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    LA-area congressmembers seek mortgage relief for wildfire victims
    • April 25, 2025

    Two congressmembers representing communities hit hardest by the Palisades and Eaton fires that tore through Los Angeles County early this year have introduced legislation to provide mortgage relief to homeowners in areas declared a disaster by the president.

    The Mortgage Relief for Disaster Survivors Act would allow homeowners with a federally backed mortgage whose property was damaged or destroyed by a major disaster or emergency to seek forbearance — allowing them to skip mortgage payments without being assessed additional interest, penalties or fees — for up to nearly a year. The initial forbearance would last 180 days, with an opportunity to extend it another 180 days.

    The relief would apply to homeowners impacted by any federally declared disaster, be it a wildfire in California, hurricane in Florida or tornado in Oklahoma, for example.

    Introduced by Reps. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, whose constituents were directly impacted by the Eaton fire, and Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, who represents the Palisades, the proposed legislation is modeled after similar mortgage forbearance provisions in the bipartisan CARES Act that President Donald Trump signed in 2020, during his first term, to provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Following their meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss the Southern California wildfires, Reps. Brad Sherman, left, Judy Chu, Ted Lieu and George Whiteside, hold a news conference on Sunset Blvd. on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
    Following their meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss the area wildfires, Reps. Brad Sherman, left, Judy Chu, Ted Lieu and George Whiteside, right, hold a news conference on Sunset Blvd. on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

    Chu said survivors shouldn’t have to worry about missing a mortgage payment while dealing with the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster.

    “Congress has already worked with President Trump 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,” she said.

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    Sherman said just as Congress acted with urgency and compassion during the pandemic, it’s critical for lawmakers to address the scale of the devastation caused by the January wildfires. He stressed the importance of ensuring that “wildfire victims have the financial relief and stability they need to rebuild.”

    Over 11,000 homes were destroyed in the Palisades and Eaton fires.

    Co-sponsors of the bill include California Democratic Reps. Laura Friedman of Glendale, Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles, Linda Sánchez of Whittier, Lou Correa of Santa Ana and Jared Huffman of San Rafael.

    Other congressmembers co-sponsoring the bill include Reps. Cleo Fields of Louisiana, Sylvia Garcia of Texas, Joe Neguse of Colorado, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Shri Thanedar of Michigan and Jill Tokuda of Hawaii. All six are Democrats.

    In a statement provided by her office, Chu said that “given natural disasters know no state lines or political affiliation, I welcome all Republican support for this critical legislation modeled after the bipartisan CARES Act.”

    This is not the first bill that lawmakers from California have sought to provide mortgage relief to wildfire victims.

    In the state legislature, Assemblymembers John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, and Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, authored a bill that would allow affected homeowners to seek up to 12 months of mortgage forbearance. That bill passed out of the Assembly this month but still needs to be voted on in the state Senate.

     Orange County Register 

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