Metro East Sun

Today, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisc.), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, addressed the subcommittee's first legislative hearing. The focus was on bills aimed at enhancing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veteran Readiness Employment (VR&E) program, safeguarding the VA Home Loan, and expanding vocational training.

In his opening remarks, Van Orden emphasized the nonpartisan nature of their work: "As I have often said in this Subcommittee, we operate in a nonpartisan way with the ultimate goal of serving those who have served our country." He highlighted that fourteen legislative proposals were under consideration and acknowledged that not all would advance in the legislative process. The purpose of these hearings is to gather insights from VA and other groups to ensure informed decision-making.

Van Orden spotlighted three specific bills he introduced. The first aims to modernize requirements for Vet Success on Campus Officers by allowing them to hold a bachelor's degree instead of a master's. This change would enable more veterans to be serviced on campuses.

Another bill discussed was the Restoring the VA Home Loan Program in Perpetuity Act. This legislation intends to revert the number of direct loans VA can purchase back to traditional levels before the V.A. Service Purchase Program's inception. Van Orden expressed concern over potential long-term impacts if changes aren't made: "I believe that if we don’t change VASP this program will continue to be a trojan horse on VA’s books that could ruin the VA Home Loan program forever."

His final bill proposes an option for veterans facing loss mitigation by creating a partial claim program, aligning it with other programs like FHA and Fannie Mae. He voiced concerns about taxpayer liability: "Many of you have heard me express my frustration with the idea of VA taking responsibility for as many as 60,000 mortgages... when there are foreclosures to the tune of $16 billion through VASP."

Additional proposals cover various aspects such as adaptive automobile equipment, GI Bill improvements, and homelessness programs at VA. Van Orden acknowledged reservations about some agenda items but anticipated that witness testimony would help address these concerns.

He concluded by inviting collaboration with minority members: "We look forward to hearing from the Members who have introduced these proposals, as well as our witnesses, on how we can continue to improve these bills and better the lives of our veterans."

The floor was then yielded to the Ranking Member for their remarks.