[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 14, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H3767-H3769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              BUILDING UP INDEPENDENT LIVES AND DREAMS ACT

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1060) to provide regulatory relief to charitable 
organizations that provide housing assistance, and for other purposes, 
as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1060

       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 ``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 0 percent 
     interest primarily for charitable purposes by an organization 
     described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such 
     Code, 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 depicted in Appendix H to part 1026 of title 12, Code 
     of Federal Regulations) shall, collectively, be an 
     appropriate model form for purposes of subsection (b) of this 
     section.''.
       (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) Disclosure for Charitable Mortgage Loan 
     Transactions.--With respect to a mortgage loan transaction 
     involving a residential mortgage loan offered at 0 percent 
     interest primarily for charitable purposes, an organization 
     described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such 
     Code 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 depicted in Appendix H to part 1026 of title 12, 
     Code of Federal Regulations), collectively, in lieu of the 
     disclosure published under subsection (a) of this section.''.
       (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.

     SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
     statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

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


                             General Leave

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 1060, the BUILD Act, which is 
bipartisan legislation authored by Representatives Loudermilk and 
Sherman that will allow nonprofit organizations like Habitat for 
Humanity, offering mortgage loans for charitable purposes

[[Page H3768]]

to use alternative forms to satisfy disclosure requirements.
  Specifically, this bill would allow bona fide nonprofits which are 
eligible for tax-exempt charitable donations to have the option to use 
the Truth in Lending, Good Faith Estimate, and HUD-1 forms instead of 
TRID forms required by the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule. They 
may only do so in limited circumstances where they offer a zero percent 
interest loan.
  Currently, financial institutions that make five or fewer mortgage 
loans a year are allowed to use these alternative disclosure forms, 
including the HUD-1 form, instead of the TRID form.
  This bill simply extends this flexibility to eligible nonprofit 
charities in very limited circumstances, even if they make more than 
five mortgage loans a year.
  Passing this bipartisan legislation will help nonprofits do their 
important work in helping families in our communities build and improve 
places to call home.
  For example, the vast majority of the more than 1,200 local Habitat 
organizations in all 50 States are small, community-based organizations 
with very small mortgage portfolios and few, if any, full-time staff 
and rely on volunteers for much of their operations.
  The BUILD Act will help charities like Habitat help families get a 
home of their own, but still ensures the material terms and costs of 
mortgage loans are clearly disclosed to the borrower.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Loudermilk and Sherman for their 
work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1060, the 
BUILD Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1060, the BUILD Act. This 
bipartisan legislation addresses an unintended consequence of the Know 
Before You Owe disclosure rule, better known as TRID.
  The BUILD Act is a straightforward solution, and it allows bona fide 
nonprofits making zero percent interest loans to use whichever Truth in 
Lending form they feel is better. They can use the Truth in Lending, 
Good Faith Estimate, and the HUD-1 form instead of the TRID forms, or 
they can choose the TRID forms.
  Currently, organizations making five or fewer mortgage loans are 
exempt from using the TRID forms. This extends that exemption to 
charities making zero percent interest loans, regardless of how many 
loans they make per year.
  The costs and complexities associated with TRID have left charities 
like Habitat for Humanity struggling to provide mortgages. These 
nonprofits have limited resources. In fact, many of their 1,200 
community-based affiliates have little or no full-time staff.
  Despite their size, these organizations play a pivotal role in our 
communities. Today, the House will play a small part in helping them 
continue to serve our communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Sherman). They have worked together diligently on this legislation for 
several years and should be commended for their efforts.
  I want to thank the chairwoman, Ms. Waters of California, for her 
efforts on this.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge this legislation to be supported, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. 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 lead cosponsor of this bill.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for yielding time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Georgia (Mr. 
Loudermilk). It has been a pleasure working with him on this bill, the 
Building Up Independent Lives and Dreams, or BUILD, Act. He has worked 
hard to get this over the goal line and has worked in a collaborative 
and bipartisan process.
  We have heard from a number of Habitat for Humanity chapters across 
the Nation who make more than five loans a year and are having 
difficulty complying with the mandatory TILA/RESPA Integrated 
Disclosure form. They believe it has additional costs and complexity, 
especially when they had previously set up their systems to deal with 
the old forms.
  The BUILD Act is straightforward and addresses those concerns. The 
bill allows a bona fide nonprofit that makes zero interest rate loans, 
like Habitat for Humanity, the flexibility in deciding which disclosure 
forms to use.
  They can either use the relatively new TILA/RESPA Integrated 
Disclosure form, or they can use the three previously required forms: 
the Truth in Lending form, the Good Faith Estimate form, and the HUD-1 
form.
  This bill is supported by Habitat for Humanity International and the 
National Housing Conference.
  It is a narrow tweak to ensure that nonprofits offering zero percent 
interest loans can focus on helping people get housing rather than 
focus on reprogramming their system to deal with the new TILA/RESPA 
Integrated Disclosure form.
  This bill passed our committee 53 to 0 last year. It passed this 
House by voice vote last year. It went over to the Senate, where the 
Senate did what it all too frequently does, which is nothing.
  I look forward to giving the Senate another opportunity by sending 
this bill back to them, since it has not only overwhelming but 
unanimous support here in the House of Representatives.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.
  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk). He is not only an Air Force 
veteran, but his wife came up with the acronym for this bill.

