Menendez, colleagues reintroduce bill to help first responders, teachers become homeowners

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and several of his colleagues in the Senate Thursday reintroduced the Homes for Every Local Protector Educator and Responder (HELPER) Act to create a first-time homebuyer loan program under the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for teachers and first responders who have served at least four years in their respective role.

“First responders and teachers work day in and day out to make a difference in the lives of New Jerseyans and Americans all across the country. Yet, all too often, many struggle to achieve their dreams of becoming homeowners due to the high cost of buying a home,” Menendez said. “As members of Congress, we have a responsibility to be there for our public sector workers and that’s why I’m proud to join my colleagues in supporting this bipartisan bill to make it easier for our police officers, firefighters, and teachers to afford buying a home in or near the communities they serve.”

Joining Sen. Menendez in cosponsoring this legislation are Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). U.S. Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.)  and John Rutherford (R-Fla.) reintroduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

“The nation continues to lean on the sacrifices and bravery of everyday, hardworking Americans — first responders, nurses, America’s educators, and other public-sector employees — it’s time for us to recognize their needs and create opportunities for them to own homes. It’s time we eliminated the barriers that make it so difficult for our teachers and frontline workers to secure housing, and the HELPER Act does just that,” Coleman said.

The HELPER Act would:

1. Create a new home loan assistance program administered by the FHA for law enforcement officers, firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), paramedics, and pre-K-12 teachers who have served for at least four years in their respective roles and are first-time home buyers.
2. Eliminate a mortgage down payment requirement.
3. Eliminate a monthly mortgage insurance premium requirement.
4. Include an upfront mortgage insurance premium to help fund the program.
5. Allow for a one-time use of the program by eligible individuals.

Sen. Menendez has long been a leader in the fight to build more affordable housing and expand access to affordable homeownership. This March, Sen. Menendez joined a group of 17 Senate Committee Chairs and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in sending a letter to President Biden urging the federal government to utilize a “whole-of-government” approach to address the nation’s housing crisis.

In February, Sen. Menendez announced a combined total of $93,830,496 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to modernize public housing properties and for management improvements across 54 towns in the state of New Jersey in Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Union, Salem, Somerset, Sussex and Warren Counties.

In August 2021, Sen. Menendez introduced the Livable Communities Act that encourages local communities to partner strategically to develop bold, innovative solutions that reflect their unique character, while leveraging existing assets, including access to transit to help revitalize neighborhoods, spur economic development, create jobs, and address their affordable housing needs. That same month, the Senator also introduced the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act of 2021, which supports locally driven strategies to revitalize underserved neighborhoods by making permanent the highly competitive Choice Neighborhoods grant program at HUD.