I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2599 

To establish a program for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

to provide financial assistance to certain homeowners experiencing temporary difficulty making home mortgage payments resulting from their 

call or order to active duty while a member of the Individual Ready 

Reserve of the Armed Forces or the inactive National Guard. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 6, 2007 

Mr. SIRES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To establish a program for the Secretary of Housing and 

Urban Development to provide financial assistance to 

certain homeowners experiencing temporary difficulty 

making home mortgage payments resulting from their 

call or order to active duty while a member of the Individual Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces or the inactive National Guard. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Inactive Reservists 

5 Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and 

3 Urban Development shall carry out a program under this 

4 Act to provide mortgage assistance through the provision 

5 of grants and loans for direct mortgage payments on be6 half of eligible households. 

7 (b) ELIGIBLE MORTGAGES.—Mortgage assistance 

8 under this Act may be provided only with respect to a 

9 mortgage that meets all of the following requirements: 

10 (1) MORTGAGOR REQUIREMENTS.—The mort11 gagor under the mortgage— 

12 (A) is a member of an eligible household 

13 that resides in the property that is subject to 

14 the mortgage; and 

15 (B) has not, during the 24-month period 

16 ending upon the date that the mortgagor sub17 mits an application for assistance under this 

18 Act, been more than 60 days in arrears under 

19 any mortgage for residential property. 

20 (2) DWELLING REQUIREMENTS.—The property 

21 that is subject to the mortgage is— 

22 (A) designed principally as a residential 

23 property; and 

24 (B) the primary place of residence of the 

25 mortgagor and the mortgagor’s household. 


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1 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS. 

2 (a) MONTHLY DIRECT PAYMENT.—The Secretary 

3 shall design and implement the program under this Act 

4 in a manner that provides that any amounts paid by the 

5 Secretary for mortgage assistance with respect to an eligi6 ble mortgage are paid on a monthly basis directly to the 

7 mortgagee or other servicer of the mortgage. 

8 (b) PERIOD OF ASSISTANCE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Payment under the program 

10 under this section with respect to an eligible mort11 gage may be made only for scheduled payments due 

12 under the terms of the mortgage (as in effect pursu13 ant to any applicable provisions of law) during the 

14 period that a member of the eligible household who 

15 is an eligible member of the Armed Forces is serving 

16 on active duty for a period of more than 30 days in 

17 the Armed Forces. 

18 (2) EXTENDED DEPLOYMENTS.—The Secretary 

19 shall ensure that in determining the amount of as20 sistance to be provided with respect to an eligible 

21 mortgage and the period for which such assistance 

22 will be provided, sufficient amounts for such assist23 ance shall be reserved under the program under this 

24 Act to provide for unpredictability and extensions in 

25 the period of active duty of eligible members of the 

26 Armed Forces. 


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1 (c) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.— 

2 Subject to subsection (d), the Secretary shall determine 

3 the amount of assistance to be provided with respect to 

4 an eligible mortgage based upon criteria established by the 

5 Secretary, by regulation. 

6 (d) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—The 

7 amount of assistance provided under the program under 

8 this Act with respect to any eligible mortgage may not 

9 exceed the following amounts: 

10 (1) MONTHLY AMOUNT.—With respect to the 

11 assistance payment for any single month, the 

12 amount due to be paid for such month under the 

13 terms of the mortgage (as in effect pursuant to any 

14 applicable provisions of law) for principal, interest, 

15 mortgage insurance for the mortgage, and any 

16 scheduled deposit in an escrow account for the pur17 pose of ensuring payment of taxes, insurance, as18 sessments, and other charges with respect to the 

19 property subject to the mortgage. 

20 (2) AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—An aggregate 

21 amount assistance over the entire period under sub22 section (b) that assistance is provided with respect 

23 to the mortgage, which shall be established by the 

24 Secretary taking into consideration the total amount 

25 made available for the program under this Act. 


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1 (e) PREVENTION OF DOUBLE PAYMENTS.—The Sec2 retary shall take appropriate actions to ensure that, in the 

3 case of any payment on an eligible mortgage paid by a 

4 mortgagor for any period for which payment has already 

5 been made under the program under this Act, the mort6 gagor or other servicer of the mortgage shall return such 

7 payment within a reasonable period of time or shall imme8 diately credit such payment toward amortization of the 

9 principal obligation under the mortgage, and promptly no10 tify the mortgagor of such credit. 

11 SEC. 4. REPAYMENT OF ASSISTANCE. 

12 (a) GRANT ASSISTANCE; NO REPAYMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any assistance provided 

14 under the program under this Act with respect to 

15 any eligible mortgage during any period during 

16 which the annual income of household of the mort17 gagor, as determined by the Secretary, does not ex18 ceed 200 percent of the poverty line applicable to a 

19 family of the size involved shall be in the form of a 

20 grant and, except as provided in paragraph (2), the 

21 Secretary may not require repayment of any such 

22 amounts. 

