Action Kit v3 — Share Freely · REG. № 0136811965 · Updated May 20, 2026

The VA Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis

Facts, scripts, call-to-actions, and context for anyone sharing this story. This is a bipartisan crisis with bipartisan support to fix — the VA just needs to act.

Update from today's hearings — At today's Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing (May 20, 2026), Sec. Doug Collins committed publicly to June 15, 2026 as the Partial Claim Program standup date, in response to Sen. Richard Blumenthal. Blumenthal anchored it: "that's a commitment and we will hold you to it." The same exchange revealed Sec. Collins's deflection pattern in full: pressed on the 15,000+ veterans who have lost their homes since VASP was cancelled, he first blamed mortgage companies, then blamed veterans themselves for not using existing VA tools — despite the original cause being federal action (COVID forbearance ended, VASP cancelled). The full verbatim exchange and the standup-vs-relief reality check are on the Watch Page. House Appropriations MILCON-VA is tomorrow (Thu 5/21) 8:00 AM ET — same Sec. Collins, same questions, with Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA-49) and Rep. Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) on the subcommittee. Open the Hearing Watch Page →
Before you share — please read this. This is about ALL 160,000+ veteran families, not just one. My family's story got attention because we happened to still be in our home when NPR published — but there are 10,000+ families who already lost their homes and are still displaced with no remedy, and 90,000+ being foreclosed on right now just like us. Everyone else got pandemic help. Veterans and their families did not. When you share a family's story, connect it to the systemic crisis. Don't speculate about individual families' finances. Stick to facts.
Open demand from Congress — VA has not answered in 50 days (Week 7, Day 50). On March 26, 2026, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), lead sponsor of H.R. 1815, asked the VA on the record at the HVAC hearing to pause foreclosures until the replacement partial claim program is operational. As of today, the VA has still not committed publicly. VA target for partial-claim implementation: June 2026 — a full year after H.R. 1815 was signed. If you can confirm or surface a Van Orden follow-up letter, share it: jlledford.family@gmail.com
Latest developments (May 2026).

Section 1

What's Happening — The Short Version

This didn't start with VASP. During COVID, the government told veterans to use forbearance — pause their mortgage payments. The VA had a partial claim program (COVID-VAPCP) that would let veterans defer missed payments as a zero-interest lien and resume paying at their original rate. Families were in active forbearance when this happened — no communication, no updates. Many found out the way we did: we called in December 2022 to restart our payments by February 1st, 2023, and were told the program was gone.

The options we were given: pay everything back immediately in a lump sum, or accept a loan modification that would change our contract — lose our 2.25% interest rate and see our payments increase over $1,000/month due to post-pandemic rate spikes. We were not allowed to just resume our payments.

And we couldn't get help from the same place everyone else did. The Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) disqualified us because of income eligibility limits — they counted VA disability compensation as income. Every other federal mortgage program kept their safety net: FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac all have permanent partial claims. Only the VA let its program expire.

VASP was built to fix that gap. It bought the loan from the servicer and modified it to 2.5% fixed. We were told this would fix everything. Then in May 2025, the VA killed VASP without a replacement ready. That was the second time veteran families had the rug pulled out from under them without notice.

Congress stepped in. They passed H.R. 1815 with unanimous bipartisan support — every Republican and every Democrat — signed into law July 30, 2025. It gives the VA permanent partial claim authority that can't be cancelled at the whim of any administration. But the VA still hasn't implemented it.

The bottom line. New ETA: June 2026 — a full year after the law was signed. The VA has the legal authority to pause all foreclosures and evictions right now under existing statute — 38 U.S.C. § 3720, § 3732, 38 CFR 36.4318–36.4323, 36.4319, § 503 equitable relief, M26-4 Chapter 5, and VA's own May 2024 Circular 26-24-12 ("Loan Repayment Relief for Borrowers"). They won't use it.
10,000+Veteran families already lost homes since May 2025
90,000+Currently delinquent and in foreclosure now
160,000+Total veteran families impacted and climbing
We were not asking for a handout. We are asking to pay our mortgage. We were not allowed to.

— Leann Ledford, MSW, caregiver to a disabled Marine veteran (two deployments to Afghanistan), Spokane WA

Section 2

The Fiscal Case — Why This Costs Less, Not More

$0 cost to taxpayers. Saves veterans' homes. Keeps them in their homes.

