| 1 | 1 | | II |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 978 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To amend the National Housing Act to establish a mortgage insurance |
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| 6 | 6 | | program for first responders, and for other purposes. |
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| 7 | 7 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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| 8 | 8 | | MARCH12, 2025 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Mrs. M |
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| 10 | 10 | | OODY(for herself, Mr. OSSOFF, Mr. CASSIDY, and Mr. WARNOCK) in- |
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| 11 | 11 | | troduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- |
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| 12 | 12 | | mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs |
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| 13 | 13 | | A BILL |
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| 14 | 14 | | To amend the National Housing Act to establish a mortgage |
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| 15 | 15 | | insurance program for first responders, and for other |
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| 16 | 16 | | purposes. |
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| 17 | 17 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 18 | 18 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 19 | 19 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 20 | 20 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Homes for Every Local 4 |
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| 21 | 21 | | Protector, Educator, and Responder Act of 2025’’ or the 5 |
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| 22 | 22 | | ‘‘HELPER Act of 2025’’. 6 |
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| 24 | 24 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | •S 978 IS |
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| 26 | 26 | | SEC. 2. FHA MORTGAGE INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR MORT-1 |
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| 27 | 27 | | GAGES FOR FIRST RESPONDERS. 2 |
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| 28 | 28 | | Section 203 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 3 |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1709) is amended by adding at the end the following: 4 |
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| 30 | 30 | | ‘‘(z) FHA M |
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| 31 | 31 | | ORTGAGEINSURANCEPROGRAM FOR 5 |
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| 32 | 32 | | M |
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| 33 | 33 | | ORTGAGES FORFIRSTRESPONDERS.— 6 |
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| 34 | 34 | | ‘‘(1) D |
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| 35 | 35 | | EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 7 |
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| 36 | 36 | | ‘‘(A) F |
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| 37 | 37 | | IRST RESPONDER.—The term ‘first 8 |
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| 38 | 38 | | responder’ means an individual who is, as at-9 |
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| 39 | 39 | | tested by the individual— 10 |
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| 40 | 40 | | ‘‘(i)(I) employed full-time by a law en-11 |
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| 41 | 41 | | forcement agency of the Federal Govern-12 |
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| 42 | 42 | | ment, a State, a Tribal government, or a 13 |
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| 43 | 43 | | unit of general local government; and 14 |
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| 44 | 44 | | ‘‘(II) in carrying out such full-time 15 |
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| 45 | 45 | | employment, sworn to uphold, and make 16 |
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| 46 | 46 | | arrests for violations of, Federal, State, 17 |
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| 47 | 47 | | county, township, municipal, or Tribal 18 |
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| 48 | 48 | | laws, or authorized by law to supervise 19 |
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| 49 | 49 | | sentenced criminal offenders or individuals 20 |
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| 50 | 50 | | with pending criminal charges; 21 |
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| 51 | 51 | | ‘‘(ii) employed full-time as a fire-22 |
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| 52 | 52 | | fighter, paramedic, or emergency medical 23 |
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| 53 | 53 | | technician by a fire department or emer-24 |
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| 54 | 54 | | gency medical services responder unit of 25 |
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| 55 | 55 | | the Federal Government, a State, a Tribal 26 |
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| 57 | 57 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 |
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| 58 | 58 | | •S 978 IS |
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| 59 | 59 | | government, or a unit of general local gov-1 |
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| 60 | 60 | | ernment; or 2 |
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| 61 | 61 | | ‘‘(iii) employed as a full-time teacher 3 |
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| 62 | 62 | | by a State-accredited public school or pri-4 |
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| 63 | 63 | | vate school that provides direct services to 5 |
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| 64 | 64 | | students in grades pre-kindergarten 6 |
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| 65 | 65 | | through 12. 7 |
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| 66 | 66 | | ‘‘(B) F |
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| 67 | 67 | | IRST-TIME HOMEBUYER .—The term 8 |
