Washington, DC – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s (D-RI) bill to extend vital foreclosure protection to servicemembers and their families cleared Congress today as part of the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill and now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law. Whitehouse’s legislation extends through 2019 the one-year grace period protecting servicemembers leaving active duty from foreclosure.
“When men and women of our armed forces return home, they ought to have a chance to adjust to civilian life and regain their financial footing,” said Whitehouse. “I’m proud to recognize the noble work of our servicemembers and veterans by extending these vital foreclosure protections.”
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. The 2016 extension of these protections expires at the end of 2017.
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.”
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