The partial claim program Congress already passed (H.R. 1815 / P.L. 119-31) takes arrears that a foreclosure would write off and converts them into a zero-interest second lien repaid when the veteran sells or refinances. It is funded by the Loan Guaranty Fund — veteran funding fees, not taxpayer appropriations. The family stays housed. The loan stays performing. The veteran keeps paying their mortgage. Two of the people closest to the policy — Rep. Derek Van Orden (R-WI), lead sponsor of H.R. 1815, and Secretary Collins himself — have publicly described it in those exact terms.

On the public record:

  • 5/7/26 — Sparta, WI roundtable hosted by Rep. Van Orden with Sec. Collins. Rep. Van Orden, the lead sponsor of H.R. 1815, has consistently described the partial claim program in fiscal terms — no cost to taxpayers (it is funded by veteran funding fees through the Loan Guaranty Fund, not appropriations), veterans stay in their homes, the loan stays performing. He shared this framing publicly around the Sparta event in connection with the VASP / VA Home Loan Reform Act discussion. Sec. Collins at the same roundtable, on veterans' earned benefits more broadly: "The VA is becoming the one thing it should be, and that is about a veteran. We do everything now to focus on 'what do we do to make it easier for the veteran to get the benefits they've earned?' By the way, I'm sick of hearing anybody say, 'a veteran gets given anything.' They haven't been given crap. They've earned everything when they raised their right hand and went to say, 'I'm going to do something for this country.'" Local-news coverage and clips: MSN · AOL · YouTube clip · Rep. Van Orden Facebook share — VASP / VA Home Loan Reform framing. Note: these are short local-news clips. Full roundtable video and transcript would substantiate additional fiscal-framing quotes — sourcing pending.
  • 4/30/26 — Senate Appropriations MilCon-VA hearing. Ranking Member Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) secured a verbal commitment from Sec. Collins to work with the subcommittee to strengthen foreclosure prevention and veteran homelessness prevention programs in FY27. Senate Appropriations hearing page (Boozman release).
  • 3/26/26 — House Veterans' Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee hearing. Rep. Van Orden, on the record, asked the VA to pause foreclosures and ensure veterans don't lose their homes until the replacement program is operational. VA committed on the record to follow up. As of today (Day 50 since the ask), the VA has still not committed publicly. HVAC EO hearing event page (full video player) · HVAC release with Van Orden opening statement.

The crisis right now

90,000Veterans 90+ days delinquentNCLC / Alys Cohen, HVAC 3/26/26
31,500In active foreclosure (35%)NCLC / Alys Cohen, HVAC 3/26/26
$72KAvg cost per VA foreclosureCohen testimony 3/26/26
$0Immediate cost of a partial claimSecond lien — repaid at sale/refi

Two Paths, One Family — 3-Year Total Government Cost

Path A

What Happens Now — Foreclosure

Guaranty claim + REO disposition$72,000
VRM property management (~8 mo)$8,000
REO resale loss (avg discount)$15,000
Lost loan interest income$12,600
SSVF emergency housing (3 yr)$23,400
Increased VA healthcare$31,400
Crisis / psych / ER services$18,500
Unemployment + VA employment svcs$14,400
Credit destruction (7+ yr recovery)Incalculable
3-Year Total Government Cost$195,300+

Path B

What H.R. 1815 Does — Partial Claim

Partial claim (second lien) *$0
Property management$0
REO resale loss$0
Loan interest income+$12,600
Housing assistance needed$0
Healthcare utilization spike$0
Crisis intervention needed$0
Unemployment services$0
Credit impactNone
3-Year Total Government Cost$0

* Arrears become a zero-interest second lien repaid when the veteran sells or refinances. Funded by the Loan Guaranty Fund (veteran funding fees — not taxpayer appropriations). Loan stays performing. Family stays housed. Veteran keeps paying their mortgage.

Sources: Cohen / NCLC ($72K avg per foreclosure); Auction.com (75% go to REO); VA FY25 budget; NIH/PMC homeless cost studies ($35K–$50K/yr); CRS SSVF data; ER utilization research.

Scale to the Current Crisis

$2.3BProjected cost of foreclosing on 31,500 veteran families
=
72%of VA's $3.2B annual homeless prevention budget

VA is about to spend the equivalent of nearly three-quarters of its entire homelessness budget creating veteran homelessness through foreclosures — then spend the actual budget trying to deal with the consequences.

