[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 10, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6005-H6007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              BUILDING UP INDEPENDENT LIVES AND DREAMS ACT

  Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5953) to provide regulatory relief to charitable 
organizations that provide housing assistance, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5953

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Building 
     Up Independent Lives and Dreams Act'' or the ``BUILD Act''.

     SEC. 2. MORTGAGE LOAN TRANSACTION DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) TILA Amendment.--Section 105 of the Truth in Lending 
     Act (15 U.S.C. 1604) is amended by inserting after subsection 
     (d) the following:
       ``(e) Disclosure for Charitable Mortgage Loan 
     Transactions.--With respect to a mortgage loan transaction 
     involving a residential mortgage loan offered at zero percent 
     interest primarily for charitable purposes by an organization 
     having tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986, forms HUD-1 and GFE (as 
     defined under section 1024.2(b) of title 12, Code of Federal 
     Regulations), together with a disclosure substantially in the 
     form of the Loan Model Form H-2 (as defined under Appendix H 
     to section 1026 of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations) 
     shall, collectively, be an appropriate model form for 
     purposes of subsection (b).''.
       (b) RESPA Amendment.--Section 4 of the Real Estate 
     Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2603) is amended 
     by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) With respect to a mortgage loan transaction involving 
     a residential mortgage loan offered at zero percent interest 
     primarily for charitable purposes, an organization having 
     tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986 may use forms HUD-1 and GFE (as defined 
     under section 1024.2(b) of title 12, Code of Federal 
     Regulations) together with a disclosure substantially in the 
     form of the Loan Model Form H-2 (as defined under Appendix H 
     to section 1026 of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations), 
     collectively, in lieu of the disclosure published under 
     subsection (a).''.
       (c) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of 
     Consumer Financial Protection shall issue such regulations as 
     may be necessary to implement the amendments made by 
     subsections (a) and (b).
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) 
     and (b) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of 
     this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Maxine 
Waters) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5953, the Building Up 
Independent Lives and Dreams, or BUILD, Act, which would cut some of 
the regulatory red tape and alleviate unnecessary burdens that were 
created by Dodd-Frank.
  The Truth in Lending Act, or TILA, as it is referred to, and the Real 
Estate Settlements Procedures Act, also known as RESPA, required 
lenders to provide consumers disclosures about the estimated and actual 
real estate settlement costs and financial terms of the mortgages that 
they offer.
  Among other requirements, RESPA required standardized disclosures, 
such as good faith estimates, of the costs that the borrower should 
expect to pay at closing, and a list of closing costs commonly known as 
the HUD-1 document.
  TILA required lenders to disclose the cost of credit and the 
repayment terms of mortgage loans before borrowers entered into a 
transaction. These disclosures were intended to help consumers compare 
the terms and make informed decisions regarding the suitability of 
various mortgage products and services that they were looking at 
purchasing.

[[Page H6006]]

