Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I rise today to announce the reintroduction of the bipartisan, bicameral Building Up Independent Lives and Dreams Act, more commonly known as the BUILD Act.

After the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was tasked with creating a single set of integrated disclosure forms for mortgage loans. This set of forms, created by the TRID rule, was designed to provide a more consumer- friendly approach to traditional mortgage lenders. Its aim was to streamline disclosure requirements in the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlements Procedures Act into a single set of forms.

The measure works for most traditional mortgage lenders; however, it buried not-for-profit, charitable organizations in mountains of paperwork. The weight of the nearly 2,000-page TRID rule is not only burdensome but confusing--especially for small lenders and housing charities that do not have the funding to hire financial experts.

The forms present a variety of unnecessary obstacles, including the requirement for expensive software with a cost calculator. These costly and complex forms are expected of large banks and institutions, and they can better afford to hire experts who are well versed on the TRID rule, but smaller community-based organizations, like Habitat for Humanity, they simply cannot. The overwhelming majority of the more than 1,200 Habitat for Humanity organizations across our country are faced with limited resources.

Historically, Habitat for Humanity has built homes for struggling families and provided a low- or no-interest loan. The loan amounts are typically lower due to the free labor of thousands of volunteers in Habitat projects around the world. These loans give Habitat homeowners a chance to establish themselves as creditworthy and a fresh start for their future.

There are currently 15 Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Nebraska. The chapters in Omaha, Lincoln, Fremont, Grand Island, and Columbus, as well as the Sarpy County and Scotts Bluff County chapters have voiced their full support for the BUILD Act. I thank them for that.

These organizations are a constant source of hope for our communities across the State, and they make significant contributions to provide a hand up for struggling families. The executive director of Habitat's Lincoln chapter recently sent my office the story of a local couple who became a Habitat homeowner.

Abdelkarim and Sailwa worked hard to provide for their five sons. With help from Habitat for Humanity, the couple was approved for a 30- year, zero-interest mortgage on their new home. Payments are capped at 30 percent of their combined monthly income. Now Sailwa can work part time, and Abdelkarim pursues his degree from Southeast Community College. He is helping to secure his family's future. Their children are comfortable in their neighborhood, where they have made new friends and attend a local school.

The executive director of the Lincoln chapter continued, saying: ``With the ability to focus on our mission, instead of burdensome regulatory requirements and expenses, we can help more families build strength, stability, and self-reliance through homeownership.

The BUILD Act will do exactly that. This bill will allow nonprofits to use the simpler Truth in Lending, good-faith estimate and HUD-1 forms, instead of that overbearing, nearly 2,000-page TRID rule. These forms were previously used for years.

Habitat for Humanity's volunteers with financial expertise were once able to sit down with the borrower and review each section of the forms together. This gave the volunteer an opportunity to teach the new homeowner about personal finance and the critical steps he or she could take to grow as a financially responsible citizen. With the passage of the BUILD Act, volunteers will be able to provide this prudent advice once again.

My office has also been informed that some Habitat chapters lack the staffing capacity to comply with the TRID rule. What is more, these chapters do not possess the adequate funding needed to purchase the required software.

In Habitat for Humanity chapters in Lincoln, Grand Island, and Fremont, they are going to benefit from the passage of the BUILD Act, and I think all of us in this body can agree that charitable organizations like Habitat for Humanity are a constant source of hope for families in need. They should not be hurt because of a preventable oversight.

By working together and finding commonsense solutions, we can fix this. The BUILD Act gained momentum last year and passed the House unanimously, but we can push this legislation over the finish line during the 116th Congress.

I thank the junior Senator from Maryland for partnering with me and helping to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation. I thank our lead sponsors in the House who spearheaded this effort last Congress.

The BUILD Act would provide that commonsense reform to ensure all housing charities are able to provide much needed stability to communities without being harmed by overly burdensome regulations.

The President highlighted a variety of different ways we can work together during his State of the Union speech this week, and I believe the passage of a bipartisan, bicameral BUILD Act would be an encouraging start. ______

By Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Jones, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Boozman, Mrs. Capito, Ms. Collins, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Enzi, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Gardner, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Johnson, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Peters, Ms. Smith, Mr. Thune, Mr. Udall, Mr. Wicker, and Mr. Wyden):

S. 382. A bill to authorize a special resource study on the spread vectors of chronic wasting disease in Cervidae, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

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