Van Orden Releases Statement on the Phasing Out of the VASP Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Veterans’ Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Chairman Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) released the following statement after the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) announced that the politically created, Biden-era Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program, will phase out:  

“From time immemorial, back when someone first lent seashells to buy a cave, a program like VASP has never existed. It was developed by unelected bureaucrats at the VA in direct defiance of Congress and has jeopardized the VA loan guarantee program. We are working to ensure that American servicemembers who risked their lives to protect our freedoms have the opportunity to use the VA home loan program to achieve homeownership— an essential part of the American Dream.”

Background:

In February 2024, the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee held an oversight hearing on the future of the VA home loan program where Subcommittee Chairman Van Orden pressed the Biden-Harris administration on their lack of transparency regarding creating the VASP program. Committee Chairman Mike Bost, Chairman Van Orden, and Committee members repeatedly sounded the alarm on the effects that VASP would have on veteran homeowners, taxpayers, and the mortgage industry. Since May 31, 2024, VA has used authorities that have traditionally been limited to less than 100 loans to purchase over $5.4 billion worth of loans. VA has been unable to show the Committee how their decision would benefit the taxpayer and prove that individuals would not take advantage of a 2.5% interest rate. In April 2024, VA estimated that they would purchase over 60,000 loans for a total of $17.7 billion. Instead of reinstituting the partial claim program for an average loan delinquency of $22,500, VA chose to purchase these loans through the VASP program at an average of $292,000. However, since the implementation of VASP, the average amount of loans purchased has increased to $320,000. House Republicans have raised significant concerns since before the creation of the program, especially when a partial claim program could solve most delinquent loans at a much less expensive clip to the taxpayer.