Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020
Latest action. Received in the Senate.
Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020
This bill addresses various housing issues in response to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency, including housing assistance programs and moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures.
The bill authorizes additional housing assistance, including rental assistance, for (1) low-income individuals with families, including those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness; (2) the elderly; (3) individuals with disabilities; and (4) rural renters.
In addition, the bill establishes a 12-month moratorium on evictions covering all tenants, whereas the previously enacted moratorium covered only tenants of federally assisted properties.
Similarly, the bill establishes a 12-month moratorium on foreclosures that covers all tenants, whereas the previously enacted moratorium covered only federally backed mortgages.
The bill also establishes an automatic 60-day forbearance (i.e., suspension of mortgage payments) for a single-family mortgage that becomes delinquent by 60 days during the public health emergency. Under current law, the borrower must request a forbearance. This automatic forbearance also applies to certain reverse mortgages.
The bill extends the maximum period of forbearance for multifamily mortgages from 90 days to 12 months.
Additionally, the bill establishes a six-month moratorium on the repossession of personal property used as a dwelling.
The bill also provides additional bankruptcy protections by (1) increasing the homestead exemption (generally, the equity in a residence that is protected from creditors in a bankruptcy proceeding) from $15,000 to $100,000, and (2) expanding eligibility for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House" stage on June 29, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Received in the Senate.
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The record's latest action, on June 30, 2020: Received in the Senate.
How likely is it to become law?
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In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
MAXINE WATERS (D-CA) introduced it on June 24, 2020, and 9 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 9 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 24, 2020, 2269 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2263 days ago, on June 30, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
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Vote history
- HouseReceived in the Senate.
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action