December 14, 2022
Chairman Takano’s remarks as prepared:
Today we are gathered for our final Full Committee event of the 117th Congress to discuss a discussion draft of the VA Housing Loan Forever Act of 2022. This pivotal legislation proposes a new approach to closing the racial homeownership gap by expanding eligibility for the VA home loan guaranty program. This is a complex issue and I hope today’s hearing can serve as the beginning of the conversation of how this Committee can move forward to address unjust racial disparities in how minority groups have historically accessed VA benefits.
The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, or as we know it today, “the G.I. Bill”, gave many Americans an opportunity to own a home for the first time. However, too often veterans of color – especially Black veterans – were left out.
It is a fact that in the post-World War II era, many African American veterans were barred from using their earned G.I. Bill benefits due to discriminatory housing practices like redlining and unjust agency actions.
Local VA Centers that were loyal to Jim Crow laws systematically denied nonwhite veterans access to G.I. Bill benefits. Even when a veteran could get past the VA, they had to deal with banks, which denied loan applications to nonwhite neighborhoods due to the Federal Housing Administration’s redlining policy.
This discrimination continued until the enactment of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, which marked the end of federal support for racially restrictive housing policies.
However, recent coverage last month by The Washington Post further suggests that VA continues to deny benefits to Black veterans at a higher rate than White veterans.
The diligent work of our witnesses today, notably of the Black Veterans Project and the Center for Responsible Lending, has helped unearth the ugly reality of patterned systemic racism that led to the denial of VA benefits for veterans of color for decades. A veteran’s eligibility for benefits is directly tied to their character of discharge -- when a veteran receives an unwarranted discharge status, their access to their earned benefits is cut off. A nationwide study, conducted in 2022, found that of the more than one million military discharges examined, found that black veterans are were more likely to receive a less-than-honorable discharge upon separation. These discriminatory policies and practices have had generational impact and can be seen as a large contributor to the racial wealth gap in the United States.
Today, we are discussing a draft bill that would honor the G.I. Bill’s promise of economic stimulation for all veterans. Under this legislative proposal, the previously unused home loan benefit for any veteran could be transferred – without limitation – to the veteran’s surviving spouse, children, grandchildren, and other direct descendants.
Not only does this discussion draft provide a path to address past wrongs in access to the VA home loan guaranty program, it looks forward and answers the call of VSOs to make an unused benefit transferable to descendants for veterans into the future. It has long been an ask of the VSO community to align the VA home loan guaranty with VA education assistance benefits in terms of transferability to ensure veteran families can prosper.
From both the lender and the borrower’s procedural perspective, the VA loan process under the benefit transfer proposal would remain unchanged.
Specifically, under the Discussion Draft, the VA loan process would still be initiated by the descendant borrower securing a Certificate of Eligibility from the VA.
The only change that would occur is in VA’s criteria for issuing the certificate - that it be based on the benefit being transferred from the veteran to a descendent.
This proposal has precedent in the education benefit transfer procedures established in the Post-9/11 Veterans’ Educational Assistance Act of 2008. Those same processing procedures, which VA indicates take approximately 30 days, could be adapted to fit the home loan benefit transfer process.
An earned benefit for heroic service and sacrifice should be available for descendants to use as the veteran wishes. This legislation is long overdue in addressing inequitable access to VA benefits – and it offers us an opportunity to break an all too familiar cycle regarding veterans benefits – that we appropriately recognize the sacrifice veterans have made for our country and not make them wait for what they’ve earned. Blue Water Navy Vietnam veterans waited decades for legislation recognizing their toxic exposure to Agent Orange. LGBTQ veterans too have lost out on opportunities while in service, and benefits after separation, because of their individual identity. Toxic exposed veterans of more recent conflicts waited 20 years until the passage of my PACT Act for the healthcare and benefits they earned.
This is why I have introduced legislation to examine the impacts of discriminatory policies on LGBTQ veterans. It’s why I've worked with Senator Warnock to study racial disparities regarding VA disability and other benefits based on demographic characteristics.
With the passage of the PACT Act and the legislation I have introduced I believe we are helping change course to ensure ALL veterans are equitably recognized for their service and sacrifice. It’s never too late to do the right thing. Giving veterans and their families what they’ve earned – is the right thing.
There are many questions and ideas for how we can improve this legislation I hope to discuss today, and in the interest of time I will now conclude my remarks so we can jump into that discussion.
