WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) – chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs – and U.S. Congressmen Mike Bost (R-Ill.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.) – chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs – released the following statement after the Senate passed H.R. 1815, the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act:

“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. 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. We encourage 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 are also committed 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.”

The VA Home Loan Program Reform Act authorizes a Partial Claim program within VA’s suite of loss mitigation tools to help eligible borrowers who are behind on their mortgage payments avoid foreclosure. The establishment of this program will bring greater parity between the VA Loan Guaranty program and the home loan programs provided by the Federal Housing Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture. The mortgage industry estimates a Partial Claim program at VA could help more than 20,000 current borrowers who are considered seriously delinquent retain their homes.

Additionally, this legislation increases the authorization of funding for Comprehensive Service Programs for Homeless Veterans, which will allow the veteran homelessness provisions from Sen. Moran’s legislation, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, to be fully implemented.

The bill will now head to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

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