[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4265 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4265

   To amend the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement 
 Procedures Act of 1974 to establish language access requirements for 
            creditors and servicers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 7, 2024

  Ms. Butler (for herself, Ms. Warren, and Ms. Hirono) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement 
 Procedures Act of 1974 to establish language access requirements for 
            creditors and servicers, 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 ``Improving Language Access in 
Mortgage Servicing Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Housing is the largest portion of most household 
        budgets in the United States and therefore a foundational 
        component of financial access and opportunity.
            (2) Due in part to a legacy of discrimination in the United 
        States, people of color are disproportionately experiencing 
        homelessness, disproportionately renting, and 
        disproportionately paying unaffordable rents, which acts as a 
        barrier to homeownership.
            (3) Access to fair and affordable housing, both rental and 
        homeownership opportunities, is critical to upward economic 
        mobility. This includes addressing language barriers in 
        mortgage servicing to ensure borrowers have culturally 
        sensitive, in-language access to critical lending information, 
        can enter into fair and sustainable homeownership, and preserve 
        their home equity.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Creditor.--The term ``creditor''--
                    (A) has the meaning given the term in section 103 
                of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1602); and
                    (B) includes any assignee of a creditor.
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
            (3) Federally related mortgage loan.--The term ``federally 
        related mortgage loan'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 3 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 
        (12 U.S.C. 2602).
            (4) Residential mortgage loan.--The term ``residential 
        mortgage loan'' has the meaning given the term in section 103 
        of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1602).
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
            (6) Servicer.--The term ``servicer'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 6(i) of the Real Estate Settlement 
        Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2605(i)).

SEC. 4. LANGUAGE ACCESS REQUIREMENTS AND RESOURCES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 2 of title I of the Truth in Lending Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 129H the 
following:
``Sec. 129I. Language access requirements
    ``(a) Standard Language Preference Form.--Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this section, the Director of the 
Bureau shall, after consulting with the Secretary of Agriculture, the 
Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 
by rule, establish a standard language preference form that includes a 
standard language preference question asked in each of the 8 languages 
most commonly spoken by individuals with limited English proficiency, 
as determined by the Director of the Bureau using information published 
by the Director of the Bureau of the Census.
    ``(b) Designation and Translation of Vital Documents.--
            ``(1) Designation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the 
                date of the enactment of this section, the Director of 
                the Bureau shall, after consulting with the Secretary 
                of Agriculture, the Director of the Federal Housing 
                Finance Agency, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and 
                the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, by 
                rule, establish a list of vital documents associated 
                with the origination and servicing of residential 
                mortgage loans.
                    ``(B) Considerations.--In determining which 
                documents are vital documents under paragraph (1), the 
                Director of the Bureau shall consider the document 
                conveys information--
                            ``(i) about credit terms and conditions; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) relating to borrower rights, 
                        obligations, or entitlements under the terms of 
                        the loan or applicable laws.
            ``(2) Translation.--The Director of the Bureau, the 
        Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Secretary 
        of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the Secretary of the 
        Department of Agriculture shall jointly--
                    ``(A) not later than 180 days after the date of 
                enactment of this section, publish model translations 
                of each document designated as a vital document under 
                this subsection in each of the 8 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; and
                    ``(B) not later than 3 years after the date of 
                enactment of this section, publish versions of the 
                vital documents described in subparagraph (A) 
                translated into not fewer than 4 language other than 
                those languages described in such subparagraph spoken 
                by individuals with limited English proficiency that 
                are regionally prevalent in the United States, as 
                determined by the Director using information published 
                by the Director of the Bureau of the Census.
    ``(c) Requirements for Creditors.--
            ``(1) Use of standard language preference form by 
        creditors.--
                    ``(A) Inclusion in application.--Each creditor 
                shall include, in any written application used in 
                connection with a residential mortgage loan, the 
                standard language preference form established by the 
                Director of the Bureau under subsection (a).
