H. R. 4194—209
(as contained in section 101(e) of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescis-
sions and Appropriations Act of 1996; 42 U.S.C. 1437f note) by
the Charlotte Housing Authority of Charlotte, North Carolina, or
the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall—
(1) consider such application, notwithstanding—
(A) the limitation under subsection (b) of such section
on the number of public housing agencies that may partici-
pate in such program; or
(B) any limitation regarding the date for the submis-
sion of applications for participation in such program; and
(2) approve or disapprove the application based on the
criteria for selection for participation in such program, notwith-
standing the limitations referred to in paragraph (1) of this
subsection.
(f ) USE OF PROJECT TO BENEFIT LOW-INCOME PERSONS.—The
project funded by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
under the supportive housing program of title IV of the Stewart
B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act through grant number FL
29T90-1285 (commonly known as Royal Pointe) shall be considered
to have been approved pursuant to section 423(b)(3) of such Act
as of December 31, 1995 for use for the direct benefit of low-
income persons.
(g) RURAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—The last sentence of section
520 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490) is amended by
inserting before the period the following: ‘‘, and the city of Altus,
Oklahoma, shall be considered a rural area for purposes of this
title until the receipt of data from the decennial census in the
year 2000’’.
(h) FUNDING
FOR PURCHASE
AND CONVERSION
OF EXISTING
ASSISTED HOUSING.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
and only to the extent specifically provided in a subsequent appro-
priations Act, from any amounts previously appropriated for Annual
Contributions for Assisted Housing or for the Public Housing Cap-
ital Fund and not obligated by the Secretary, the Secretary may
make available to the Lockport Housing Authority in Lockport,
New York, such sums as may be necessary for use in accordance
with section 5 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437c) for the purchase and rehabilitation of a project that is
assisted under section 8 of such Act and located on a site contiguous
to the site of a public housing project administered by the agency.
(i) RURAL AND TRIBAL ASSISTANCE.—From the amounts that
were made available to the Secretary under the Departments of
Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and
Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998, for grants for rural
and tribal areas pursuant to the 5th undesignated paragraph of
the heading ‘‘COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT—COMMU-
NITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAMS’’ (Public Law 105–65;
111 Stat. 1357), the Secretary shall provide from any amounts
remaining unobligated—
(1) $2,800,000 for seed money for a multi-State rural
homeownership 
campaign 
administered 
by 
the 
Rural
Opportunities Affordable Housing Finance Alliance; and
(2) $500,000 to the Rural Housing Institute of the
Muscatine Center for Strategic Action.
H. R. 4194—210
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, this subsection
shall take affect only to the extent specifically provided in a subse-
quent appropriations Act.
( j) COMMUNITY SERVICES DEMONSTRATION.—
(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall, to the extent amounts are appropriated
to carry out this subsection, provide financial assistance to
the Bethune-Cookman College in Volusia County, Florida (in
this subsection referred to as the ‘‘College’’), in accordance
with the provisions of this subsection, for the College to estab-
lish and operate, as a national demonstration, the Bethune-
Cookman Community Services Student Union Center.
(2) USE.—Any financial assistance provided to the College
pursuant to this subsection shall be used by the College for
the construction, maintenance, and endowment of the Bethune-
Cookman Community Services Student Union Center through—
(A) the acquisition of necessary equipment, including
utility vehicles; or
(B) the acquisition of necessary real property;
(3) APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall provide financial
assistance under this subsection only pursuant to application
by the College for such assistance at such time, in such manner,
and providing such information as the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development may reasonably require.
(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are author-
ized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for
assistance under this subsection. Any amounts appropriated
pursuant to this subsection shall remain available until
expended.
(k) INDEPENDENCE SQUARE FOUNDATION.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, including 28 U.S.C. 516, the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development shall enforce the use agreement
entered into between the Secretary and the Independence Square
Foundation of Newport, Rhode Island: Provided further, That such
enforcement shall include the option of instituting civil litigation
to determine the current applicability of the aforementioned use
agreement or petition for the issuance of an injunction to prevent
the demolition of the property subject to the aforementioned use
agreement.
(l) REMOVAL
OF HOPE VI DEMOLITION REQUIREMENT.—The
Secretary may approve otherwise qualified applications received
in response to a notice published at 63 Federal Register 15489
(March 31, 1998) for grants from the $26,000,000 set-aside of
amounts made available under the head ‘REVITALIZATION
OF
SEVERELY DISTRESSED PUBLIC HOUSING (HOPE VI)’ in the Depart-
ments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development,
and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law
105–65, 111 Stat. 1354) without regard to whether such applications
propose or plan demolition of obsolete public housing projects.
(m) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect on, and
the amendments made by this section are made on, and shall
apply beginning upon, the date of the enactment of this Act.
