The night of the start of what came to be known as the Eaton Fire, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 (Photo – Wendy Terrones)
On Thursday, April 17, Representatives Judy Chu (CA-28) and Brad Sherman (CA-32) introduced the Mortgage Relief for Disaster Survivors Act, a bill aimed at providing standardized mortgage forbearance to homeowners in presidentially declared disaster areas.
By News Desk
Under the proposed legislation, homeowners with federally backed mortgages would be eligible for 180 days of forbearance, with an option to extend for an additional 180 days—without the accrual of interest, penalties, or fees. The bill seeks to create a consistent national standard, addressing the current patchwork of relief policies across different federal mortgage providers.
The legislation is modeled after the bipartisan CARES Act of 2020, which provided similar mortgage relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Disaster survivors – like thousands of my constituents still reeling from the devastating Eaton Fire – should not have to worry about missing a mortgage payment in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters,” said Rep. Chu. “Congress has already [come together] during during the coronavirus crisis to provide bipartisan and near unanimous support for such relief for pandemic victims, and the Los Angeles wildfires have made clear to us that all natural disaster victims should receive that relief as well.”
Rep. Sherman echoed the urgency: “The devastating January wildfires in Los Angeles caused widespread economic harm, and just as we acted with urgency and compassion during the COVID-19 pandemic, we must now adapt the forbearance rules to meet the scale of this disaster.”
The bill has drawn broad support from other lawmakers. Joining as original cosponsors are Reps. Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Laura Friedman (CA-30), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Lou Correa (CA-46), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Joe Neguse (CO-02), and Sylvia Garcia (TX-29).
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