Press Releases

Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-Calif.), and Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), released the following joint statement after the Senate passed H.R. 1815, the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, landmark legislation to establish a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home Loan safety net program at VA and enhance services to end veteran homelessness. The bipartisan bill now heads to President Trump’s desk to become law.

H.R. 1815, the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, would create a partial claim program at VA as part of the Committee’s efforts to modernize the VA Home Loan program to allow veterans who have fallen behind on their mortgages to receive federal assistance that is already available through other federal housing programs. H.R. 1815 also includes the proper funding levels for the VA Grant and Per Diem program, as part of VA’s homelessness prevention programs to fund community agencies providing services to veterans experiencing homelessness. To learn more about H.R. 1815, click here.

“This bipartisan and bicameral legislation will assist veterans who are facing financial hardships and provide VA with a tool to better help veterans stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure. The VA Home Loan Program provides one of the best benefits VA has to offer, and has helped veterans and their families build home equity since its inception in 1944,” said House and Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs leaders. “Today, we are empowering VA to establish a partial claim program as an option of last-resort, which will preserve veteran homeownership and save taxpayer dollars by avoiding preventable foreclosures. This legislation will also allow VA to provide critical funding to grantees offering transitional housing to homeless veterans through the Grant and Per Diem program.”

“We appreciate the efforts of mortgage servicers and holders for their work during the Congressional process and their commitment to providing VA loan services to veterans during these challenging times,” Committee leaders continued. “We encourage the VA and mortgage servicers to continue their collaboration as this program is implemented, ensuring that they help mitigate any impact on veterans facing financial hardship while VA takes the necessary steps to establish the new partial claims program properly. We commit to working together to pass into law additional measures to build upon this legislation to offer veterans similar foreclosure mitigation measures available to other federally backed mortgage programs. No veteran should fall through the cracks or risk losing their home while a last-resort program is being implemented.”

H.R. 1815, the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, is supported by a number of key stakeholders including: Mortgage Bankers Association, Rocket, National Association of Realtors (NAR), National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), Lyft, Mission Roll Call, New England Center and Home for Veterans (NECHV), National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and The American Legion.