  However, Dodd-Frank mandated that the Bureau of Consumer Financial 
Protection promulgate ``a single integrated disclosure for mortgage 
loan transactions . . . to aid the borrower . . . in understanding the 
transaction by utilizing readily understandable language to simplify 
the technical nature of the disclosures.''
  It seems to me that in an effort to simplify the language, we might 
have added some more complicated language. But nonetheless, it remains 
compliant with both TILA and RESPA, which are very important.
  I can tell you, as a former licensed Realtor, these disclosures and 
these closing documents are extremely important.
  What we have seen, though, under this current situation, the TILA-
RESPA Integrated Disclosure, or TRID, as it is called, the TRID rule 
was born out of this.
  The final TRID forms combined elements of the good faith estimate, 
the HUD-1, and the TILA disclosure.
  While these new forms were designed to be more consumer friendly--
they include sections on balloon loans and adjustable rate mortgages 
that may be applicable to traditional mortgage lenders--these forms are 
not relevant to charitable organizations like Habitat for Humanity, 
however.
  Additionally, the TRID integrated disclosure forms pose significant 
implementation and compliance challenges for these charitable 
organizations because they include difficult-to-understand timing and 
delivery requirements and other practical implementation issues that go 
well beyond the previous content requirements, such as requiring 
purchasing and training of costly complex software intended for 
traditional mortgage lenders. Therefore, many charitable organizations 
have difficulty with fulfilling the needed compliance related to the 
origination and servicing of their loans.
  The BUILD Act, introduced by Representative Loudermilk and 
Representative Sherman, would roll back requirements of the TILA-RESPA 
Integrated Disclosures Rule for charities, and only charities, like 
Habitat for Humanity and others, and, instead, allow these charities to 
use the good faith estimate and HUD-1 mortgage forms that had been in 
place previously.
  Groups like Habitat for Humanity and their local State organizations 
specialize in providing housing for low income and rural communities. 
The financing that is done at a zero percent interest rate to provide 
minimal cost to the occupant is commendable and a goal that we all 
have.
  This bill cuts yet another senseless and poorly written provision of 
Dodd-Frank that will help provide affordable housing for low income 
Americans in search of the American Dream.
  Specifically, this bipartisan bill would provide tax-exempt nonprofit 
organizations originating these zero interest mortgage loans the 
flexibility to choose the simplest and most cost effective delivery of 
the mortgage disclosures.
  Now these charitable organizations will be able to use their very 
scarce resources for building, repairing, and rehabilitating housing 
instead of spending it on costly compliance software.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the bipartisan work of 
Representatives Loudermilk and Sherman on the BUILD Act, which passed 
the Financial Services Committee by a vote of 35-0. I urge all of my 
colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 5953, the BUILD Act, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1545

  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he 
may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman), a senior 
member of the Financial Services Committee and the lead Democratic 
sponsor of this bill.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  I would like to thank my colleague from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk) for 
working with me on this bill, titled the Building Up Independent Lives 
and Dreams, or BUILD Act. This has been a collaborative process, and I 
am pleased to serve as the chief Democratic sponsor.
  We have heard from a variety of chapters of Habitat for Humanity. 
They are having difficulty dealing with the new TILA-RESPA Integrated 
Disclosure form, chiefly because they don't have the software to deal 
with that form. The new form is a good form. The old forms were pretty 
good as well, but what is really good for the consumer in this case is 
that they are getting a zero percent loan.
  So what this bill says is that, if you are a bona fide nonprofit 
organization providing the new homeowner with a zero percent loan, you 
have the flexibility to either use the new form or to use the old 
forms.
  The new form is good. The old forms were pretty good, too. A zero 
percent loan is very good for the consumer.
  This bill is supported by Habitat for Humanity International and the 
National Housing Conference. It passed the Financial Services Committee 
53-0, and I urge everyone to vote ``yes.''
  Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk), my colleague from the 
Financial Services Committee, the author of the BUILD Act.
  Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) for yielding time for me to speak on what 
I think is a very important bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this bill, the bill 
which is entitled Building Up Independent Lives and Dreams Act, also 
better known as the BUILD Act. This bill is proof that, even in this 
Chamber, we can rise above politics and let common sense prevail 
occasionally.
  I would like to first start by thanking my colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle who have worked with me and my staff to make this a very 
strong, bipartisan effort. I appreciate my colleague Mr. Sherman, who 
just spoke, for negotiating reasonable changes to the bill and for 
being an original cosponsor. I also want to thank Ms. Tenney, Ms. 
Velazquez, and Mr. Budd for their work and for cosponsoring the bill as 
well.
  Mr. Speaker, the Dodd-Frank Act required the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau to combine the TILA loan estimate and the RESPA 
closing disclosure forms into one integrated form, which, as you have 
heard, is called the TRID.
  While the TRID forms were well intended to help ensure that home 
buyers receive essential information about the costs and terms of their 
home loan, the TRID rule has some unintended consequences on nonprofit 
organizations such as Habitat for Humanity.
  The TRID rule is a whopping 1,888 pages long and is very complicated. 
The forms include sections on balloon loans and adjustable-rate 
mortgages, things that may be relevant to traditional mortgage lenders 
but are not applicable to nonprofits that solely offer low-cost housing 
to needy families. The complex and complicated TRID forms cause 
confusion to Habitat home buyers, staff, and their volunteers.
  Besides the complexity, the TRID disclosures require software for 
lenders to be able to fill them out, which has been too costly for many 
local Habitat organizations. The vast majority of the more than 1,200 
local Habitat affiliates nationwide are small, community-based 
organizations with very small mortgage portfolios and few, if any, 
full-time staff.
  These organizations have experienced challenges with the cost and 
complexity of these new mortgage disclosure forms. To address these 
problems, the BUILD Act relieves charities from the costs and the 
complexity of the TRID rule but ensures that the terms of these 
mortgage loans are disclosed.
  Currently, all mortgage lenders making five or fewer loans a year are 
exempt from TRID and, instead, use the same mortgage disclosure forms 
that were in place before Dodd-Frank. The BUILD Act simply extends this 
exemption to nonprofits which are eligible for tax-exempt charitable 
donations and are making zero interest mortgage loans, regardless of 
how many mortgage loans they are making per year.
  The BUILD Act will allow local Habitat organizations to choose 
whether to use the previous, simplified reporting or the more complex 
TRID reporting. The BUILD Act is supported by Habitat for Humanity 
International and the National Housing Conference.
  In closing, I want to reiterate that the purpose of this bill is to 
help nonprofits spend more time fulfilling their