"Why Can't Veterans Just Start Paying Again?"

They want to. The system won't let them. When a VA loan is in default, the servicer will not accept regular monthly payments. They demand full lump-sum reinstatement — all missed payments, interest, fees, and escrow — upfront, in full, before any conversation. For a family that entered COVID forbearance, that's $35,000+. The partial claim takes that $35,000, places it in a second lien, resets the loan to current, and lets the family resume their regular monthly payment.

We called Freedom Mortgage a month before our forbearance ended to make sure we did everything right before resuming payments. We found out the COVID program had been cancelled — no notice, no plan, no path to restart. We are not asking for a handout. We are not asking for free mortgage payments. We are asking to be allowed to pay our mortgage.

Every safety net is down — simultaneously.

  • Not runningH.R. 1815 Partial Claim — Signed into law July 2025. Still not operational 289 days later. VA target: "June 2026." Rep. Van Orden at the 3/26/26 hearing called it "too long."
  • TransitionBRAVE (replacing HUD-VASH) — Senate didn't fund. House funded $970M of $1.1B requested. Not operational. No transition timeline.
  • Cliff nowEmergency Housing Vouchers — Funding running out March 2026. 59,000 households losing assistance. Was supposed to last until 2030.
  • EliminatedUSICH — Federal coordinating body for homelessness response. Eliminated in FY2026 budget. No replacement.
  • UncertainSSVF — Primary program for veteran families at risk. Future uncertain under BRAVE restructuring.
  • Coercion trackProject Safe Harbor — VA initiative being piloted in greater Los Angeles using the guardianship system as an intervention pathway. Project documents cited by Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) at the 5/13/26 HVAC oversight hearing describe enrolling veterans "on the streets" as well as those already in care; VA's representative at the same hearing characterized the program as focused on hospitalized veterans lacking mental capacity for decision-making, and described earlier documents as outdated. The dispute is on the record. Either way, this is a guardianship-based involuntary-intervention pathway running in parallel to the safety-net programs being defunded above — coercion is not a substitute for the partial claim, housing vouchers, or homelessness coordination this list documents are missing. Source: 5/13/26 HVAC NCWI oversight hearing, ~1:27:35 mark.

Each change has a rationale. But when you zoom out: there is no functioning safety net for veteran families in foreclosure right now. Not one. You don't fix bureaucratic dysfunction by creating more bureaucratic dysfunction without a transition plan. Veterans understand phased operations. This isn't one.

GAO is documenting the pattern. GAO-26-107517 (3/30/26): 174,000 homeless veterans not referred to HUD-VASH 2020–2024; VA failed to document any reason in 87% of cases. GAO-26-108943 (3/4/26) and GAO-26-108070 (4/16/26): parallel implementation gaps in VA caregiver support tied to the Elizabeth Dole Caregiver Act. Same agency. Same non-implementation pattern. Different programs, same outcome for veteran families.

The Revolving Door — 90,000 Isn't a Static Number

New families fall in as fast as others are foreclosed out.

May '25VASP cancelled (the second program pulled out from under veterans)~90,000
Jul '25H.R. 1815 signed — unanimous bipartisan vote~79,000
Dec '25Still no partial claim — VA in non-implementation~90,000
Apr '269 months post-signing — Powers v. Collins (9th Cir. 12/23/25) parallel surfacing~90,000
May '26Week 7, Day 50 of VA silence on Van Orden 3/26 ask~90,000
Jun '26?VA target — no firm date~90,000?

The Ask

  1. Pause foreclosures while the partial claim launches. Section 3(h) of H.R. 1815 gives the Secretary authority to issue immediate administrative guidance. That guidance has not been issued. This is not a new moratorium — it is the law Congress already passed.
  2. Audit VALERI on affected loans. VA says servicers never submitted required events. Servicers say they offered modifications. Both can't be true. The VALERI logs resolve it.
  3. Explore leaseback under 38 U.S.C. § 3732. VA owns the property after foreclosure. Selling it back to the displaced veteran family, or leasing it back at fair-market rent, saves REO costs while keeping a disabled veteran family housed.

