[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2569 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2569
To provide forbearance assistance during a major disaster or emergency,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 31, 2025
Mr. Schiff (for himself and Mr. Bennet) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide forbearance assistance during a major disaster or emergency,
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 ``Mortgage Relief for Disaster
Survivors Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered mortgage loan.--The ``covered mortgage loan''
means--
(A) a Federally backed mortgage loan; or
(B) a Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan.
(2) Covered period.--The term ``covered period'' means the
period beginning on the date of the declaration of a disaster
and ending on the date on which the declaration ends.
(3) Disaster.--The term ``disaster'' means--
(A) any major disaster or emergency declared by the
President under section 401 or 501, respectively, of
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191); and
(B) any disaster or emergency declared by the
Governor of a State or the Chief Executive of an Indian
tribal government.
(4) Disaster area.--The term ``disaster area'' means, with
respect to a disaster, any area that is subject to the
declaration of the disaster.
(5) Federally backed mortgage loan.--The term ``Federally
backed mortgage loan'' includes any loan that is secured by a
first or subordinate lien on residential real property
(including individual units of condominiums and cooperatives)
designed principally for the occupancy of from 1- to 4-
families that is--
(A) insured by the Federal Housing Administration
under title II of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C.
1707 et seq.);
(B) insured under section 255 of the National
Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-20);
(C) guaranteed under section 184 or 184A of the
Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (12
U.S.C. 1715z-13a, 1715z-13b);
(D) guaranteed or insured by the Department of
Veterans Affairs;
(E) guaranteed or insured by the Department of
Agriculture;
(F) made by the Department of Agriculture; or
(G) purchased or securitized by the Federal Home
Loan Mortgage Corporation or the Federal National
Mortgage Association.
(6) Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan.--The term
``Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan'' includes any
loan (other than temporary financing, such as a construction
loan) that--
(A) is secured by a first or subordinate lien on
residential multifamily real property designed
principally for the occupancy of 5 or more families,
including any such secured loan, the proceeds of which
are used to prepay or pay off an existing loan secured
by the same property; and
(B) is--
(i) insured under section 255 of the
National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-20);
(ii) guaranteed under section 184 or 184A
of the Housing and Community Development Act of
1992 (12 U.S.C. 1715z-13a, 1715z-13b);
(iii) guaranteed or insured by the
Department of Veterans Affairs;
(iv) guaranteed or insured by the
Department of Agriculture;
(v) made by the Department of Agriculture;
or
(vi) purchased or securitized by the
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the
Federal National Mortgage Association.
(7) Governor; indian tribal government; state.--The terms
``Governor'', ``Indian tribal government'', and ``State'' have
the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5122).
SEC. 3. FORBEARANCE OF LOAN PAYMENTS FOR BORROWERS OF PROPERTIES WITH
FEDERALLY BACKED LOANS IN DISASTER AREAS.
(a) In General.--With respect to any disaster, a borrower with a
covered mortgage loan that is secured by a property located within the
disaster area may request a forbearance on the covered mortgage loan
during the covered period.
(b) Request for Forbearance.--A borrower described in subsection
(a) may request a forbearance on a covered mortgage loan, regardless of
the delinquency status of the covered mortgage loan, by--
(1) submitting a request to the borrower's servicer in
writing, over the phone, online, or through any other
notification method determined to be eligible by the servicer;
and
(2) affirming that the borrower is experiencing a financial
hardship.
(c) Grant of Forbearance.--
(1) In general.--Upon receiving a request for a forbearance
from a borrower described in subsection (a), the borrower's
servicer shall promptly and without unreasonable delay grant a
forbearance--
(A) for a duration of 180 days; and
(B) regardless of the delinquency status of the
covered mortgage loan.
(2) Extension of forbearance.--At any time during the
forbearance, a borrower may request an extension, of not more
than 180 days, of the duration described in paragraph (1)(A).
(d) Right To Discontinue.--A borrower described in subsection (a)
may request to discontinue a forbearance granted under subsection (c)
at any time.
(e) Accrual.--During any forbearance granted under subsection (c),
no fees, penalties, or interest (beyond the amounts scheduled or
calculated as if the borrower made all contractual payments on time and
in full under the terms of the mortgage contract) shall accrue on the
borrower's account.
(f) Application.--This section shall apply to with respect to any
disaster declared on or after January 1, 2025.
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