Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act of 2015

Floor Speech

I rise today in support of S. 2393, the Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act of 2015.

This bill provides a 2-year extension of current protections so veterans transitioning out of the military don't lose their homes that they owned before beginning their military service, if they are experiencing financial hardships for up to a year after they leave the service.

S. 2393 allows courts to pause proceedings to foreclose on or seize a home for 1 year following service, allowing time for transitioning soldiers to adjust their financial situations, as well as all other aspects of their lives, to civilian life.

We owe our veterans the benefit of the doubt when they may have missed payments while facing the tough realities of serving our Nation. There is broad support for this provision in both Chambers of Congress, and I urge my colleagues to support it today.

Millions of people are losing their homes and have lost their homes to foreclosure. I have worked with the banking community, Federal HUD, and NACA. Our veterans and other individuals are still losing their homes, and now many churches in my district are closing and losing their properties through foreclosure.

I am pleased that we have this bipartisan legislation, but this bill is a temporary fix. We need to work together, as a Congress, to find a permanent fix so that our veterans, other individuals, and churches are protected from foreclosure.

Again, I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Coffman), for bringing this legislation forward. I urge the passage of S. 2393.

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