I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 554 

To provide relief to homeowners affected by Superstorm Sandy who have 

mortgages insured by the FHA, or owned or guaranteed by Fannie 

Mae or Freddie Mac, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2013 

Mr. JEFFRIES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To provide relief to homeowners affected by Superstorm 

Sandy who have mortgages insured by the FHA, or 

owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, 

and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Superstorm Sandy 

5 Mortgage Relief Act of 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO OFFER FORBEARANCE TO AF2 FECTED HOMEOWNERS. 

3 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Housing and 

4 Urban Development and the Director of the Federal 

5 Housing Finance Agency shall each carry out a program 

6 under this section to notify mortgagors under covered 

7 mortgages of the availability of forbearance under the pro8 gram and to offer and provide such relief upon a request 

9 by an eligible homeowner. 

10 (b) COVERED MORTGAGE.—For purposes of this sec11 tion, the term ‘‘covered mortgage’’ means a mortgage— 

12 (1) that is secured by a one- to four-family 

13 dwelling that— 

14 (A) is the principal residence of the mort15 gagor; and 

16 (B) is located within an area for which a 

17 major disaster was declared pursuant to section 

18 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

19 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 5170) as a result of Hurricane Sandy; and 

21 (2) that is— 

22 (A) insured under title II of the National 

23 Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.); or 

24 (B) owned or guaranteed by the Federal 

25 National Mortgage Association or the Federal 

26 Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. 


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1 (c) ELIGIBLE HOMEOWNER.—For purposes of this 

2 section, the term ‘‘eligible homeowner’’ means a mort3 gagor under a covered mortgage whose— 

4 (1) household experienced a disruption in in5 come as a result of Hurricane Sandy, as determined 

6 in accordance with guidelines issued pursuant to 

7 subsection (k); or 

8 (2) residence that secures the mortgage was 

9 damaged as a result of Hurricane Sandy, as deter10 mined in accordance with guidelines issued pursuant 

11 to subsection (k). 

12 (d) NOTIFICATION.—Under the program under this 

13 section, the applicable agency heads shall require each 

14 mortgagee of a covered mortgage to notify the mortgagor 

15 under the mortgage in writing, not later than the expira16 tion of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the en17 actment of this Act and in such form as the applicable 

18 agency heads shall require pursuant to guidelines issued 

19 under subsection (k)— 

20 (1) that the mortgage is a covered mortgage 

21 that may be eligible for forbearance relief under the 

22 program under this section; 

23 (2) of the requirements for eligible homeowners 

24 to qualify for such relief; 

25 (3) of the terms of such relief; and 


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1 (4) how to request such relief. 

2 (e) REQUEST FOR RELIEF.—The applicable agency 

3 heads shall, by guidelines issued under subsection (k), pro4 vide for mortgagors under covered mortgages to submit 

5 requests, during the 6-month period beginning on the date 

6 of the enactment of this Act, to the mortgagees of such 

7 mortgages for forbearance relief under the program under 

8 this section. 

9 (f) DETERMINATION.—Upon receipt of a request 

10 made by a mortgagor under a covered mortgage for for11 bearance relief under the program under this section that 

12 is submitted during the period referred to in subsection 

13 (e), the mortgagee shall promptly determine whether the 

14 mortgagor is an eligible homeowner and immediately no15 tify the mortgagor in writing of such determination. 

16 (g) REQUIREMENT TO OFFER FORBEARANCE.—If, 

17 pursuant to a request for relief submitted pursuant to sub18 section (e) with respect to a covered mortgage, the mort19 gagee for the mortgage determines that the mortgagor 

20 under the mortgage is an eligible homeowner, the mort21 gagee shall, together with the notification required under 

22 subsection (f) submit to the eligible homeowner a written 

23 offer for forbearance that meets the requirements of sub24 section (h). 

25 (h) TERMS OF FORBEARANCE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An offer for forbearance 

2 with respect to a covered mortgage meets the terms 

3 of this subsection only if— 

4 (A) the forbearance provides for the sus5 pension of payments due under the mortgage 

6 for a period having a duration that is not short7 er than 4 months nor longer than 12 months; 

8 and 

9 (B) the offer provides for forbearance and 

10 terms, requirements, and procedures for such 

11 forbearance that otherwise comply with guide12 lines issued by the Secretary and the Director 

13 pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

14 (2) ESTABLISHMENT OF TERMS.—The applica15 ble agency heads shall, by guidelines issued pursuant 

16 to subsection (k), provide for the terms, require17 ments, and procedures for forbearance offered under 

18 the program under this section. Such guidelines 

19 shall provide that— 

20 (A) such forbearance shall be in manner 

21 provided under, and subject to the terms of, the 

22 provisions of Mortgagee Letter 2002–17 of the 

23 Secretary (regarding ‘‘Special Forbearance: 

24 Program Changes and Updates’’) relating to 

25 Type I Special Forbearance, except that— 


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1 (i) an offer of forbearance under the 

2 program under this section shall only pro3 vide relief described in paragraph (1)(A) of 

4 this subsection; 

5 (ii) any requirement under such Mort6 gagee Letter relating to delinquency of the 

7 mortgage or payments due and unpaid 

8 shall not apply to the program under this 

9 section; and 

10 (iii) the terms of such Mortgagee Let11 ter shall apply with respect to mortgages 

12 described in subsection (b)(2)(B) and to 

13 the Director in the same manner and to 

14 the same extent that such Mortgagee Let15 ter applies to mortgages described in sub16 section (b)(2)(A) and the Secretary; and 

17 (B) the period referred to in paragraph 

18 (1)(A) of this subsection may cover periods for 

19 which payments due under the mortgage were 

20 not paid that occurred before the request for re21 lief under the program was submitted, including 

22 periods occurring before the date of the enact23 ment of this Act. 

24 (i) OTHER FORBEARANCE.—This section may not be 

25 construed to prevent an eligible homeowner and the mortVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:30 Feb 15, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H554.IH H554

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1 gagee for the covered mortgage of such eligible homeowner 

2 from agreeing to any other terms of forbearance, regard3 less of whether such eligible homeowner made a request 

4 under subsection (e) or received an offer of forbearance 

5 pursuant to subsection (g). 

6 (j) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec7 tion, the following definitions shall apply: 

8 (1) APPLICABLE AGENCY HEAD.—The term 

9 ‘‘applicable agency head’’ means— 

10 (A) the Secretary, with respect to a cov11 ered mortgage described in subsection 

12 (b)(2)(A); and 

13 (B) the Director, with respect to a covered 

14 mortgage described in subsection (b)(2)(B). 

15 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

16 the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agen17 cy. 

18 (3) MORTGAGEE.—The term ‘‘mortgagee’’ 

19 means, with respect to a covered mortgage, the 

20 original lender under the mortgage and any affili21 ates, agents, subsidiaries, successors, or assignees of 

22 such lender, any subsequent purchaser, trustee, or 

23 transferee of the mortgage or credit instrument 

24 issued by such lender. 


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1 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

3 (k) GUIDELINES.—Not later than the expiration of 

4 the 30-day period beginning on the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act, the Secretary and the Director shall jointly 

6 issue guidelines to carry out the program under this sec7 tion. 

Æ 


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