Section 3

How We Got Here — Both Administrations, Both Parties

The bipartisan bottom line. Biden's VA cancelled the first partial claim program (COVID-VAPCP) without notice while families were in active forbearance, then created VASP late. Trump's VA killed VASP without a replacement — the second time — then failed to implement the law Congress passed to fix it. Congress did its job — unanimous vote, permanent law. The VA is the bottleneck. This isn't left vs. right. It's 160,000+ families caught in a systemic failure that both administrations contributed to, that Congress fixed, and that the VA still won't act on.

This matches a broader GAO-documented pattern of VA non-implementation. Three GAO reports in early 2026 document parallel failures across veteran programs: GAO-26-107517 (3/30/26) found 174,000 homeless veterans were not referred to HUD-VASH supportive housing during 2020-2024, with VA failing to document the reason for 87% of cases. GAO-26-108943 (3/4/26) and GAO-26-108070 (4/16/26) document parallel implementation gaps in VA caregiver support tied to the Elizabeth Dole Caregiver Act.

Section 4

The Attorney Gap — Why Legal Action Matters

Right now, the biggest concrete gap is legal representation. Veteran families facing wrongful foreclosure need attorneys who specialize in RESPA/mortgage servicing litigation to:

The legal-aid pipeline cannot meet the scale. Most veteran-family wrongful-foreclosure cases involve RESPA and mortgage-servicing claims that legal-aid programs are not staffed to litigate (scope and capacity). State-level pro-bono referral programs across multiple states have been closing referrals on these matters as outside their pool. The result is a documented gap between the existence of statutory remedies and the availability of state-licensed RESPA / mortgage-servicing counsel willing to take individual or class cases.

Fee-shifting is available. RESPA's fee-shifting provision (12 U.S.C. § 2605(f)) and state consumer-protection statutes like Washington's Consumer Protection Act (RCW 19.86) make wrongful-foreclosure litigation viable as a paid engagement, not just pro bono. Veteran families with documented servicer misconduct — rate-cap violations, dual tracking, escrow overcharges on tax-exempt properties, "Not Reviewed" loss-mitigation marks, VALERI submission failures — are paid-capable plaintiffs in fee-shifting jurisdictions.

Powers v. Collins is the parallel precedent. Public Counsel is already litigating Powers v. Collins (9th Cir. No. 24-6576; C.D. Cal. 2:22-cv-08357; affirmed 12/23/2025) on VA non-implementation in the homeless-veteran-housing context. The same theory of unreasonable agency delay applies directly to the H.R. 1815 implementation gap.

Veteran families and attorneys who want to coordinate: jlledford.family@gmail.com. The campaign is tracking a documented cohort across multiple states and servicers, with active congressional oversight and federal/state investigations open.

Section 5

Responding to Common Pushback

"VASP was just a temporary COVID handout. It was always going to end."VASP wasn't the start — it was the second attempt. The VA first had a COVID partial claim program, cancelled it without notice in 2022, then built VASP as the replacement, then cancelled that without notice in 2025. That's twice the VA pulled the safety net. FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac all kept their partial claim programs. Congress passed H.R. 1815 specifically because two administrations had cancelled programs at will. You don't pull the net twice and call it "temporary."
"Veterans need to pay their mortgages and stop looking for handouts."These families ARE trying to pay. They used forbearance, came out of it, and were told they couldn't just resume payments — they had to pay everything back immediately or accept a modification at 3x–4x their original rate. The partial claim costs the VA $0 upfront (repaid when the home sells or refinances). FHA/conventional homeowners got permanent partial claims and HAF. Veterans couldn't even access HAF because VA disability compensation was counted as income.
"VASP was a bad program. Even Republicans said so."Yes, VASP had implementation problems. "The program had problems" and "we should let 160,000 families lose their homes while we build a better one" are not the same argument. Congress agreed — that's why H.R. 1815 passed unanimously.
"This started under Biden so it's Biden's fault."The structural gap predates both administrations. Biden's VA created VASP late. Trump's VA ended it without a replacement. Congress fixed the law bipartisanly. The current VA won't implement the fix. Both are accountable. The VA is the bottleneck right now.
"VA mortgages are being gutted / the whole program is gone."Not accurate. The VA Home Loan Guaranty program still exists and is issuing new loans. What's gone is the safety net for veterans who fall behind. The loss-mitigation waterfall has a massive gap because the partial claim isn't operational.
"This is just rage bait / political propaganda."Chris Arnold and Quil Lawrence have investigated the VA mortgage crisis for years. NCLC testified before Congress. The Urban Institute published analysis. The MBA's chair-elect testified. The 10,000+ number comes from ICE Mortgage Technology. The 90,000 delinquent figure is from congressional testimony. This is documented.

