Ensuring a Response for Servicemembers Act

I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding.

I also want to thank Ranking Member Mr. Filner and Mr. Braley for helping us move this important piece of legislation to improve the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, or SCRA.

Earlier this year, allegations surfaced of mortgage-related violations of the SCRA by JPMorgan Chase Bank and other lending institutions. These allegations alleged that these institutions were unlawfully foreclosing on servicemembers' homes and charging interest rates above the 6 percent cap required by SCRA.

On February 9, 2011, the full committee held an oversight hearing to review these allegations and received testimony from Captain Jonathon Rowles, United States Marine Corps, and Mrs. Julia Rowles about the trouble that they had with JPMorgan Chase when they tried to assert their rights under SCRA. They commented that when they called the toll- free number provided by the bank, their employees were woefully inadequate in their knowledge of SCRA and there didn't seem to be anyone in charge to ensure that the bank was complying with the rules.

In response to this hearing and the committee's continued oversight of SCRA abuses, section 2 of this bill clarifies requirements for banks to comply with SCRA provisions related to foreclosures and maximum interest rates. The section requires all lending institutions affected by SCRA to employ and/or designate an SCRA compliance officer. This will make it clear that all banks and other lending institutions must take SCRA seriously and have at least one person responsible to ensure their institution's compliance. The section further requires banks that have annual assets of $10 billion to have a toll-free hotline for servicemembers to call and ask questions about their mortgage and SCRA. I want to thank Mr. Johnson of Ohio for originally proposing this provision in H.R. 2329.

Section 1 and section 3 of the bill expand foreclosure protections under SCRA for servicemembers and surviving spouses. The section prohibits foreclosure within 12 months of a servicemember coming off active duty or for a surviving spouse 12 months following the servicemember's death on active duty or as a result of a service- connected injury.

When a servicemember separates from the armed services, they need sufficient time to establish good economic footing to be successful. Some military families experience difficulties--often related to owning a home where the servicemember is stationed--in the transition from the military to the civilian world. By providing this expansion, we will be providing more time and options for the estimated 9,000 servicemembers who face foreclosure every year. These are important protections that help our servicemembers and their families who have already given so much in defense of our country and for our freedoms.

Once again, I thank the chairman of the VA Committee and the ranking member for moving this bill forward, and I urge all Members to support H.R. 1263, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, in May of this year, I introduced the Protecting Veterans' Homes Act after reading in the news and hearing in the Veterans' Affairs Committee that recently returned soldiers were facing foreclosure on their homes. And I thank the chairman of our Economic Opportunity Subcommittee for his inspiring words about this problem.

I rise today to talk about the responsibility this government has to protect our heroes who have recently returned from Afghanistan and Iraq. I am pleased that today the Protecting Veterans' Homes Act is being considered as part of this bill. We had a legislative hearing on this bill in the Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity on July 7, where I have the honor to serve as ranking member, and at that time we heard from the American Legion, the Reserve Officers Association, the Reserve Enlisted Association, Paralyzed Veterans of America, the VFW, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the Gold Star Wives of America. All acknowledged the need to protect returning servicemembers and veterans from foreclosure, and all have endorsed this legislation.

This bipartisan bill will help servicemembers who return from combat and are facing foreclosure stay in their homes and ensure that surviving military spouses have additional protections that prevent foreclosure on their homes. Furthermore, this bill establishes that lending institutions have compliance officers to provide information to veterans and servicemembers about foreclosure protections available to them.

The Protecting Veterans' Homes Act would protect veterans from being foreclosed upon by banks and would give those soldiers, like the Iowa National Guard soldiers returning from Afghanistan, the peace of mind knowing that they will have more opportunities to protect themselves from unwanted foreclosures. Too often, these soldiers return from combat only to face new challenges here at home. Whether it's due to an injury or a financial crisis caused by long deployments and time off from their civilian jobs, our veterans deserve to know that we're standing up for them, and this bill will make sure they have time to get back on their feet.

Currently, similar protections are set to expire in December of 2012. The Protecting Veterans' Homes Act would make these protections permanent and would extend the grace period from 9 months to a full year for servicemembers and veterans returning from deployments. This will allow them to work with their lenders, secure new loans, secure employment, get over a family tragedy, deal with a serious family health issue, or, in a worst-case scenario, be able to sell their home and avoid possible foreclosure, bankruptcy, or damage to their credit rating. That's why this bill is so important, and I ask all Members to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

We know how JPMorgan Chase and other banks overcharged thousands of veterans and then improperly foreclosed on dozens of families, the most notable case being of Captain Jonathon Rowles and his family who testified very movingly before our committee.

Now in the news, we have information that some of the biggest banks and mortgage companies have defrauded veterans and taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars by charging illegal fees in veterans' home refinancing loans, just, of course, to add to their problems. I think some of those folks who did that did it knowingly, they did it against the law, and they ought to be in jail today.

But when a servicemember separates from the armed services, they need sufficient time to establish good economic footing to be successful. We know that at times, military families have had a difficult time making a transition from the military to the civilian world; therefore, we ought to provide enough time for them to work with their lender, get a new loan, if necessary, or, in a worst-case scenario, sell their home. A home is often a veteran's largest financial asset, and they should have an opportunity to capitalize on their equity and avoid a negative mark on their credit history when they have the means to do so with their own home.

Mr. Speaker, this is why my bill here will extend mortgage foreclosure protection to 1 year for those who are separating from service, and it extends those protections to our servicemembers' widows. The bill also includes a requirement for lending institutions with over $10 billion in assets to have a compliance officer and a toll-free number for veterans to call. We should require lending institutions to be informed about the protections for our military and to have a number that they can call for information and help with their loan.

I would now like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Braley).

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I would urge support of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1263) to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide surviving spouses with certain protections relating to mortgages and mortgage foreclosures, as amended.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, one of the top duties of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs is to help enforce and improve the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, or SCRA, as it is designed to help ease economic and legal burdens on military personnel who are on active duty status. The SCRA is intended to postpone, suspend, or relieve certain civil obligations during a servicemember's period of active duty. It accomplishes this, in part, by regulating certain legal actions against military personnel.

H.R. 1263, as amended, makes several changes to strengthen the current protections. So in order to discuss these improvements, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, the gentleman from Indiana, Marlin Stutzman.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on

I encourage all Members to support H.R. 1263, and I yield back the balance of my time.