II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2744 

To establish a grant program to provide assistance to States to prevent 

and repair damage to structures due to pyrrhotite. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 25, 2018 

Mr. MURPHY (for himself and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 

Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program to provide assistance to States 

to prevent and repair damage to structures due to pyrrhotite. 

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 ‘‘Aid to Homeowners 

5 with Crumbling Foundations Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘covered State’’ means a State 

9 that administers a crumbling foundations assistance 

10 fund; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘crumbling foundations assistance 

2 fund’’ means a fund established by a State the pur3 pose of which is to receive public or private contribu4 tions to provide financial assistance to owners of res5 idential buildings in the State to repair or replace 

6 the concrete foundations of those residential build7 ings that have deteriorated due to the presence of 

8 pyrrhotite; 

9 (3) the term ‘‘residential building’’ means a 1- 

10 family, 2-family, 3-family or 4-family dwelling, in11 cluding a condominium unit or dwelling in a planned 

12 unit development; and 

13 (4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

14 of Housing and Urban Development. 

15 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—Not later than 90 days after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es17 tablish and implement a program to make grants to cov18 ered States to assist owners of residential buildings with 

19 concrete foundations that have deteriorated due to the 

20 presence of pyrrhotite. 

21 (c) APPLICATION.—A covered State desiring a grant 

22 under this section shall submit an application to the Sec23 retary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by 

24 such information as the Secretary may require. 


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1 (d) DEPOSIT OF FUNDS.—A covered State receiving 

2 a grant under this section shall deposit any grant amounts 

3 into the crumbling foundations assistance fund of the 

4 State for the purpose of carrying out the activities de5 scribed in subsection (e). 

6 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—A covered State receiving a 

7 grant under this section shall— 

8 (1) develop a single, unified application for 

9 owners of residential buildings to apply for all finan10 cial assistance from the crumbling foundations as11 sistance fund of the covered State; 

12 (2) provide financial assistance to approved 

13 owners of residential buildings for the repair or re14 placement of concrete foundations that have deterio15 rated due to the presence of pyrrhotite, including fi16 nancial reimbursement to owners who have had such 

17 repair or replacement performed before the date of 

18 enactment of this Act; 

19 (3) assist approved owners of residential build20 ings to obtain additional financing necessary to fully 

21 fund the repair or replacement of concrete founda22 tions that have deteriorated due to the presence of 

23 pyrrhotite; 


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1 (4) approve contractors or other vendors for eli2 gibility to perform foundation repairs or replace3 ments on behalf of approved owners; 

4 (5) ensure that the financial assistance is used 

5 solely for costs of repairing and replacing concrete 

6 foundations that have deteriorated due to the pres7 ence of pyrrhotite; and 

8 (6) require the disclosure of the amount of all 

9 financial compensation received by an owner of the 

10 residential building, if any, arising out of a claim for 

11 coverage under the property coverage provisions of 

12 the homeowners policy for foundation deterioration 

13 due to the presence of pyrrhotite and ensure that 

14 the amount is considered when determining the 

15 amount of financial assistance offered to the owner. 

16 (f) GRANT AMOUNT AND DURATION.— 

17 (1) AMOUNT.—Each grant awarded to a cov18 ered State under this section in a fiscal year shall 

19 be in an amount of not more than $20,000,000. 

20 (2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

21 section shall be for a period of 5 years. 

22 (g) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit 

23 to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af24 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Serv25 ices of the House of Representatives an annual report on 


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1 the grant program established under this section, includ2 ing a summary of the use of funds by covered States re3 ceiving a grant under this section. 

4 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023. 

Æ 


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