Sen. Franken Applauds Passage of Bill to Protect Servicemembers from Foreclosure
Legislation Will Extend Safeguards against Foreclosures for Active-Duty Servicemembers through 2017
WASHINGTON D.C. – December 16, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Sen. Al Franken praised the Senate’s passage of a bill he supports to help protect members of the armed forces from foreclosure.
The bill, which cleared the Senate on Thursday evening, would safeguard active-duty servicemembers from losing their homes for one year following the completion of service.
“We owe a great debt to our active-duty servicemembers and their families, and we need to be doing everything in our power to support them both during and after their service,” said Sen. Franken. “That’s why I was pleased to see the Senate come together and pass legislation to extend foreclosure protections for our active duty servicemembers. The men and women who serve our country sacrifice so much for us, and the least we can do is to give them some time to readjust to life at home without having to face foreclosure.”
The bill—called the Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act—extends the existing 12 months of foreclosure protection for military personnel leaving active duty under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The current one-year protection from foreclosure is set to expire at the end of 2015; this bill extends it to 2017. The foreclosure protection period will revert back to just 90 days starting in 2016 if Congress doesn’t act. Sen. Franken has also cosponsored a bill to make this protection permanent.
