President Donald Trump on July 30 signed a bill to financially assist military veterans in making their home payments amid high interest rates and, therefore, avoid foreclosure.
The 12-page bill, the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, creates a permanent partial claims program within the VA Home Loan Program to lend money to veterans for purchasing homes and to allow veterans access to Federal Housing Act programs that are available to non-veterans.
The legislation allocates $344 million in fiscal years 2025 and 2026 and $257.7 million each fiscal year afterward through the 2030 fiscal year for comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans.
The legislation was introduced in March by Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), a Navy veteran. It passed the House on May 19 by voice vote and passed the Senate on July 15 by voice vote.
“Under the Biden administration, the VA created the VASP program without consulting Congress, costing the American taxpayers $5.8 billion and endangering the entire VA home loan guarantee program,” Orden said in a July 16 statement.
“The time for faceless bureaucrats to run roughshod over elected officials is over. My bill offers a real solution to help every servicemember and veteran maintain the American Dream of homeownership.”
Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said the bill will help address veteran homelessness.
“The VA Home Loan program has helped millions of veterans achieve the American Dream of owning a home. However, we know that veterans – like all Americans – can fall on hard times and may need a safety net in place to avoid foreclosure on their home. The VA Home Loan Program Reform Act addresses that need head on,” he said in a July 16 statement.
The bill requires the Veterans Affairs secretary to submit within 90 days after it becomes law “a report on the strategy of the Secretary to ensure that a veteran who seeks to purchase a home with a loan guaranteed … is not at a disadvantage when attempting to secure representation by a real estate agent or broker.”
As of January 2024, there were more than 32,000 homeless veterans, a 7.5 percent decrease from the previous year, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Since 2010, there has been a 56 percent decline in veteran homelessness.
According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 13 percent of the homeless adult population consists of veterans, 20 percent of homeless males are veterans, and 51 percent of homeless veterans have disabilities.
Share your thoughts by scrolling down to leave a comment.