                              {time}  1730

  Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Stivers) not only for yielding time in support of my bill but giving 
the creative one in my family recognition for the pithy acronym that 
goes with this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, as has been stated, my bill is the Building Up 
Independent Lives and Dreams Act, which is also known as the BUILD Act.
  First, I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have 
worked with me to make this a strong, bipartisan effort.
  I appreciate the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) for 
cosponsoring this bill and for his work, with our staffs working 
together, to make this is a bill as perfected as we can.
  I thank Chairwoman Waters and Ranking Member McHenry for recommending 
this bill to come to the floor for a vote.
  I also thank the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) for her 
support and cosponsorship of this important legislation.
  Last year, it was brought to my attention that certain regulations 
enacted by Dodd-Frank were placing a significant burden on charitable 
organizations that provide low-cost housing to needy families. These 
nonprofits were having to spend an excessive amount of time and 
resources complying with these new regulations, which were ultimately 
designed for large mortgage lenders.
  The time and effort that they were spending on regulatory compliance 
was taking resources away from these nonprofits' core mission of 
providing affordable housing.
  The problem, as I learned, was that 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 mortgage 
disclosure form called TRID.
  While the intention of the new TRID forms was to ensure that home 
buyers received essential information about the costs and terms of 
their home loans, the unintended consequences of this one-size-fits-all 
approach significantly impacted nonprofit organizations, such as 
Habitat for Humanity.
  The TRID rule is nearly 2,000 pages long, very complex, and includes 
disclosure forms for things such as balloon loans and adjustable rate 
mortgages. While these types of loans may be applicable to traditional 
mortgage lenders, they are not relevant to these nonprofits. These new 
rules and their associated forms have caused confusion

[[Page H3769]]

for home buyers, staff, and volunteers of these charitable 
organizations.
  To further complicate the matter, the new TRID disclosures were 
designed to be completed by computer software. However, these software 
applications are much too costly for many local Habitat affiliates and 
other nonprofits.
  The vast majority of more than 1,200 Habitat groups nationwide are 
small, community-based organizations with very small mortgage 
portfolios. Few, if any, have full-time staff. These organizations have 
experienced challenges with the costs and the complexity of the TRID 
mortgage disclosure forms.
  To remedy these problems, and to provide regulatory relief to these 
nonprofits, the BUILD Act exempts charities from the cost and 
complexity of the new TRID rule but still ensures that the terms of 
these mortgage loans are disclosed.
  Mortgage lenders that make five or fewer loans a year are already 
exempt from TRID and are allowed to use the much simpler forms that 
were in place prior to Dodd-Frank. The BUILD Act simply extends this 
same exemption to nonprofits that 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 facilities, and other similar 
nonprofits, to choose whether they use these older but simpler forms or 
the new, more complicated TRID forms.
  In closing, I want to reiterate that the purpose of this bill is to 
help charitable organizations spend more time fulfilling their mission, 
which is providing low-cost housing to needy families, and less time 
sitting in an office doing regulatory paperwork.
  The bill recognizes that one size does not fit all, especially when 
it comes to regulating these charities, and it gives them the 
flexibility to choose which mortgage disclosure forms work best for 
them and for those they help.
  As my colleague Mr. Sherman has already brought up, this bill passed 
the Financial Services Committee and the House unanimously last 
Congress. I hope that we can repeat that again today here in a few 
moments.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join me in support of this important 
bill.
  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would close by saying that the gentleman from Georgia and the 
gentleman from California have worked very hard on a bill that passed 
our committee unanimously and that helps nonprofits accomplish their 
mission of building capacity in housing, and I urge adoption.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate my thanks to the members of our 
committee, Representatives Loudermilk and Sherman, for working together 
to craft a narrow piece of legislation that will help nonprofit 
organizations like Habitat for Humanity have flexibility on which 
disclosure forms they use when they provide a zero-interest mortgage 
loan to a family getting a home of their own.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1060, the BUILD Act, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1060, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________