Section 6

Voices on the Record — Who's Saying What, Chronological

Bipartisan congressional voices, nonpartisan policy experts, federal watchdogs, mortgage-industry leadership, major VSOs, and national press have all named the same gap. This is what the public record looks like, in order.

Section 7

Video + Post Scripts

Use your own words — just get these facts right. Both scripts include bipartisan framing so you're not easily dismissed.

60-Second Video Script

Quick thing you need to know. More than 10,000 veteran families have lost their homes in the past year. Here's what happened. During COVID, veterans were told to use forbearance — pause their mortgage payments. When forbearance ended, the VA had a partial claim program that let them catch up at their original rate. Then the VA cancelled it without notice. FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac all kept their programs. Only the VA pulled the rug. So the VA built a replacement called VASP. It worked. 17,000 families enrolled. Then the VA killed that too. May 2025. No replacement ready. That's the second time veteran families had a rescue program cancelled out from under them without notice. Congress saw the pattern — two administrations had now done this to veterans — so they passed a permanent fix, H.R. 1815, with unanimous bipartisan support. Every Republican, every Democrat. Signed into law July 2025. That was almost a year ago. The VA still hasn't implemented it. New ETA: June 2026. So now, instead of cancelling a program, the VA is just stalling — not implementing the law, not stopping the foreclosures they have the legal authority to stop. 90,000 more veteran families are in foreclosure right now. 160,000+ total impacted. This isn't left vs. right. Both administrations contributed. Congress already fixed the law. The VA is the bottleneck. Call (202) 224-3121 and tell your representative to demand the VA pause all veteran foreclosures and evictions until the program is live.

30-Second Short Version

The VA has cancelled the mortgage safety net for veteran families twice — first the COVID partial claim program, then VASP. Every other federal mortgage system kept theirs. FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac — they all still have partial claims. Only the VA has nothing. Congress passed a permanent fix with every Republican and every Democrat voting yes. That was almost a year ago. The VA still hasn't implemented it. 10,000+ families already lost their homes. 90,000 more are next. Call (202) 224-3121.

Section 8

Call Your Representative

U.S. Capitol Switchboard · (202) 224-3121 · 2 minutes

Phone Script

"Hi, I'm [YOUR NAME] from [CITY, STATE]. I'm calling to ask [REP'S NAME] to demand the VA immediately pause all veteran foreclosures and evictions until the H.R. 1815 partial claim program is fully operational. More than 10,000 veteran families have already lost their homes since the VA ended its mortgage rescue program last May. Another 90,000 are currently in foreclosure. Congress passed a bipartisan replacement with unanimous support in July 2025, but the VA still hasn't implemented it almost a year later. The VA has existing legal authority under 38 U.S.C. Sections 3732 and 3733 to pause evictions right now. The Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committee leaders said — and I'm quoting — 'No veteran should fall through the cracks or risk losing their home while a last-resort program is being implemented.' I'd like this logged as a constituent request. Thank you."

Find your rep: house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Section 9

Copy-Paste Social Media Captions

Facebook / Instagram / X

10,000+ veteran families have lost their homes in the past year. 90,000 more are in foreclosure right now. The VA killed their mortgage rescue program with no replacement ready. Congress passed a bipartisan fix — EVERY Republican and EVERY Democrat voted yes — but the VA still hasn't implemented it almost a year later. This isn't left vs. right. Both administrations contributed. Congress did its job. The VA is the bottleneck. These families aren't asking for handouts. They're trying to pay their mortgages. They weren't allowed to. Call (202) 224-3121. Tell your rep: pause ALL veteran foreclosures and evictions until the replacement program is live. #VeteranForeclosureCrisis #VAMortgage #ProtectVeterans #VeteranHousing #SupportOurVeterans

TikTok Caption

10,000+ veteran families lost their homes. Congress passed a bipartisan fix — every R and D voted yes. The VA won't implement it. 90,000 more families are next. Call your rep: (202) 224-3121. #VeteranForeclosureCrisis #VAMortgage #ProtectVeterans #Veterans #MilitaryFamilies

Section 11

If You're a Veteran Family in This Situation

You are not alone. Here's what to do right now:

Connect + Get Help

Eviction Help

Document Everything — Build the Paper Trail