Coronavirus Housing Counseling Improvement Act
Bill: S.404 | Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert (D-NJ)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Coronavirus Housing Counseling Improvement Act
This bill authorizes additional housing counseling services provided through the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. Funding priority is given to counseling organizations that target low-income and minority homeowners, renters, individuals experiencing homelessness, and individuals at risk of homelessness.

To provide funding for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act, 
                        and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coronavirus Housing Counseling 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. FUNDING FOR HOUSING COUNSELING SERVICES.

    (a) Congressional Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) 
        continues to negatively impact the incomes of millions of 
        homeowners, renters, individuals experiencing homelessness, and 
        individuals at risk of homelessness, making it difficult for 
        them to pay their mortgages or rents on time;
            (2) housing counseling is critical to ensuring that 
        homeowners, renters, individuals experiencing homelessness, and 
        individuals at risk of homelessness have the resources they 
        need to manage financial hardships from the COVID-19 crisis;
            (3) loan preservation and foreclosure mitigation services 
        are also critical to address the needs of homeowners who lose 
        employment and income because of the pandemic and who face 
        serious delinquency or home loan default, or are in foreclosing 
        proceedings during this period; and
            (4) evaluations from the National Foreclosure Mitigation 
        Counseling program revealed that homeowners at risk of or 
        facing foreclosure are better served when they have access to a 
        housing counselor and a range of tools and resources to help 
        them avoid losing their home and have the support they need to 
        tailor the best possible response to their situation.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (in this 
section referred to as the ``Corporation'') established under the 
Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 8101 et seq.) 
$700,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 for housing counseling services, 
which shall remain available until September 30, 2024.
    (c) Prioritization of Housing Counseling Services.--Of any grant 
funds made available pursuant to subsection (b), not less than 40 
percent shall be provided to counseling organizations that target 
counseling services to minority and low-income homeowners, renters, 
individuals experiencing homelessness, and individuals at risk of 
homelessness or provide such services in neighborhoods with high 
concentrations of minority and low-income homeowners, renters, 
individuals experiencing homelessness, and individuals at risk of 
homelessness.
    (d) Eligible Uses.--Amounts made available pursuant to subsection 
(b) may be used in such amounts as the Corporation determines for costs 
of--
            (1) public education and outreach;
            (2) direct services, including the full range of services 
        provided by housing counselors to assist homeowners, including 
        manufactured homeowners, regardless of financing type, renters, 
        individuals experiencing homelessness, and individuals at risk 
        of homelessness, including the practices, tools, and 
        innovations in foreclosure mitigation that were utilized in the 
        National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program, and 
        financial capability, credit counseling, homeless counseling, 
        and rental counseling;
            (3) equipment and technology, including broadband internet 
        and equipment upgrades needed to ensure timely and effective 
        service delivery;
            (4) training, including capacitating housing counseling 
        staff in various modes of counseling, including rental and 
        foreclosure, delivery of remote counseling utilizing improved 
        technology, enhanced network security, and supportive options 
        for the delivery of client services; and
            (5) administration and oversight of the program in 
        accordance with the rate of the Corporation for program 
        administration.
    (e) Disbursement.--
            (1) In general.--The Corporation shall disburse all grant 
        funds made available pursuant to subsection (b) as 
        expeditiously as possible, through grants to housing counseling 
        intermediaries approved by the Department of Housing and Urban 
        Development, State housing finance agencies, and NeighborWorks 
        organizations.
            (2) Limitation.--The aggregate amount provided to 
        NeighborWorks organizations under this section shall not exceed 
        15 percent of the total of grant funds made available pursuant 
        to subsection (b).
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