Rep. Zeldin's Veteran Loan Guarantee Bill Passes House of Representatives

Washington, DC –Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), Member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and two Veterans Affairs Subcommittees: the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, and the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, announced today that his bill, The Flexible VA Loan Guarantee Act (H.R. 1187), which was packaged into H.R. 3016, the Veterans Employment, Education, and Healthcare Improvement Act, passed the House of Representatives this week with unanimous bipartisan support.

The Flexible VA Loan Guarantee Act would eliminate the loan limit or the “maximum guarantee amount” of a loan that the VA can guarantee for a veteran, providing the VA with the flexibility to determine the appropriate limit for all veterans' loans. The bill, which can be found here, has bipartisan support in Congress, with co-sponsors Congresswoman Kathleen Rice (D-NY) and Congressman Mark Takano (D-CA).

“The Flexible VA Loan Guarantee Act is a commonsense VA reform that will help countless veterans across the country,” said Congressman Zeldin. “Providing the VA with the flexibility they need to determine the appropriate limit for veterans’ loans will be extremely helpful for veterans who live in areas with a high cost of real estate, such as Long Island. Many Suffolk County veterans called my office concerned about securing VA home loans given the limits under current law. I am happy to see the bill pass the House with such overwhelming bipartisan support, knowing that thousands of Long Island veterans will benefit from this bill.”

Earlier this week, Congressman Zeldin introduced legislation in Congress to expand the PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Veteran Peer Support Program (“Dwyer Program”) to the national level (H.R. 4513). You can read more about it here. Congressman Zeldin's other veterans related legislation include: H.R. 2460, which would provide funding for adult day care for veterans; and the Veterans Estate Transfer to Survivors Act, or the VETS Act (H.R. 1569), which passed the House in July of 2015.

Congressman Zeldin continued, “One of my main priorities in Congress is improving the quality of life and care for our veterans. It’s important that after laying their lives on the line, our veterans receive access to resources to improve their quality of life following their military service. There is so much more we can do to improve life for our veterans and I will continue this important fight in Congress.”