HELP Rural Communities Act of 2015
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) S2048-2049)
Helping Expand Lending Practices in Rural Communities Act of 2015 or the HELP Rural Communities Act of 2015
Directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to establish an application process under which a person who lives or does business in a state may apply to have an area in the state identified as a rural area if it has not yet been so designated by the CFPB for purposes of federal consumer financial law.
Prescribes criteria for the CFPB to consider when evaluating the application. States that if, at any time before submission of an application, the area subject to review has been designated as nonrural by certain federal agencies, the CFPB is not required to consider that designation in its evaluation. Requires the CFPB to: (1) grant or deny the application within 90 days after the public comment period ends; and (2) publish the grant or denial in the Federal Register, including an explanation of the factors upon which the CFPB relied in making its determination.
Sunsets this Act two years after its enactment.
Amends The Truth in Lending Act with respect to CFPB authority to treat a balloon loan as "a qualified mortgage" to mean a balloon loan extended by any creditor operating in rural or underserved areas even if it does not operate predominantly in them. Exempts such a creditor from the requirements for escrow or impound accounts governing certain consumer credit transactions secured by a first lien on the consumer's principal dwelling.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 26, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 26, 2015: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2048-2049)
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, 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?
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) introduced it on March 26, 2015, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 5 Republicans.
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 March 26, 2015, 4186 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4186 days ago, on March 26, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIntroduced, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers