When a home is damaged, insurers issue checks to begin repairs. Those dollars often sit in restricted escrow at the mortgage servicer—held back and released in draws after inspections. Families can wait months or even years while their repair money earns nothing.

That isn’t fair. If rebuild funds must be parked, they shouldn’t sit rent-free.

We, the undersigned, ask you to champion a simple national standard:

Require interest-bearing, insured, segregated accounts for restricted escrow funds (e.g., undisbursed insurance proceeds, construction/rehab holdbacks).
Credit all interest to the homeowner, with no junk fees or offsets.
Provide clear disclosures and statements showing deposits, withdrawals, rate, and interest credited.
Set a federal floor for interest (tied to a public benchmark), allowing states to go higher if they already do.
Include practical thresholds (e.g., balances over a modest amount or held more than 30 days) so small, short holds aren’t burdensome.
Why this matters

Rebuild timelines are longer after storms, floods, and fires; families face rent or hotel bills while repair money sits idle.
Balances can be significant; even modest interest helps cover materials, inspections, or temporary housing.
Some major investors already require interest to benefit borrowers—so the operational path exists.
A uniform federal rule ends today’s patchwork and treats every homeowner fairly.
Our request

Please meet with a small group of constituents within the next 30 days to discuss drafting or supporting legislation to require interest on restricted escrow funds.
Publicly acknowledge this effort (newsletter, social post, or statement) so affected families know you’re engaged.
Work with relevant committees to move a clean, bipartisan fix this session.
Add your story: If you’ve had insurance money held during repairs, share how long it sat and what even a small amount of interest would have covered. Your comment helps our lawmakers see the real-world impact.

This is common-sense, bipartisan consumer fairness. When homeowners do everything right, their rebuild money should work for them—not for whoever holds it.