TITLE VI—FHA PROPERTY DISPOSITION REFORM
SEC. 601. SINGLE FAMILY CLAIMS REFORM AND SALE OF
PROPERTY. (a) REVISION OF CLAIMS PROCEDURES.—Section 204
H. R. 4194—211
of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1710) is amended by
striking ‘‘SEC. 204.’’ and all that follows through the end of
subsection (a) and inserting the following:
‘‘SEC. 204. (a) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZED CLAIMS PROCEDURES.—The Secretary may,
in accordance with this subsection and terms and conditions
prescribed by the Secretary, pay insurance benefits to a mortga-
gee for any mortgage insured under section 203 through any
of the following methods:
‘‘(A) ASSIGNMENT OF MORTGAGE.—The Secretary may
pay insurance benefits whenever a mortgage has been in
a monetary default for not less than 3 full monthly install-
ments or whenever the mortgagee is entitled to foreclosure
for a nonmonetary default. Insurance benefits shall be paid
pursuant to this subparagraph only upon the assignment,
transfer, and delivery to the Secretary of—
‘‘(i) all rights and interests arising under the mort-
gage;
‘‘(ii) all claims of the mortgagee against the mort-
gagor or others arising out of the mortgage transaction;
‘‘(iii) title evidence satisfactory to the Secretary;
and
‘‘(iv) such records relating to the mortgage trans-
action as the Secretary may require.
‘‘(B) CONVEYANCE OF TITLE TO PROPERTY.—The Sec-
retary may pay insurance benefits if the mortgagee has
acquired title to the mortgaged property through fore-
closure or has otherwise acquired such property from the
mortgagor after a default upon—
‘‘(i) the prompt conveyance to the Secretary of title
to the property which meets the standards of the Sec-
retary in force at the time the mortgage was insured
and which is evidenced in the manner provided by
such standards; and
‘‘(ii) the assignment to the Secretary of all claims
of the mortgagee against the mortgagor or others, aris-
ing out of mortgage transaction or foreclosure proceed-
ings, except such claims as may have been released
with the consent of the Secretary.
The Secretary may permit the mortgagee to tender to the
Secretary a satisfactory conveyance of title and transfer
of possession directly from the mortgagor or other appro-
priate grantor, and may pay to the mortgagee the insurance
benefits to which it would otherwise be entitled if such
conveyance had been made to the mortgagee and from
the mortgagee to the Secretary.
‘‘(C) CLAIM WITHOUT CONVEYANCE OF TITLE.—The Sec-
retary may pay insurance benefits upon sale of the mort-
gaged property at foreclosure where such sale is for at
least the fair market value of the property (with appro-
priate adjustments), as determined by the Secretary, and
upon assignment to the Secretary of all claims referred
to in clause (ii) of subparagraph (B).
‘‘(D) PREFORECLOSURE SALE.—The Secretary may pay
insurance benefits upon the sale of the mortgaged property
by the mortgagor after default and the assignment to the
H. R. 4194—212
Secretary of all claims referred to in clause (ii) of subpara-
graph (B), if—
‘‘(i) the sale of the mortgaged property has been
approved by the Secretary;
‘‘(ii) the mortgagee receives an amount at least
equal to the fair market value of the property (with
appropriate adjustments), as determined by the Sec-
retary; and
‘‘(iii) the mortgagor has received an appropriate
disclosure, as determined by the Secretary.
(2) PAYMENT FOR LOSS MITIGATION.—The Secretary may pay
insurance benefits to the mortgagee to recompense the mortgagee
for all or part of any costs of the mortgagee for taking loss mitigation
actions that provide an alternative to foreclosure of a mortgage
that is in default (including but not limited to actions such as
special forbearance, loan modification, and deeds in lieu of fore-
closure, but not including assignment of mortgages to the Secretary
under section 204(a)(1)(A)). No actions taken under this paragraph,
nor any failure to act under this paragraph, by the Secretary
or by a mortgagee shall be subject to judicial review.
‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF CLAIMS PROCEDURE.—The Secretary
shall publish guidelines for determining which of the procedures
for payment of insurance under paragraph (1) are available
to a mortgagee when it claims insurance benefits. At least
one of the procedures for payment of insurance benefits speci-
fied in paragraph (1)(A) or (1)(B) shall be available to a mortga-
gee with respect to a mortgage, but the same procedure shall
not be required to be available for all of the mortgages held
by a mortgagee.
‘‘(4) SERVICING OF ASSIGNED MORTGAGES.—If a mortgage
is assigned to the Secretary under paragraph (1)(A), the Sec-
retary may permit the assigning mortgagee or its servicer to
continue to service the mortgage for reasonable compensation
and on terms and conditions determined by the Secretary.
Neither the Secretary nor any servicer of the mortgage shall
be required to forbear from collection of amounts due under
the mortgage or otherwise pursue loss mitigation measures.
‘‘(5) CALCULATION
OF
INSURANCE
BENEFITS.—Insurance
benefits shall be paid in accordance with section 520 and shall
be equal to the original principal obligation of the mortgage
(with such additions and deductions as the Secretary deter-
mines are appropriate) which was unpaid upon the date of—
‘‘(A) assignment of the mortgage to the Secretary;
‘‘(B) the institution of foreclosure proceedings;
‘‘(C) the acquisition of the property after default other
than by foreclosure; or
‘‘(D) sale of the mortgaged property by the mortgagor.
‘‘(6) FORBEARANCE AND RECASTING AFTER DEFAULT.—The
mortgagee may, upon such terms and conditions as the Sec-
retary may prescribe—
‘‘(A) extend the time for the curing of the default and
the time for commencing foreclosure proceedings or for
otherwise acquiring title to the mortgaged property, to
such time as the mortgagee determines is necessary and
desirable to enable the mortgagor to complete the mortgage
payments, including an extension of time beyond the stated
maturity of the mortgage, and in the event of a subsequent