May 20, 2025

Takano And Pappas Host Press Conference On Trump VA Ending Program Protecting Veterans From Foreclosure

WASHINGTON – Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano and Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Pappas held a press conference calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to reinstate the Veteran Assistance Servicing Purchase(VASP) program and issue a foreclosure moratorium for struggling veterans. They were joined by Alys Cohen, Senior Attorney with the National Consumer Law Center, and Maureen Yap, Senior Counsel for Fair Lending for the National Fair Housing Alliance.

Recording of the full press conference.

 

Ranking Member Takano's remarks as delivered:

We are here for one reason – and one reason only.  The Trump Administration and Secretary Collins have decided that veterans who are about to lose their homes don’t deserve help.  

I wish that wasn’t the case, but what other conclusion can we draw when Trump’s VA decided to abruptly end the Veteran Assistance Servicing Purchase (VASP) program on May 1st?  An action that gave veterans NO time to enroll before the program was closed. 

Let’s be clear on what that means.  Over 80,000 veterans are now facing foreclosure.  That is not hyperbole.  4,700 veterans in my state of California. Over 2,000 veterans in Chairman Mike Bost’s state. Nearly 700 veterans in Chairman Derrick Van Orden’s state.  This is very real for every state in the country, but this White House and VA don’t seem to care. 

VASP was the program of last resort.  That program no longer exists.  Now veterans can either refinance into mortgage rates as high as 6 or 7 percent in the Trump economy, sell their home, or be foreclosed on. 

Lenders estimate that more than 60,000 of those 80,000 veterans will be foreclosed on.  Even the rosiest estimates from the Trump and Collins VA estimate thousands of veterans losing their homes.

It did not have to be this way.  Under President Biden – VA took proactive measures to avoid literally hundreds of thousands of veteran foreclosures.  These same authorities still exist, but President Trump and Secretary Collins are choosing to allow veterans to be foreclosed upon rather than help them. 

Cruel.  That’s the only word for it.  

Earlier this month, we heard from a Vietnam era veteran from Utah whose lender tried to submit a VASP application to the VA program. They were told the program was already closed.  This veteran took the Secretary at his word that he had until May 1 – only to learn May first was not the real deadline. He never had a chance.  

We heard from a disabled veteran in Iowa who started the process with their lender to enroll in VASP as early as April 17.  Tragically, they also learned that VA had closed on applications earlier than stated.  

I don’t use these veterans names because they – like many veterans – fear retribution from VA if they speak out. 

So, I ask you, will these veterans’ suffering be justified by American taxpayer savings? No. 

Perhaps most ironically, this will cost VA money.  The VA Home Loan Program is the Loan guarantee program – and they guarantee lenders are made whole when a veteran loses their home.  It’s the taxpayers that pay that guarantee. Its costs VA and every one of us an estimated $60,000 every time a veteran is foreclosed on. Foreclosure is the most expensive course of action. 

To not do so is cruelty.  To not do so is bad policy.  To not do so is wrong.  

Not one reputable group: not VSOs— not housing advocates, not even lenders— are asking for this.  

But this is what the Trump White House and VA mean for veterans.  And Republicans in Congress are cheering them on. Chairmen Bost and Van Orden reacted with glee at the end of VASP.  And every Republican on our committee, when given a chance to bring VASP back, voted against reinstating this aid. 

We need to reinstate VASP and commit to a foreclosure moratorium. This is a crisis—a manufactured crisis to hurt veterans without reason.  

Shame on Secretary Collins.  Shame on President Trump.  Veterans deserve better, but this White House doesn’t care.

____

Thank you all for joining us today. 

Our veterans served and fought for us. We need to fight for them. We need to have their back. We need to do what we can to keep them in their homes.

To understand the scale, consider this. There are 35,000 homeless veterans nationwide.  We are talking about the fate of 80,000 loan holders.

It is not too late for Secretary Collins to act, and I hope veterans, VSOs, and housing groups continue to call on him to do so.  I also call on my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to join those efforts, instead of celebrating the end of VASP.

If you're a veteran, a VA employee, a family member, or someone concerned about the care and services our veterans receive, I encourage you to share your experiences and concerns. Your voice is crucial in shaping effective policy and ensuring accountability. Please be sure to fill out our latest survey you can find on our House Veterans' Affairs Committee Democrats’ website and socials.

Please remember, cost savings don’t matter when veterans pay the price. Thank you.

###

• Print
• Email
• Tweet