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| 68 | 68 | | ‘first-time homebuyer’ has the meaning given 9 |
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| 69 | 69 | | the term in section 104 of the Cranston-Gon-10 |
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| 70 | 70 | | zalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 11 |
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| 71 | 71 | | U.S.C. 12704). 12 |
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| 72 | 72 | | ‘‘(C) S |
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| 73 | 73 | | TATE.—The term ‘State’ has the 13 |
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| 74 | 74 | | meaning given the term in section 201. 14 |
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| 75 | 75 | | ‘‘(D) T |
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| 76 | 76 | | RIBAL GOVERNMENT .—The term 15 |
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| 77 | 77 | | ‘Tribal government’ means the recognized gov-16 |
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| 78 | 78 | | erning body of any Indian or Alaska Native 17 |
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| 79 | 79 | | tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, 18 |
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| 80 | 80 | | component band, or component reservation, in-19 |
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| 81 | 81 | | dividually identified (including parenthetically) 20 |
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| 82 | 82 | | in the list published most recently pursuant to 21 |
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| 83 | 83 | | section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian 22 |
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| 84 | 84 | | Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 23 |
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| 85 | 85 | | ‘‘(2) A |
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| 86 | 86 | | UTHORITY.—The Secretary may, upon 24 |
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| 87 | 87 | | application by a mortgagee, insure any mortgage eli-25 |
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| 89 | 89 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 |
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| 90 | 90 | | •S 978 IS |
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| 91 | 91 | | gible for insurance under this subsection to an eligi-1 |
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| 92 | 92 | | ble mortgagor and, upon such terms and conditions 2 |
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| 93 | 93 | | as the Secretary may prescribe, make commitments 3 |
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| 94 | 94 | | for the insurance of such mortgages prior to the 4 |
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| 95 | 95 | | date of their execution or disbursement. 5 |
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| 96 | 96 | | ‘‘(3) M |
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| 97 | 97 | | ORTGAGE TERMS; MORTGAGE INSURANCE 6 |
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| 98 | 98 | | PREMIUM.— 7 |
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| 99 | 99 | | ‘‘(A) T |
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| 100 | 100 | | ERMS.— 8 |
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| 101 | 101 | | ‘‘(i) I |
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| 102 | 102 | | N GENERAL.—A mortgage in-9 |
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| 103 | 103 | | sured under this subsection shall— 10 |
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| 104 | 104 | | ‘‘(I) be made to an eligible mort-11 |
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| 105 | 105 | | gagor; 12 |
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| 106 | 106 | | ‘‘(II) comply with the require-13 |
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| 107 | 107 | | ments established under paragraphs 14 |
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| 108 | 108 | | (1) through (7) of subsection (b); and 15 |
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| 109 | 109 | | ‘‘(III) be used only to— 16 |
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| 110 | 110 | | ‘‘(aa) purchase or repair a 17 |
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| 111 | 111 | | 1-family residence, including a 1- 18 |
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| 112 | 112 | | family dwelling unit in a condo-19 |
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| 113 | 113 | | minium project, to serve as a 20 |
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| 114 | 114 | | principal residence of the mort-21 |
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| 115 | 115 | | gagor, as attested by the mort-22 |
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| 116 | 116 | | gagor; or 23 |
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| 117 | 117 | | ‘‘(bb) purchase a principal 24 |
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| 118 | 118 | | residence of the mortgagor, as at-25 |
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| 120 | 120 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 |
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| 121 | 121 | | •S 978 IS |
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| 122 | 122 | | tested by the mortgagor, which 1 |
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| 123 | 123 | | is— 2 |
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| 124 | 124 | | ‘‘(AA) a manufactured 3 |
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| 125 | 125 | | home to be permanently af-4 |
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| 126 | 126 | | fixed to a lot that is owned 5 |
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| 127 | 127 | | by the mortgagor and titled 6 |
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| 128 | 128 | | as real property; or 7 |
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| 129 | 129 | | ‘‘(BB) a manufactured 8 |
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| 130 | 130 | | home and a lot to which the 9 |
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| 131 | 131 | | home will be permanently 10 |