                    ``(B) Inclusion of disclosure.--Each creditor may 
                include with the form required under subparagraph (A) a 
                disclosure stating that documents and services may not 
                be available in the preferred language indicated by the 
                consumer on the form.
                    ``(C) Documentation and transfer of preferred 
                language information.--If a creditor, or assignee of a 
                creditor receives information about a language 
                preference of a consumer through the standard language 
                preference form, orally or in writing in connection 
                with a residential mortgage loan, as determined by the 
                Director of the Bureau, including from another creditor 
                or a servicer, the creditor or assignee shall--
                            ``(i) document the language preference in 
                        each file or electronic file of information 
                        associated with the consumer; and
                            ``(ii) shall transfer the information and 
                        the form to--
                                    ``(I) any servicer of the loan; and
                                    ``(II) any creditor that may own 
                                the loan in the future.
            ``(2) Provision of translated vital documents.--If a 
        Federal agency or a State or local agency in the State or 
        locality in which the residential property subject to the 
        residential mortgage loan is located has produced a model 
        translation for a document designated as a vital document under 
        subsection (b), in the preferred language of a consumer, as 
        documented by a creditor pursuant to paragraph (1)(C), the 
        creditor shall--
                    ``(A) provide to the consumer the translation in 
                addition to any English version of the vital document 
                that would have been provided to the consumer who 
                indicated the preferred language; and
                    ``(B) include a notice in the English and 
                translated versions indicating that the English version 
                is the official and operative document and the 
                translated version is for informational purposes only.
            ``(3) Oral interpretation services.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If a creditor receives 
                information about a language preference of a consumer 
                through the form established under subsection (a), 
                orally or in writing in connection with a residential 
                mortgage loan, as determined by the Director of the 
                Bureau, including from another creditor or a servicer, 
                the creditor shall provide oral interpretation services 
                to the consumer.
                    ``(B) Oral interpretation services.--If a creditor 
                is required under subparagraph (A) to provide oral 
                interpretation services to a consumer, the creditor--
                            ``(i) shall ensure qualified oral 
                        interpretation services, as defined by the 
                        Director of the Bureau are made available in 
                        the preferred language of the consumer for all 
                        oral communications between the creditor and 
                        the consumer; and
                            ``(ii) may provide provide the services 
                        described in clause (i) through qualified staff 
                        of the creditor or a qualified third party.
            ``(4) Notice of available language services.--If a creditor 
        receives information about a language preference of a consumer 
        through the form established under subsection (a), orally or in 
        writing in connection with a residential mortgage loan, as 
        determined by the Director of the Bureau, including from 
        another creditor or a servicer, the creditor shall, not later 
        than 10 business days after receiving the information, notify 
        the consumer in writing, in the preferred language of the 
        consumer, of any language services available, including the 
        services required under paragraphs (2) and (3).
            ``(5) Transfer of language preference information.--If a 
        creditor transfers the servicing associated with a residential 
        mortgage loan, the creditor shall notify the transferee 
        servicer of any known language preference of the consumer 
        associated with the residential mortgage loan.
            ``(6) Information on website.--Each creditor shall publish 
        on the website of the creditor--
                    ``(A) links to and explanatory information about 
                the websites maintained by the Secretary of Housing and 
                Urban Development and the Director of the Bureau that 
                identify housing counselors approved by the Department 
                of Housing and Urban Development; and
                    ``(B) a link to and explanatory information about 
                the language resources website established by the 
                Director of the Bureau, the Secretary of Housing and 
                Urban Development, the Director of the Federal Housing 
                Finance Agency, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the 
                Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section 4(e) of the 
                Improving Language Access in Mortgage Servicing Act of 
                2024.
    ``(d) Rulemaking.--The Director may issue such rules as the 
Director determines necessary to implement this section.''.
