American Legion Director of Veterans Employment and Education, Joseph Sharpe, testified on Dec. 8 before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity on the barriers veterans face on the path to homeownership.
Since the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home Loan Program originated as part of the original GI Bill in 1944, VA has guaranteed more than 26 million home loans for veterans over the past 77 years. Seen as a pathway to homeownership for middle-class Americans, the VA Home Loan program is not without obstacles. VA loan homebuyers have struggled to compete with conventional loan homebuyers because of biases, restrictions and inflexibilities.