News release
Rep. George Whitesides, D-Agua Dulce, has introduced a bill to improve transparency and oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs Home Loan Program, and he then testified in support of the bill during a meeting of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
The bill would require the VA to publish regular, detailed reports on the health and performance of the program, helping ensure it remains strong and accessible for generations of veterans to come, according to a news release from Whitesides’ office.
“Our veterans deserve to know that programs designed to help them access housing are actually working,” Whitesides said in the release. “This bill is about transparency, and making sure the VA Home Loan Program is sustainable for current and future generations of veterans. I believe that good data is the key to good policy, and we should expect nothing less for those who served our country.”
“The VA Home Loan Program Reform Act takes long-overdue steps to ensure that government systems designed to support veterans actually work — and that VA’s Home Loan Program remains healthy and solvent for future generations,” Mark Takano, ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said in the release. “By providing Congress and the public with better data, this bill will improve oversight and help us quickly identify issues affecting veteran borrowers.”
The VA Home Loan Program helps veterans and their families achieve homeownership and avoid foreclosure during times of financial hardship. In recent years, changing market conditions and policy shifts have raised concerns among veterans’ organizations, housing experts and lawmakers about the long-term stability of the program.
The data required to be reported by Whitesides’ bill will help identify the number of veterans feeling financial stress and struggling to pay back their housing loans, the release said. This data will also help industry, stakeholders, and Congress keep better tabs on the VA Home Loan Program and identify issues early.
Specifically, this legislation would:
• Require the Department of Veterans Affairs to publish quarterly public reports on loan activity.
• Track the number of loans issued, denied, and refinanced through the VA program.
• Provide insight into staffing levels at the VA home loan office.
