Subcommittee advances VA Home Loan Program Reform Act after tense debate over VAprogram end

The House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity on April 3, 2025, voted to forward H.R. 1815, the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act of 2025, to the full committee after adopting an amendment in the nature of a substitute that would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a partial-claims loss-mitigation program for guaranteed home loans.

The bill and its amendment were debated at length after members raised concerns about the VAadministrationhaving abruptly ended the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase Program (VASP) earlier that week. Ranking Member Pappas argued VAshould reinstate VASP as a stop-gap while Congress works to enact a partial-claims alternative; the chair opposed that approach and said the subcommittee must reclaim congressional authority over the program.

The debate centered on two competing approaches. The chairman said the amendment under consideration "will give the VA the authority to create a partial claims program to help veterans get back on track with their payments," and framed the change as aligning VA home-loan rules with other federal mortgage programs. Ranking Member Pappas said he did "not oppose a partial claims program"…