Title: Volunteer First Responder Housing Act
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Volunteer First Responder Housing Act
This bill expands eligibility for assistance under the Department of Agriculture Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Good Neighbor Next Door Sales Program with respect to qualified volunteer first responders.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1831 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1831

   To expand eligibility for certain housing programs for qualified 
                      volunteer first responders.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 19, 2017

  Ms. Heitkamp (for herself and Mr. Tester) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 
                       Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To expand eligibility for certain housing programs for qualified 
                      volunteer first responders.

    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 ``Volunteer First Responder Housing 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Bona fide volunteer; eligible employer; qualified 
        services.--The terms ``bona fide volunteer'', ``eligible 
        employer'', and ``qualified services'' have the meanings given 
        those terms in section 457(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986.
            (2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            (3) Qualified volunteer first responder.--The term 
        ``qualified volunteer first responder'' means any individual 
        who--
                    (A) is a bona fide volunteer performing qualified 
                services for an eligible employer;
                    (B) has volunteered for not less than 2 continuous 
                years for an eligible employer;
                    (C) during each of the 2 years described in 
                subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) met the minimum requirements for active 
                        membership established by the eligible 
                        employer; or
                            (ii) if the eligible employer did not 
                        establish minimum requirements, volunteered for 
                        not less than 200 hours; and
                    (D) is certified as a firefighter or other 
                responder in the State, unit of general local 
                government, or Indian tribe in which the individual is 
                serving as volunteer.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING GUARANTEED LOAN 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--A qualified volunteer first responder who submits 
to the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the 
``Secretary'') a verification letter in accordance with subsection (b) 
shall be eligible for a verified adjustment in annual income under 
section 3555.152(c) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
successor regulations), in the amount of $18,000.
    (b) Verification Letter.--To be eligible for a verified deduction 
under subsection (a), a qualified volunteer first responder shall 
submit to the Secretary a verification letter from the head of the 
eligible employer for which the qualified volunteer first responder 
volunteers, which shall--
            (1) include the date on which the qualified volunteer first 
        responder joined the eligible employer as a volunteer;
            (2) attest to the Secretary that the qualified volunteer 
        first responder--
                    (A) continuously served as a volunteer for the 
                eligible employer during the 2-year period preceding 
                the date of the verification letter; and
                    (B) during each of the 2 years described in 
                subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) met the minimum requirements for active 
                        membership established by the eligible 
                        employer; or
                            (ii) if the eligible employer did not 
                        establish minimum requirements, volunteered for 
                        not less than 200 hours; and
            (3) include a copy of the certification of the qualified 
        volunteer first responder as a firefighter or other responder 
        in the State, unit of general local government, or Indian tribe 
        in which the individual served as a volunteer.

SEC. 4. GOOD NEIGHBOR NEXT DOOR SALES PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Housing and Urban Development.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
    (b) Amendments.--The Secretary shall amend--
            (1) section 291.530 of title 24, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, to provide that a qualified volunteer first 
        responder qualifies as a firefighter or emergency medical 
        technician for purposes of the Good Neighbor Next Door Sales 
        Program of the Department; and
            (2) section 291.515 of title 24, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, to provide that, to qualify to purchase a home 
        through the Good Neighbor Next Door Sales Program of the 
        Department, a qualified volunteer first responder shall submit 
        to the Secretary a verification letter from the head of the 
        eligible employer for which the qualified volunteer first 
        responder volunteers, which shall--
                    (A) include the date on which the qualified 
                volunteer first responder joined the eligible employer 
                as a volunteer;
                    (B) attest to the Secretary that the qualified 
                volunteer first responder--
                            (i) continuously served as a volunteer for 
                        the eligible employer during the 2-year period 
                        preceding the date of the verification letter; 
                        and
                            (ii) during each of the 2 years described 
                        in clause (i)--
                                    (I) met the minimum requirements 
                                for active membership established by 
                                the eligible employer; or
                                    (II) if the eligible employer did 
                                not establish minimum requirements, 
                                volunteered for not less than 200 
                                hours; and
                    (C) include a copy of the certification of the 
                qualified volunteer first responder as a firefighter or 
                other responder in the State, unit of general local 
                government, or Indian tribe in which the individual 
                served as a volunteer.
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