting a 
Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan, or the Director of the 
Federal Housing Finance Agency in the case of a Federally backed 
multifamily mortgage loan that is purchased or securitized by the 
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the Federal National Mortgage 
Association, shall require the owner of the property secured by the 
Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan to provide a copy of the 
uniform statement developed pursuant to subsection (b) in written form 
to each lessee of a dwelling unit assisted by that loan at the time the 
lease is signed by the lessee.
    (f) Optional Completion of Voter Registration.--Nothing in this 
section may be construed to require any individual to complete a voter 
registration form.
    (g) Regulations.--The head of a Federal agency administering a 
Federal rental assistance program, the head of the Federal agency 
insuring, guaranteeing, supplementing, or assisting a Federally backed 
multifamily mortgage loan, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance 
Agency, and the Director may issue such regulations as may be necessary 
to carry out this section.
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