Washington, DC – Today, the Senate passed Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s (D-RI) legislation to extend permanently vital foreclosure protection for servicemembers, veterans, and their families. Whitehouse’s bill, which was included in a larger banking bill passed tonight, cements a one-year grace period protecting servicemembers leaving active duty from foreclosure. The grace period would otherwise expire in 2019.
“Those who serve our country ought to be given a fair chance to get their financial affairs in order when they return home. That’s why I’ve fought for years to extend and make permanent important foreclosure protection for servicemembers and veterans,” said Whitehouse. “I’m proud my bill to help recognize the noble work of our men and women in uniform is one step closer to the finish line.”
Senator Whitehouse has been fighting for years to ensure that those who have served our country and their families are protected from foreclosure as they transition from active-duty service to civilian life. In 2012, Whitehouse fought successfully to extend the period of foreclosure protection to one year. Since then, Whitehouse has succeeded in continuing that protection on a temporary basis, while fighting to make it permanent.
“Senator Whitehouse’s bill is particularly important in Rhode Island because we have one of the most deployed National Guard forces in the country,” said Erik Wallin, Executive Director of Operation Stand Down Rhode Island. “This bill provides servicemen and women with the relief they need as they transition from periods of active duty back into civilian life.”
In 2008, Congress first extended the period of foreclosure protection under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act from 90 days to nine months in response to a report by the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves. The report found that “the threat of foreclosure is a stressor that need not be placed on members of the armed forces during the first months of their return to civilian life.”
The bill is the fourth piece of bipartisan legislation championed by Whitehouse to clear the Senate in the last several months, along with bills to promote carbon capture, utilization, and storage; combat marine debris; and help pave the way for advance nuclear technology.
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