The House of Representative late last week passed a defense authorization bill that includes an expansion of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to shield more military families from foreclosure while increasing penalties on lenders for compliance violations.
The House adopted a bill sponsored by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., that amends SCRA and expands foreclosure protections to the surviving spouse of a soldier killed in the line of duty.
It also expands foreclosure protections to military persons serving in support of a contingency operation and to veterans who are 100% disabled at the time of discharge.
“This bill expands current law to protect more of our brave men and women in uniform from losing their homes while they protect our freedoms abroad,” Cummings said.
The House voted 394-27 to attach the Cummings bill to the National Defense Authorization Act on Friday and passed the defense bill later that day. The Senate has not taken up a defense authorization bill yet.
The Cummings bill also requires all lenders to designate a SCRA compliance officer and doubles penalties for first violations to $110,000 and $220,000 for subsequent violations.