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| 132 | 132 | | affixed that is titled as real 11 |
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| 133 | 133 | | property. 12 |
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| 134 | 134 | | ‘‘(ii) N |
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| 135 | 135 | | O DOWN PAYMENT .—Notwith-13 |
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| 136 | 136 | | standing any provision to the contrary in 14 |
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| 137 | 137 | | the matter following subsection (b)(2)(B) 15 |
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| 138 | 138 | | with respect to first-time homebuyers— 16 |
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| 139 | 139 | | ‘‘(I) the Secretary may insure 17 |
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| 140 | 140 | | any mortgage that involves an original 18 |
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| 141 | 141 | | principal obligation (including allow-19 |
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| 142 | 142 | | able charges and fees and the pre-20 |
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| 143 | 143 | | mium pursuant to subparagraph (B) 21 |
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| 144 | 144 | | of this paragraph) in an amount not 22 |
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| 145 | 145 | | to exceed 100 percent of the appraised 23 |
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| 146 | 146 | | value of the property involved; and 24 |
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| 148 | 148 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 |
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| 149 | 149 | | •S 978 IS |
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| 150 | 150 | | ‘‘(II) the mortgagor of a mort-1 |
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| 151 | 151 | | gage described in subclause (I) shall 2 |
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| 152 | 152 | | not be required to pay any amount, in 3 |
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| 153 | 153 | | cash or its equivalent, on account of 4 |
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| 154 | 154 | | the property. 5 |
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| 155 | 155 | | ‘‘(B) M |
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| 156 | 156 | | ORTGAGE INSURANCE PREMIUM .— 6 |
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| 157 | 157 | | ‘‘(i) U |
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| 158 | 158 | | P-FRONT PREMIUM .—The Sec-7 |
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| 159 | 159 | | retary shall establish and collect an insur-8 |
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| 160 | 160 | | ance premium in connection with mort-9 |
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| 161 | 161 | | gages insured under this subsection that is 10 |
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| 162 | 162 | | a percentage of the original insured prin-11 |
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| 163 | 163 | | cipal obligation of the mortgage amount, 12 |
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| 164 | 164 | | which shall be collected at the time and in 13 |
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| 165 | 165 | | the manner provided under subsection 14 |
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| 166 | 166 | | (c)(2)(A), except that the premiums col-15 |
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| 167 | 167 | | lected under this subparagraph— 16 |
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| 168 | 168 | | ‘‘(I) may be in an amount that 17 |
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| 169 | 169 | | exceeds 3 percent of the amount of 18 |
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| 170 | 170 | | the original insured principal obliga-19 |
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| 171 | 171 | | tion of the mortgage; and 20 |
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| 172 | 172 | | ‘‘(II) may be adjusted by the 21 |
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| 173 | 173 | | Secretary from time to time by in-22 |
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| 174 | 174 | | creasing or decreasing such percent-23 |
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| 175 | 175 | | ages as the Secretary considers nec-24 |
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| 176 | 176 | | essary, based on the performance of 25 |
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| 178 | 178 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 |
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| 179 | 179 | | •S 978 IS |
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| 180 | 180 | | mortgages insured under this sub-1 |
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| 181 | 181 | | section and market conditions. 2 |
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| 182 | 182 | | ‘‘(ii) P |
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| 183 | 183 | | ROHIBITION OF MONTHLY PRE -3 |
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| 184 | 184 | | MIUMS.—A mortgage insured under this 4 |
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| 185 | 185 | | subsection shall not be subject to a month-5 |
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| 186 | 186 | | ly insurance premium, including a pre-6 |
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| 187 | 187 | | mium under subsection (c)(2)(B). 7 |
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| 188 | 188 | | ‘‘(4) E |
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| 189 | 189 | | LIGIBLE MORTGAGORS .—The mortgagor 8 |
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| 190 | 190 | | for a mortgage insured under this subsection shall, 9 |
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| 191 | 191 | | at the time the mortgage is executed— 10 |
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| 192 | 192 | | ‘‘(A) be a first-time homebuyer; 11 |
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| 193 | 193 | | ‘‘(B) have completed a program of housing 12 |