    (b) Requirements for Servicers.--Section 6 of the Real Estate 
Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2605) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(n) Language Access Requirements.--
            ``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `standard 
        language preference form' means the standard language 
        preference form established by the Director of the Bureau under 
        section 129I of the Truth in Lending Act.
            ``(2) Requirements.--
                    ``(A) Inclusion in notices.--Each servicer shall 
                include the standard language preference form with--
                            ``(i) any notice required under section 
                        1024.39(b) of title 12, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations;
                            ``(ii) any information required under 
                        subsection (c);
                            ``(iii) any notice required under section 
                        1024.41(b)(2) of title 12, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations;
                            ``(iv) any notice required under section 
                        1024.41(c)(2)(iii) of title 12, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations; and
                            ``(v) any other additional notice as the 
                        Director of the Bureau determines is necessary.
                    ``(B) Inclusion of disclosures.--A servicer may 
                include with the standard language preference form a 
                disclosure stating that documents and services may not 
                be available in the preferred language of the borrower 
                indicated by the consumer on the form.
                    ``(C) Documentation and transfer of preferred 
                language information.--If a servicer or an assignee of 
                a servicer receives information about a language 
                preference of a borrower through the standard language 
                preference form, orally or in writing in connection 
                with a federally related mortgage, as determined by the 
                Director of the Bureau, including from another servicer 
                or creditor, the servicer or assignee shall document 
                the language preference in each file or electronic file 
                of information associated with the borrower and shall 
                transfer the information and the standard language 
                preference form to any other servicer that may service 
                the loan in the future.
            ``(3) Required language services for servicers.--
                    ``(A) Provision of translated vital documents.--If 
                a Federal agency or a State or local agency in the 
                State or locality in which the property subject to the 
                federally related mortgage loan is to be located has 
                produced a model translation for a document designated 
                as a vital document under section 129I(b) of the Truth 
                in Lending Act in the preferred language of a borrower 
                documented by the servicer pursuant to paragraph (2)(C) 
                of this subsection, the servicer shall--
                            ``(i) provide to the consumer the 
                        translation in addition to any English version 
                        of the document that would have been provided 
                        to the borrower; and
                            ``(ii) include in the English and 
                        translated versions a notice, in the preferred 
                        language of the borrower, indicating that the 
                        English version is the official and operative 
                        document and the translated version is for 
                        informational purposes only.
                    ``(B) Oral interpretation services.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If a servicer receives 
                        information about a language preference of a 
                        borrower through the standard language 
                        preference form, orally or in writing in 
                        connection with a federally related mortgage, 
                        as determined by the Director of the Bureau, 
                        including from another creditor or a servicer, 
                        the servicer shall provide oral interpretation 
                        services to the borrower.
                            ``(ii) Oral interpretation services.--If a 
                        servicer is required to provide oral 
                        interpretation services under clause (i), the 
                        servicer--
                                    ``(I) shall ensure qualified oral 
                                interpretation services, as defined by 
                                the Director of the Bureau, are made 
                                available in the preferred language of 
                                the borrower for all oral 
                                communications between the servicer and 
                                the borrower; and
                                    ``(II) may provide the services 
                                described in subclause (I) through 
                                qualified staff of the borrower or a 
                                qualified third party.
            ``(4) Notice of available language services.--If a servicer 
        receives information about a language preference of a borrower 
        through the standard language preference form, orally or in 
        writing in connection with a federally related mortgage, as 
        determined by the Director of the Bureau, including from 
        another creditor or a servicer, the servicer shall, not later 
        than 10 business days after receiving the information, notify 
        the borrower in writing, in the preferred language of the 
        borrower, of any language services available, including the 
        services required under paragraph (3).
            ``(5) Transfer of language preference information.--If a 
        servicer transfers the servicing associated with a federally 
        related mortgage loan, the servicer shall notify the transferee 
        servicer of any known language preference of the borrower 
        associated with the federally related mortgage loan.