23 (2) REPAYMENT IN CASES OF FORECLOSURE.— 

24 If the mortgagee for any eligible mortgage for which 

25 assistance payments are made pursuant to this subVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:43 Jun 08, 2007 Jkt 059196 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599

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1 section forecloses on the mortgage, takes legal action 

2 to enforce the mortgage obligation, or otherwise re3 covers possession of any security of the mortgage as 

4 a result of default on the obligation of the mortgage, 

5 the Secretary shall terminate payment of assistance 

6 under this Act with respect to the mortgage and 

7 shall treat any assistance previously provided with 

8 respect to the mortgage as assistance in the form of 

9 a loan pursuant to subsection (b). 

10 (b) LOAN ASSISTANCE; REPAYMENT REQUIRED.— 

11 Any assistance provided under the program under this Act 

12 with respect to any eligible mortgage during any period 

13 during which the annual income of household of the mort14 gagor, as determined by the Secretary, exceeds 200 per15 cent of the poverty line applicable to a family of the size 

16 involved shall be in the form of a loan, as follows: 

17 (1) NO INTEREST.—Such loan shall not bear 

18 any interest. 

19 (2) 10-YEAR TERM.—Such loan shall have a 

20 term to maturity of 10 years, which shall not com21 mence until the period of assistance under section 

22 3(b) with respect to mortgage has terminated. 

23 (3) SECURITY.—Repayment of such loan shall 

24 be secured by a lien on the residential property that 

25 is subject to the eligible mortgage for which the asVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:43 Jun 08, 2007 Jkt 059196 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599

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1 sistance under this Act was provided under the loan, 

2 in the aggregate amount of such loan assistance pro3 vided. Such lien shall be held by the Secretary and 

4 shall be subordinate to other mortgages and other 

5 secured liens on the property in effect upon the date 

6 that assistance under the program under this Act is 

7 first provided for the mortgage, and to any Federal 

8 tax lien, but shall be superior to any other lien. 

9 (4) AGREEMENT.—The terms of such loan shall 

10 be set forth in a written agreement, as the Secretary 

11 considers appropriate, between the Secretary and the 

12 mortgagor. 

13 SEC. 5. APPLICATION FOR ASSISTANCE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for mortgage assist15 ance under this Act, a mortgagor for an eligible mortgage 

16 shall submit an application for such assistance in such 

17 form and manner as the Secretary shall require, which 

18 shall provide such information regarding the eligible mort19 gage as the Secretary shall require, including information 

20 sufficient for the Secretary to comply with subsection (b), 

21 and shall include a financial statement disclosing all in22 come of each member of the household of the mortgagor 

23 regardless of source. An application for such assistance 

24 may be submitted before the eligible member of the Armed 


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1 Forces who is a member of the eligible household begins 

2 active duty described in section 8(2). 

3 (b) NOTIFICATION TO MORTGAGEE AND

4 SERVICER.—Upon submission of an application under 

5 subsection (a), the Secretary shall notify the mortgagee 

6 and servicer, if the mortgagee is not the servicer, of the 

7 eligible mortgage of the submission of the application for 

8 assistance under this Act. 

9 (c) INCOME INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall re10 quire that each such application include a certification by 

11 the mortgagor for the eligible mortgage of the anticipated 

12 income of the household of the mortgagor during the an13 ticipated period of assistance under this Act, which, in the 

14 case of an application described in the last sentence of 

15 subsection (a), may be based on household income in the 

16 month before commencement of the active duty of the eli17 gible member of the Armed Forces, less any such income 

18 attributable to such eligible member, plus the expected 

19 military pay of such eligible member. The Secretary may 

20 make a determination regarding compliance of the income 

21 of a mortgagor’s household with the requirements under 

22 subsections (a)(1) and (b) of section 4 based upon such 

23 a certification, subject to such reviews as the Secretary 

24 shall, by regulation, provide. 


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1 (d) EFFECT OF MISREPRESENTATION.—A mortgagor 

2 who is determined to have intentionally misrepresented 

3 any financial information in connection with the filing of 

4 an application for assistance under this Act may be denied 

5 assistance and required to immediately repay any amount 

6 of assistance already received, and the mortgagee may, at 

7 any time thereafter, take any legal action to enforce the 

8 mortgage, if appropriate. 

9 (e) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall review 

11 each application submitted for assistance under this 

12 Act and make a determination regarding the eligi13 bility for assistance of the mortgage specified in the 

14 application not later than 30 days after receipt of 

15 the application of the mortgagor, and shall notify 

16 the mortgagor and the mortgagee and servicer of ap17 proval or disapproval of such application not later 

18 than 30 days after making the determination re19 garding approval. 

