Bill to provide mortgage aid is introduced

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) introduced a bill Wednesday to establish a program to assist homeowners who are experiencing unavoidable, temporary difficulty making payments on mortgages insured under the National Housing Act.

Under the proposed Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Act, homeowners who are two months’ delinquent in their mortgage payments and have been notified by their lender of intent to foreclose would be eligible to receive assistance. They would be required to repay the amount, with interest, after financial stability, which would be a period not to exceed three years.

Fattah helped pass a similar program in Pennsylvania when he was a state lawmaker.