Latest news with #VA-backed
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House approves mortgage assistance for veterans
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Thousands of veterans struggling to pay their home loans could soon get help from Congress after the Trump administration ended a mortgage rescue program earlier this month. The Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program, which the Biden administration created as an emergency fix following the COVID-19 pandemic, gave homeowners an affordable way to catch up on their VA-backed mortgage loan payments. 'President Trump and Secretary Collins are choosing to allow veterans to be foreclosed upon rather than to help them,' U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said during a press conference Tuesday. Takano, the top Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said thousands of veterans are now at risk of losing their homes. 'This White House and VA don't seem to care,' Takano said. Takano argues without VASP, the federal government and taxpayers will foot the bill. 'It costs the VA and every one of us an estimated $60,000 every time a veteran is foreclosed on,' he said. The House advanced legislation Monday though that would allow the VA to create a similar lifeline for veterans, which Republicans do support. 'It was a bad program, and the Trump administration was right to stop it,' U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) said on the House floor during Monday's debate. 'However, I recognize that sometimes veterans fall on hard times and veterans need a safety net.' Bost, the VA committee's top Republican, calls the new measure more fiscally responsible than VASP. 'In no way does that make sense to solve a $25,000 problem with a $320,000 solution. Only in government would you do that,' Bost said. Takano also supports the bill but worries it could arrive too late for some veterans since the Senate still has to debate it. In a statement, VA Press Secretary Peter Kasperowicz said ending VASP 'was necessary because VA is not set up or intended to be a mortgage loan restructuring service.' Kasperowicz said the wind down will not impact existing participants or eligible veterans who enrolled before May 1. 'Since the VASP program started May 31, 2024, VA has purchased more than 17,000 loans worth more than $5.48 billion, and this number is expected to increase in the closing days of the program,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DOGE Is a Cruel Joke. The Punchline Is Making Life Hell for Veterans
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins' tenure is off to a rocky start. The former Georgia congressman and unapologetic Donald Trump loyalist began by releasing a series of videos assuring that 'despite the rhetoric, there would be no cuts at VA.' These videos preceded two rounds of layoffs at the department — first, 1,000 employees, many of them veterans, and then another 1,400 last week. Notably, Collins was not being forced to make these cuts by Trump or the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Instead, he appears to be slashing VA jobs simply to win favor with Trump and Musk. While Trump's government proudly touts its 'savings,' the reality is that DOGE's cuts are built on lies, mismanagement, and outright cruelty. The New York Times recently exposed how the department grossly inflated five of its largest cost-cutting claims, citing billions in savings that were either fictional, exaggerated, or predated the organization's existence. Then it outright deleted these claims from its website. The number of veterans losing their jobs is damning. Among the 3,700 or so VA employees fired were specialists in PTSD treatment, oncology researchers, and crisis line staffers. One veteran, a suicide prevention counselor, was let go with nothing more than a generic email. Another, a disabled former Army sergeant working in claims processing, was terminated just before his probationary period ended, cutting off his ability to join a union and fight back. Congress estimates that 6,000 veterans have been fired by DOGE, but this number is low. Many former military officers and others do not qualify for veteran status under federal guidelines, even though they are in fact veterans. With DOGE targeting the Department of Defense — the world's largest employer of veterans — Congress estimates that up to 50,000 veterans could lose their jobs in the next six months. This would not only cripple the lives of 50,000 of America's best, but also create a severe economic ripple effect. To make matters worse, the VA cut $2 billion in government contracts, 70 percent of those belong to service disabled veteran-owned businesses. Many of these veterans rely on VA-backed home loans, which could see a spike in defaults, while unemployment claims would surge. The loss of their spending power in concentrated markets would further strain consumer and other economic sectors. In the end, DOGE will cost the American taxpayer far more than it could ever hope to save. Recently, Musk demanded that all federal employees — including the 30 percent who are veterans — justify their existence in five bullet points or face termination. He then reneged on this ultimatum, only to double down on it later. It's clear that Musk is not only hopelessly clueless about federal law but also completely incompetent when it comes to leading or managing people. Meanwhile, as he plays these games, our nation's heroes are left scrambling — forced to consider selling their homes, relocating, returning to school, or selling their belongings just to make rent. This is one of the most disgraceful attacks on American citizens by their own government since the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II (and the U.S. might be headed in that direction soon). Let's be clear: DOGE is not about saving money. It's about weakening public services to justify privatization. The VA, the largest integrated health care system in the country, has long been a target of conservatives who want to dismantle it piece by piece, handing its functions over to private industry. They see veterans not as people who deserve care, but as customers to be exploited for profit. These cuts are part of a larger, coordinated effort to make the VA seem dysfunctional — so that handing it over to for-profit entities seems like the only solution. As for taking everything that veterans have worked for from right under their feet. The reason for that is far more simple: There is no reason. It's simply to throw red meat to the thugs on X and Truth Social who want to see the world burn, because their own lives are terrible. This isn't about efficiency — it's about cruelty. Plain and simple. And the group feeling it the most are those who have selflessly given so much to this nation to have it literally thrown back in their face as a reward. More from Rolling Stone Jimmy Kimmel on Trump's Gaza Video: 'Like a Cruise Ship Crashed Into Saddam Hussein's House' U.S. Forest Service Chief Retires Amid Sweeping Layoffs, Writes Emotional Letter to Staff Elon Musk Says He'll Go on 'Daily Show' After Jon Stewart Blasts DOGE Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