20 (2) FAILURE TO MAKE DETERMINATION.—If 

21 the Secretary fails to make a determination regard22 ing eligibility for assistance of a mortgage during 

23 the 30-day period specified in paragraph (1) or fails 

24 to provide the notice regarding such determination 

25 as required under such paragraph, the mortgage 


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1 shall be considered for purposes of this Act to have 

2 been approved as eligible for assistance upon the 

3 date that the application for the mortgage was sub4 mitted to the Secretary. 

5 SEC. 6. COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES AND ENTI6 TIES. 

7 (a) PUBLICITY.—The Secretary shall take such ac8 tion as may be necessary to ensure that eligible households 

9 and eligible members of the Armed Forces are aware of 

10 and informed about the availability of and requirements 

11 for mortgage assistance under this Act, which may include 

12 consulting and coordinating appropriate activities with the 

13 Secretary of Defense, the Federal financial institutions 

14 regulatory agencies, financial institutions regulated by 

15 such regulatory agencies, other mortgage lenders, the Fed16 eral National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home 

17 Loan Mortgage Corporation, and mortgage counseling 

18 agencies. 

19 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall consider 

20 using States, State or local agencies (including housing 

21 and housing finance agencies), mortgage lenders and other 

22 financial institutions, and other entities to conduct some 

23 or all of the functions and responsibilities involved in car24 rying out the program for mortgage assistance under this 

25 Act and may enter into agreements with such entities to 


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1 provide for such entities to carry out such functions and 

2 responsibilities as the Secretary considers appropriate to 

3 ensure that such assistance is provided in an effective and 

4 efficient manner. 

5 SEC. 7. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

6 This Act may not be construed to alter, affect, or 

7 limit any provision of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act 

8 (50 U.S.C. App. 501 et seq.). 

9 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

10 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 

11 apply: 

12 (1) ACTIVE DUTY.—The terms ‘‘active duty’’ 

13 and ‘‘active duty for a period of more than 30 days’’ 

14 have the meanings given such terms in section 

15 101(d) of title 10, United States Code. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE MEMBER OF THE ARMED

17 FORCES.—The term ‘‘eligible member of the Armed 

18 Forces’’ means a member of the Armed Forces who, 

19 while a member of the Individual Ready Reserve or 

20 the inactive National Guard, is serving on active 

21 duty pursuant to a call or order to active duty for 

22 a period of more than 30 days. 

23 (3) ELIGIBLE MORTGAGE.—The term ‘‘eligible 

24 mortgage’’ means any mortgage that meets the reVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:43 Jun 08, 2007 Jkt 059196 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2599.IH H2599

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1 quirements of section 2(b) for assistance under this 

2 Act. 

3 (4) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘eligible 

4 household’’ means a household that— 

5 (A) contains a member who is an eligible 

6 member of the Armed Forces; and 

7 (B) has been determined by the Secretary 

8 to be eligible for mortgage assistance under this 

9 Act. 

10 (5) FEDERAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS REGU11 LATORY AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘Federal financial in12 stitutions regulatory agencies’’ means the Office of 

13 the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Gov14 ernors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal 

15 Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift 

16 Supervision, and the National Credit Union Admin17 istration. 

18 (6) HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘household’’ 

19 means a mortgagor, the mortgagor’s spouse, chil20 dren residing in the same residence as the mort21 gagor, and any other person living in such residence 

22 that is declared by the mortgagor as a dependent for 

23 Federal income tax purposes. 

24 (7) INCOME.—The term ‘‘income’’ means, with 

25 respect to the household of an eligible mortgagor, 


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1 the aggregate income from the all sources of each 

2 member of the household, as determined in accord3 ance with criteria prescribed by the Secretary. 

4 (8) MORTGAGE; MORTGAGEE; MORTGAGOR.— 

5 The terms ‘‘mortgage’’, ‘‘mortgagee’’, and ‘‘mort6 gagor’’ have the meanings given such terms in sec7 tion 201 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 

8 1707). 

9 (9) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 

10 has the meaning given such term in section 673(2) 

11 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, 

12 including any revision required by such section. 

13 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

14 means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop15 ment. 

16 (11) SERVICER.—The term ‘‘servicer’’ has the 

17 meaning given such term in section 6(i) of the Real 

18 Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 

19 U.S.C. 2605(i)). 

20 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 There are authorized to be appropriated for mortgage 

22 assistance under this Act such sums as may be necessary 

23 for each of fiscal years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. 


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1 SEC. 10. REGULATIONS. 

2 Not later than the expiration of the 180-day period 

3 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

4 Secretary, in consultation with the Federal financial insti5 tutions regulatory agencies, shall issue such regulations as 

6 may be necessary to carry out this Act, which shall provide 

7 for the implementation of the mortgage assistance pro8 gram under this Act upon the expiration of such period. 

Æ 


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