Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 1228, the Prioritizing Veterans' Survivors Act. The bill requires the VA to move the Office…
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 1228, the Prioritizing Veterans' Survivors Act.
The bill requires the VA to move the Office of Survivors Assistance, or OSA, to a position directly reporting to the Office of the VA Secretary.
The Office of Survivors Assistance was established by statute in 2008 to serve as a resource regarding all benefits and services furnished by the Department to survivors and dependents of deceased veterans and members of the Armed Forces.
OSA also serves as a principal adviser to the Secretary and promotes the use of VA benefits, programs, and services to survivors. VA moved the supervision of OSA from the Office of Outreach, Transition and Economic Development to VBA's Pension and Fiduciary Service.
The VA made this move with the idea that it would increase emphasis on the office and oversight of OSA as VBA has more capacity to properly oversee the function.
However, the survivors' community has been critical of this move, characterizing it as a downgrade of the function and a diminishing of the importance of survivors in the VA's mission. H.R. 1228 is responsive to those concerns.
Now, historically, there has been a lack of resources dedicated to the mission of serving survivors. For example, there are only four employees in the Office of Survivors Assistance to serve over 450,000 potentially eligible beneficiaries. By the way, Secretary Collins actually fired one of those four people.
We also see a lack of awareness of who is part of the survivors' community, where the community is, and a lack of direct and targeted outreach. That is why I am deeply concerned by all of the DOGE cuts to the VA's outreach efforts.
Overall, we have seen an underutilization of survivors' benefits, so we must do whatever we can to remedy that situation. This bill is a small but important step in that process.
I would be remiss, however, if I didn't also point to other legislation that we can and should be taking up to improve benefits for survivors. I have introduced H.R. 2278, the Survivor Benefits Delivery Improvement Act, a bill that puts new tools in the VA's hands to aid in reaching survivors where they are and better inform them of the benefits they have earned.
We have Members, like Representative Julia Brownley, who have introduced legislation to extend CHAMPVA eligibility. Representative Jahana Hayes has introduced legislation to raise the levels of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation benefits to be on par with other Federal survivors' programs.
We have Republican Members like Richard Hudson, who has introduced the Love Lives On Act, with Veterans' Affairs Committee member Representative Kelly Morrison, that would repeal the ridiculous penalties survivors face when they choose to remarry.
My hope is that we can consider those bills soon.
In the meantime, however, I do support this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to support it, as well.
I extend a special thanks to the survivors who may be listening today and those who are with us only in spirit. Your stories demonstrate bravery and courage, and you deserve every ounce of our effort in creating a VA that is welcoming and accessible, and every dollar of benefits we can muster on your behalf.
Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I ask my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I will return back to the issue of VASP and read aloud a letter that I am circulating to my colleagues for a signature to the Secretary, and it begins with:
``Dear Secretary Collins: On April 3, 2025, you abruptly announced the closure of the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program (VASP), leaving tens of thousands of veterans at risk of foreclosure. These actions were taken unilaterally, leaving veterans, veterans service organizations, and mortgage services unsure how the closure would be administered, and what would happen to veterans that are already reeling from this administration's assault on veterans and our economy. We write today to urge you to immediately reverse this decision, and avoid foreclosing on veterans who simply wish to keep paying their mortgage and keep their home.
``Since the inception of the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program (VASP) in May 2024, over 17,000 veterans have been able to avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes.''
This represents 0.46 percent of the 3.7 million total loans under the VA home loan program.
``VASP was established as a last resort option within VA's Home Retention Waterfall to help veterans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this emergency, Congress and the VA rightfully allowed borrowers to request forbearance and allowed missed payments to be added to the end of the loan term.
``Upon expiration of this pandemic program, VA used this authority to end borrowers' ability to push missed payments to the end of the loan term and created VASP to help up to 80,000 veterans at risk of foreclosure. Now VA is taking a misstep that will push thousands of veterans into foreclosure. This is cruel, wrong, and runs counter to the benefits earned by the veterans as led by the VA Loan Guaranty Office, which always seeks to use foreclosures as an absolute last resort.
``Furthermore, with the rising costs of housing and overall inflation, VA must ask itself: Is it more cost effective to allow veterans to lose their homes or help them? VA leaders, veterans service organizations, and housing organizations have all recently shared with Congress their concerns about ending VASP too soon. All have testified that VASP is the only program of its kind that currently exists as the last resort for veterans facing foreclosure.
``Critics of VASP, who believe the program will incentivize veterans to purposely default on their loans to get a lower mortgage rate, grossly misunderstand and mischaracterize the sacrifices veterans and their loved ones have made in service to our Nation. The VA should learn from its past, when in the 1990s, GAO found that VA- insured homes foreclosed upon was the most expensive option, costing VA an average of $25,387, which is the equivalent of $65,038 today. While past policies have assumed that veterans have been financially irresponsible for assuming mortgages they can't afford, today's financial and housing market puts veterans at risk of losing their homes in a much more vulnerable situation.
``Even a straightforward solution, such as forcing veterans to sell their homes to cover their arrears, would not leave the veteran better off precisely because the cost of housing has increased dramatically in the past 5 years. Until better policy solutions are in place that provide for stronger underwriting, ending the VASP program abruptly will only harm veterans and their families.
``Congress, VA, and other stakeholders must work together to offer practical, cost-effective solutions that better serve veterans. Our veterans earned their home loan guarantee benefit, and they deserve a viable option to get back on track with payments and keep their homes.
``Secretary Collins, you have repeatedly stated that the mission of VA is to serve veterans and that no benefits would be cut. We call on you now to follow your words.''
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 1228, the Prioritizing Veterans' Survivors Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.
