Pappas Speaks Out on Behalf of Veterans At Risk of Losing Their Homes

Today in a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee markup, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, spoke out against the ending of Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program and in support of an amendment to provide a foreclosure moratorium for veterans who are at risk of losing their homes following the end of the VASP program, and helped pass bipartisan legislation to establish a new home loan assistance program.

During the markup, Congressman Pappas said, “We have to recognize that with VASP abruptly ending, that there’s a need to provide a safe landing for veterans today that are at risk of foreclosure. My office has heard from one such veteran who was hopeful that he would be able to enroll in VASP. He was seeking that with his loan servicer prior to VASP ending but wasn’t able to get that help. He’s a 100% disabled veteran from the First Gulf War. His name is Daniel Getchell. He is from Raymond, New Hampshire. His loan is in forbearance and he wanted to enroll in VASP, but again his servicer couldn’t put him in the program a few weeks ago. Without support, now he's unsure whether he will be able to stay in his home and whether he and his service animals are going to have a safe place to go.”

“We’re going to continue to assist this veteran to the degree that we can. But we are concerned with what this means. While we see a partial claims program stood up and implemented, we need to be giving veterans like Daniel, who are worried about losing their homes, a little breathing room in the interim. And so I think this moratorium is an important intermediate step we can take as we get to the point of having a bipartisan program that’s implemented.”

The VASP program was created as a “last-resort” option for veterans and their family members facing foreclosure on VA-backed loans following the expiration of pandemic programs, which when coupled with rising interest rates, increased the risk of default for thousands of veterans. Before its termination, VASP was the only program of last resort that existed for veterans facing immediate foreclosure, and helped over 17,000 veterans since the program launched in 2024. By abruptly ending this program on May 1 with no alternative in place, 80,000 veterans and their families now face the prospect of losing their homes with no relief mechanism in place.

Background: 

In January, Pappas joined a letter to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Acting Secretary Todd Hunter demanding answers about how VA is implementing President Trump’s Inaugural Executive Order to freeze hiring across the executive branch and how it is hurting veterans’ access to the health care and benefits they earned.

In March, Pappas condemned reports that the Trump administration is planning to cut 80,000 staff from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which could have catastrophic consequences for America’s veterans and cause significant delays and disruptions for those seeking medical treatment, as well as support for housing, addiction, mental health, and other lifesaving services. These firings would also result in job losses for thousands of veterans, who make up 25% of VA's workforce.

In April, Pappas spoke out forcefully against the administration abruptly ending the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase Program (VASP) during a House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity markup. He joined a bicameral letter pressing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins to immediately reverse his decision to abruptly end VASP.