On May 1, the Department of Veterans Affairs ended the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program, which offered veterans a “last-resort” option for the Department to purchase delinquent home loans. The program lasted only one year and was intended as an emergency stopgap to stave off veteran foreclosures after the COVID-19 moratorium lapsed.
Secretary Collins ended the program over mounting problems with administering VASP and the legal ambiguity of the program. Many in the veteran community understood the Secretary’s rationale, but were clear that Congress should quickly work to present a responsible statutory solution to help veterans keep their homes. Thankfully, House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity Chairman, and VFW member, Rep. Van Orden was closely watching the situation and in March introduced a reasonable policy solution: H.R. 1815, VA Home Loan Program Reform Act. This offers a partial claim option through which VA would pay the delinquency on a veteran’s loan and work with lenders to structure appropriate repayments to prevent veterans from defaulting and losing their homes.
On May 19, the House passed Rep. Van Orden’s bill without objection. We call on the Senate to pass the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act and keep veterans in their homes.
Take action TODAY and tell your Senators to VOTE YES on H.R. 1815, VA Home Loan Program Reform Act to prevent veterans from losing their homes.