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Chairman Takano Delivers Opening Remarks at Full Committee Legislative Hearing
Press Contact
Daniel Santa Cruz (202) 603-1929
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.) delivered opening remarks at the full Committee's legislative hearing on a discussion draft of Majority Whip James E. Clyburn's VA Housing Loan Forever Act, a bill that addresses historical racial inequities as a result of veterans of color being blocked from accessing their earned benefits.
Chairman Takano’s remarks as prepared:
Today we are gathered for our final Full Committee event of the 117th Congress to discuss a discussion draft of the VA Housing Loan Forever Act of 2022. This pivotal legislation proposes a new approach to closing the racial homeownership gap by expanding eligibility for the VA home loan guaranty program. This is a complex issue and I hope today’s hearing can serve as the beginning of the conversation of how this Committee can move forward to address unjust racial disparities in how minority groups have historically accessed VA benefits.
The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, or as we know it today, “the G.I. Bill”, gave many Americans an opportunity to own a home for the first time. However, too often veterans of color – especially Black veterans – were left out.
It is a fact that in the post-World War II era, many African American veterans were barred from using their earned G.I. Bill benefits due to discriminatory housing practices like redlining and unjust agency actions.
Local VA Centers that were loyal to Jim Crow laws systematically denied nonwhite veterans access to G.I. Bill benefits. Even when a veteran could get past the VA, they had to deal with banks, which denied loan applications to nonwhite neighborhoods due to the Federal Housing Administration’s redlining policy.
This discrimination continued until the enactment of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, which marked the end of federal support for racially restrictive housing policies.
However, recent coverage last month by The Washington Post further suggests that VA continues to deny benefits to Black veterans at a higher rate than White veterans.
The diligent work of our witnesses today, notably of the Black Veterans Project and the Center for Responsible Lending, has helped unearth the ugly reality of patterned systemic racism that led to the denial of VA benefits for veterans of color for decades. A veteran’s eligibility for benefits is directly tied to their character of discharge -- when a veteran receives an unwarranted discharge status, their access to their earned benefits is cut off. A nationwide study, conducted in 2022, found that of the more than one million military discharges examined, found that black veterans are were more likely to receive a less-than-honorable discharge upon separation. These discriminatory policies and practices have had generational impact and can be seen as a large contributor to the racial wealth gap in the United States.
Today, we are discussing a draft bill that would honor the G.I. Bill’s promise of economic stimulation for all veterans. Under this legislative proposal, the previously unused home loan benefit for any veteran could be transferred – without limitation – to the veteran’s surviving spouse, children, grandchildren, and other direct descendants.
Not only does this discussion draft provide a path to address past wrongs in access to the VA home loan guaranty program, it looks forward and answers the call of VSOs to make an unused benefit transferable to descendants for veterans into the future. It has long been an ask of the VSO community to align the VA home loan guaranty with VA education assistance benefits in terms of transferability to ensure veteran families can prosper.
From both the lender and the borrower’s procedural perspective, the VA loan process under the benefit transfer proposal would remain unchanged.
Specifically, under the Discussion Draft, the VA loan process would still be initiated by the descendant borrower securing a Certificate of Eligibility from the VA.
The only change that would occur is in VA’s criteria for issuing the certificate - that it be based on the benefit being transferred from the veteran to a descendent.
This proposal has precedent in the education benefit transfer procedures established in the Post-9/11 Veterans’ Educational Assistance Act of 2008. Those same processing procedures, which VA indicates take approximately 30 days, could be adapted to fit the home loan benefit transfer process.
An earned benefit for heroic service and sacrifice should be available for descendants to use as the veteran wishes. This legislation is long overdue in addressing inequitable access to VA benefits – and it offers us an opportunity to break an all too familiar cycle regarding veterans benefits – that we appropriately recognize the sacrifice veterans have made for our country and not make them wait for what they’ve earned. Blue Water Navy Vietnam veterans waited decades for legislation recognizing their toxic exposure to Agent Orange. LGBTQ veterans too have lost out on opportunities while in service, and benefits after separation, because of their individual identity. Toxic exposed veterans of more recent conflicts waited 20 years until the passage of my PACT Act for the healthcare and benefits they earned.
This is why I have introduced legislation to examine the impacts of discriminatory policies on LGBTQ veterans. It’s why I've worked with Senator Warnock to study racial disparities regarding VA disability and other benefits based on demographic characteristics.
With the passage of the PACT Act and the legislation I have introduced I believe we are helping change course to ensure ALL veterans are equitably recognized for their service and sacrifice. It’s never too late to do the right thing. Giving veterans and their families what they’ve earned – is the right thing.
There are many questions and ideas for how we can improve this legislation I hope to discuss today, and in the interest of time I will now conclude my remarks so we can jump into that discussion.
###
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