President Donald Trump signed a bill Wednesday to empower the Department of Veterans Affairs to help prevent the foreclosure of veterans’ homes.
The VA Home Loan Program Reform Act is now the law of the land after Trump signed it while flanked by its sponsor, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), and Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL). Van Orden is a retired Navy SEAL with multiple combat tours, and Bost served in the Marine Corps from 1979 to 1982.
The bill “authorizes the VA to pay the holder of a loan guaranteed by the VA an amount necessary to avoid the foreclosure of the loan, provided that the holder of the loan and the veteran obligated on the loan execute documents to ensure the VA obtains a secured interest in the property covered by the loan,” according to a Congressional summary.
Moreover:
The VA must prescribe loss mitigation procedures to help prevent the foreclosure of such a home loan. The VA may not take specified administrative actions (e.g., consent to the modification of loan terms) until the sequence of mitigation options has been completed.
Next, the bill establishes a five-year Partial Claim Program under which the VA may make a partial claim (purchase a portion of the indebtedness) on VA loans for primary residences that are in default or at imminent risk of default. Individuals who default on loans for which the VA has made a partial claim under this program must be liable to the VA for any loss resulting from the default.
Ahead of the bill signing, Trump said over 60,000 American veterans are estimated to be at risk of losing their homes.
“But thanks to this bill, the Department of Veterans Affairs will be empowered to pay loan holders the necessary amount to prevent foreclosures on our veterans, so our veterans won’t be foreclosed and put out onto the streets. It’s very important,” he said, adding that the partial claim program stands to benefit as many as 3.7 million veterans.
“That’s the kind of numbers you’re talking about. It’s big stuff. The costs of the program are fully offset and will add nothing at all to debt,” he said.
Van Orden hailed Trump as the “most positive pro-veteran president in the history of this country.”
“He backs up his words with deeds, and this is another example of how President Trump is taking care of our veterans. So, sir, I’m very thankful for you, for your leadership, and let’s get this thing done and get our veterans into homes,” he added.
Bost also thanked Trump for signing the law and for his leadership.
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