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| 194 | 194 | | counseling provided through a housing coun-13 |
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| 195 | 195 | | seling agency approved by the Secretary; 14 |
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| 196 | 196 | | ‘‘(C) as attested by the mortgagor— 15 |
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| 197 | 197 | | ‘‘(i) be employed as a first responder; 16 |
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| 198 | 198 | | ‘‘(ii) have been— 17 |
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| 199 | 199 | | ‘‘(I) employed as a first re-18 |
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| 200 | 200 | | sponder for not less than 4 of the 5 19 |
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| 201 | 201 | | years preceding the date on which the 20 |
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| 202 | 202 | | mortgagor submitted an application to 21 |
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| 203 | 203 | | insure the mortgage under this sec-22 |
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| 204 | 204 | | tion; or 23 |
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| 205 | 205 | | ‘‘(II) released from employment 24 |
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| 206 | 206 | | as a first responder due to an occupa-25 |
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| 208 | 208 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 |
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| 209 | 209 | | •S 978 IS |
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| 210 | 210 | | tion-connected disability resulting 1 |
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| 211 | 211 | | from such duty or employment; 2 |
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| 212 | 212 | | ‘‘(iii) be in good standing as a first re-3 |
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| 213 | 213 | | sponder and not on probation or under in-4 |
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| 214 | 214 | | vestigation for conduct that, if determined 5 |
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| 215 | 215 | | to have occurred, is grounds for termi-6 |
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| 216 | 216 | | nation of employment; 7 |
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| 217 | 217 | | ‘‘(iv) in good faith intend to continue 8 |
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| 218 | 218 | | as a first responder for not less than 1 9 |
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| 219 | 219 | | year following the date of closing on the 10 |
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| 220 | 220 | | mortgage; and 11 |
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| 221 | 221 | | ‘‘(v) have previously never been the 12 |
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| 222 | 222 | | mortgagor under a mortgage insured under 13 |
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| 223 | 223 | | this subsection; 14 |
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| 224 | 224 | | ‘‘(D) meet such requirements as the Sec-15 |
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| 225 | 225 | | retary shall establish to ensure that insurance 16 |
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| 226 | 226 | | of the mortgage represents an acceptable risk to 17 |
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| 227 | 227 | | the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund; and 18 |
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| 228 | 228 | | ‘‘(E) meet such underwriting requirements 19 |
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| 229 | 229 | | as the Secretary shall establish to meet actu-20 |
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| 230 | 230 | | arial objectives identified by the Secretary, 21 |
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| 231 | 231 | | which may include avoiding a positive subsidy 22 |
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| 232 | 232 | | rate or complying with the capital ratio require-23 |
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| 233 | 233 | | ment under section 205(f)(2). 24 |
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| 235 | 235 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9 |
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| 236 | 236 | | •S 978 IS |
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| 237 | 237 | | ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS .— 1 |
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| 238 | 238 | | There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 2 |
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| 239 | 239 | | the program under this subsection— 3 |
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| 240 | 240 | | ‘‘(A) $660,000 for fiscal year 2026, to re-4 |
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| 241 | 241 | | main available until expended; and 5 |
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| 242 | 242 | | ‘‘(B) $160,000 for each of fiscal years 6 |
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| 243 | 243 | | 2027 through 2032, to remain available until 7 |
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| 244 | 244 | | expended. 8 |
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| 245 | 245 | | ‘‘(6) R |
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| 246 | 246 | | EAUTHORIZATION REQUIRED .—The au-9 |
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| 247 | 247 | | thority to enter into new commitments to insure 10 |
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| 248 | 248 | | mortgages under this subsection shall expire on the 11 |
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| 249 | 249 | | date that is 5 years after the date on which the Sec-12 |
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| 250 | 250 | | retary first makes available insurance for mortgages 13 |
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| 251 | 251 | | under this subsection.’’. 14 |
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| 252 | 252 | | Æ |
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| 254 | 254 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS |
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