I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 950
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide mortgage payment assist-
ance to avoid foreclosure of home loans guaranteed under title 38,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 17, 1993
Mr. SANGMEISTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide mortgage
payment assistance to avoid foreclosure of home loans
guaranteed under title 38, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. MORTGAGE PAYMENT ASSISTANCE TO AVOID
FORECLOSURE OF HOME LOANS GUARAN-
TEED UNDER TITLE 38.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Chapter 37 of title 38, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3714
the following new section:
‘‘§ 3715. Loans to refinance delinquent indebtedness
‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary may, at the Secretary’s option,
provide assistance to a veteran under this section for the
purpose of avoiding the foreclosure of a housing loan made
to that veteran and guaranteed by the Secretary under
section 3710 or 3712 of this title (hereinafter in this sec-
tion referred to as a ‘primary loan’).
‘‘(2) Assistance under this section shall be in the
form of a loan to the veteran. Such assistance may be pro-
vided only if—
‘‘(A) the dwelling that secures the primary loan
is the current residence of the veteran and is occu-
pied by the veteran as the veteran’s home;
‘‘(B) the veteran is at least six months delin-
quent in payments on that primary loan;
‘‘(C) the veteran has lost employment or has
had a substantial reduction in household income (as
defined in regulations prescribed by the Secretary)
through no fault of the veteran; and
‘‘(D) the Secretary determines that there is a
reasonable prospect that the veteran will be able to
resume payment on the primary loan within six
months after receiving assistance under this section.
‘‘(3) For the purposes of this section, the term ‘vet-
eran’ includes the surviving spouse of a veteran if the sur-
viving spouse was a co-obligor of the primary loan.
‘‘(b)(1) A loan under this section shall be advanced
to the holder of the primary loan. The amount of the loan
under this subsection shall first be applied to the amount
delinquent on the loan guaranteed under this chapter in-
cluding any amount delinquent on taxes, assessments, haz-
ard insurance, and late charges required by the holder to
be included in the veteran’s monthly payment on the mort-
gage.
‘‘(2) The Secretary may make more than one loan
under this section to a veteran. The total amount of loans
under this section to any veteran may not exceed $10,000.
‘‘(c) A loan under this section—
‘‘(1) shall bear no interest until the date on
which payments on the primary loan (including
amounts for taxes, assessments, hazard insurance,
and late charges required by the holder to be in-
cluded in the veteran’s monthly payment on the
mortgage) are current;
‘‘(2) shall be secured by a lien on the property
securing the primary loan and by such other security
as the Secretary may require; and
‘‘(3) shall be subject to such additional terms
and conditions as the Secretary may require.
‘‘(d) As a condition of receiving a loan under this sec-
tion the veteran shall execute an agreement, in such form
as the Secretary may prescribe, to repay the loan within
a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Sec-
retary, not to exceed 15 years from the date on which such
loan is made. If the Secretary determines that the veteran
has sufficient income or other resources to do so, the Sec-
retary may require the veteran to make partial payments
on the primary loan guaranteed under this chapter during
the period the holder of that loan is applying the amount
of the loan under this section to payments becoming due
on the primary loan.
‘‘(e) Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary
may employ attorneys to bring suit to collect any amount
of a loan under this section on which the veteran to whom
the loan is made is in default.
‘‘(f) The Secretary’s decisions on any question of law
or fact regarding assistance under this section, including
whether or not to grant such assistance and the terms and
conditions under which such assistance is granted or not
granted, shall be final and conclusive, and no other official
or any court of the United States shall have power or ju-
risdiction to review any such decision by an action in the
nature of mandamus or otherwise.
‘‘(g) A loan under this section shall be made from
the fund established under section 3724 or 3725 of this
title that is available with respect to the primary loan in