[[Page H6007]]

mission of providing low-cost housing to needy families and less time 
sitting in an office doing regulatory paperwork. The BUILD Act 
recognizes that one size does not fit all when it comes to regulating 
these charities and gives themselves the flexibility to choose which 
mortgage disclosure forms work best for them.
  Mr. Speaker, the BUILD Act passed the Financial Services Committee 
with a unanimous vote of 53-0. I urge all of my colleagues to support 
this bill.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Sherman, for working 
across the aisle to develop H.R. 5953, the Building Up Independent 
Lives and Dreams Act, or the BUILD Act, which will assist nonprofits in 
providing affordable housing to those in need.
  Some nonprofit organizations, like Habitat for Humanity, help 
borrowers who would otherwise not be able to afford a home by offering 
zero percent interest mortgages with terms that ensure the borrowers 
have the ability to repay the loans while also taking care of other 
household expenses. Oftentimes, these nonprofits rely heavily on 
limited staffs or volunteer labor to underwrite mortgages for families 
in need.
  Because of these unique dynamics, some smaller affiliates of these 
types of organizations have had a bit of difficulty adapting to the 
current updated disclosure forms that are used to inform mortgage 
borrowers about the material terms and costs of their loans. This bill 
would give those nonprofits the flexibility to choose whether to use 
truth-in-lending, good-faith estimate, and HUD-1 mortgage disclosure 
forms when originating a mortgage or the TILA-RESPA integrated 
disclosure, or TRID, forms.
  Even though this very narrow exemption already applies to 
organizations that make five or fewer mortgages annually, I believe we 
are all in agreement that extending this flexibility to charitable 
nonprofits with a unique business model like Habitat is a positive 
change.
  Nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity operate with different business 
models and traditional financing institutions. They are and they serve 
a different clientele. It is clear that the BUILD Act does not provide 
any opportunity for other types of lenders to take advantage of the 
carve-out in a way that could potentially harm borrowers. With that in 
mind, I support this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to do the 
same.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no more requests for time, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to commend our colleagues for 
working in a bipartisan manner, Mr. Loudermilk and Mr. Sherman, not 
only for dealing with this in committee; there was some trust that was 
shown on all sides to move forward on that, and this is the way the 
system is supposed to work. Congratulations.
  I look forward to supporting this bill and request that all of my 
colleagues do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5953.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________