Madam Chairwoman, ranking member and distinguished members of the committee, on behalf of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, I thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding the Subprime Mortgage Crisis and America’s veterans.  I respectfully request that my testimony today be submitted for the record.  I also ask that the committee note that my testimony today is in my civilian capacity as the Director of Government Affairs for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and does not necessarily represent the views of the United States Marine Corps Reserve.

In World War Two, it was the dream of millions of veterans to own their own homes.  The veteran home-loan program made this possible for thousands of them. Today’s combat veterans have the same dream, and the VA is still here to help them.  The VA currently guarantees 2.2 million home loans, totaling $243 billion dollars.  They guarantee about 11,109 new home loans every month, over half of which go to first-time home buyers.   Simply put, the VA’s home loan protections are still helping veterans achieve the American dream.

Like all Americans, however, today’s veterans have been affected by the downturn in the economy and the mortgage crisis.  According to a VA-commissioned 2007 study, 18% of the veterans who sought jobs within three years of discharge were unemployed.  A quarter of those who did find jobs were earning less than $22,000 a year.  In addition, the VA has already seen 1,500 homeless Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

These statistics are shocking, and without quick action, we can expect them to worsen.  I am pleased to see that Congress has taken initial steps to appropriately address this issue.  We believe that the following two pieces of legislation will aid veterans in their transition:

H.R. 4884, The Veteran Home Loan Guaranty Improvement Act of 2008, will make home loans more accessible to veterans by easing restrictions on the home loan guaranty programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  The bill eliminates the equity requirements for refinancing in response to the declining home values which prohibit many veterans from qualifying for the benefit.  The bill also reduces the VA guaranteed home loan funding fees to one percent and eliminates the funding fees for veterans seeking to refinance a home loan, among other things.

H.R. 4883 will prohibit foreclosure of property owned by a service member for one year following a period of military service.

I thank you for providing me the opportunity to testify before you this afternoon.  I hope that the information I have provided you will effectively lay the ground work for the committee make significant changes to the current obstacles that our nation’s newest veterans are facing.