On May 7, 2013 HR 1842 – Military Family Home Protection Act was referred to the  House Veterans Affairs Committee.  The full legislative title of HR 1842:  To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to improve the protections for servicemembers, surviving spouses, and disabled veterans against mortgage foreclosures, and for other purposes. HR 1842 provides the following protections to servicemembers against for expands foreclosure protection for servicemembers assigned to a designated combat zone or receiving foreclosures:

  1. Provides foreclosure protection for homes purchased after entering military service.
  2. Protects servicemembers receiving imminent danger pay or hostile fire pay.
  3. Halts the foreclosure process for 12 months if the servicemember is medically discharged or placed on convalescent status.
  4. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act would apply to surviving spouses of servicemembers whose deaths are service related.
  5. Penalties double against lenders who discriminate against service members and surviving spouses.
  6. HR 1842 eliminates the primary residence requirement for service members ordered to relocate to a different station.  This enables the service member to qualify for mortgage refinancing.

If HR 1842 does not become law, only servicemembers purchasing a home before entering military service will be protected from foreclosure.  On May 7, 2013 this proposal was referred to the Veterans Affairs Committee and is under review by the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee.  According to govtrack.us this bill has a 19% chance of getting past committee to the U. S. House of Representatives or U. S. Senate, and a 5% chance of being enacted.  This is important legislation for fair protection of service members in harm’s way.  We encourage everyone to contact your representative on Capitol Hill and voice your support for this bill.

Related links:

ServiceMembersReliefAct.com

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

Update: This bill was not enacted. A lot of special interest money leads to wasteful spending by Congress. This bill should have been passed on its merit.