            ``(6) Information on website.--Each servicer shall publish 
        on the website of the servicer--
                    ``(A) links to and information about the websites 
                maintained by the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
                Development and the Director of the Bureau that 
                identify housing counselors approved by the Department 
                of Housing and Urban Development; and
                    ``(B) a link to and information about the language 
                resources website established by the Director of the 
                Bureau, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 
                the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the 
                Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Veterans 
                Affairs under section 4(e) of the Improving Language 
                Access in Mortgage Servicing Act of 2024.
            ``(7) Rulemaking.--The Director of the Bureau may issue 
        such rules as the Director determines necessary to implement 
        this section.''.
    (c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections in 
chapter 2 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq) is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 129H the 
following:

``129I. Language access requirements.''.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director, the Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development, the Director of the Federal Housing 
Finance Agency, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report that contains--
            (1) regulatory recommendations to enhance mortgage 
        origination and servicing processes for individuals with a 
        preferred language that is not English;
            (2) a description of any legislative changes needed to 
        provide authority necessary to implement the regulatory 
        recommendations described in paragraph (1); and
            (3) a description of any progress on the implementation of 
        any legislative change or regulatory recommendation made in a 
        previous report.
    (e) Language Resource Website.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director, the Secretary of Housing 
        and Urban Development, the Director of the Federal Housing 
        Finance Agency, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary 
        of Veterans Affairs shall jointly establish and maintain a 
        website that provides language resources for creditors, 
        servicers, and consumers.
            (2) Website requirements.--The website developed pursuant 
        to paragraph (1) shall include--
                    (A) the translations of documents published 
                pursuant to section 129I(c) of the Truth in Lending 
                Act, as added by subsection (a) of this section;
                    (B) a glossary of terms relating to residential 
                mortgage loans and federally related mortgage loans, 
                provided in each commonly spoken language;
                    (C) guidance for creditors and servicers working 
                with individuals who have a preferred language that is 
                not English; and
                    (D) examples of notices that may be used by 
                creditors and servicers to inform individuals of 
                available language services provided in accordance with 
                section 129I of the Truth in Lending Act, as added by 
                subsection (a) of this section, and section 6(n)(2) of 
                the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, as 
                added by subsection (b) of this section.
    (f) Advisory Group.--
            (1) In general.--The Director shall establish an advisory 
        group consisting of stakeholders, including industry groups, 
        consumer groups, civil rights groups, and groups that have 
        experience improving language access in housing finance 
        transactions, to provide advice to the Director about--
                    (A) issues that arise relating to mortgage 
                origination and servicing processes for individuals 
                with a preferred language that is not English;
                    (B) the development of the standard language 
                preference form by the Director under section 129I(a) 
                of the Truth in Lending Act, as added by subsection (a) 
                of this section; and
                    (C) updates to the language resource website 
                established by the Director, the Secretary of Housing 
                and Urban Development, the Director of the Federal 
                Housing Finance Agency, the Secretary of Agriculture, 
                and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under subsection 
                (e).
            (2) Required consulting.--The Director shall consult with 
        the advisory group established under paragraph (1) with respect 
        to any issues that arise relating to mortgage origination and 
        servicing processes for individuals with a preferred language 
        that is not English.
    (g) Housing Counseling Agency Language Resources.--
            (1) Enhanced search capabilities.--
                    (A) HUD.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and 
                Urban Development shall update the website maintained 
                by the Secretary that identifies housing counselors 
                approved by the Department of Housing and Urban 
                Development, to allow for searching for housing 
                counseling agencies based on the language services the 
                agencies provide.
                    (B) Bureau.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
                of enactment of this Act, the Director shall update the 
                website maintained by the Director that identifies 
                housing counselors approved by the Department of 
                Housing and Urban Development, to allow for searching 
                for housing counseling agencies based on the language 
                services the housing counseling agencies provide.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary 
        to support language training for housing counselors approved by 
        the Department of Housing and Urban Development, counseling 
        agencies, and staff.
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