• Latest
  • Trending
  • All

New law expands VA loan eligibility for Guard, COVID-19 vets

January 30, 2021

Veterans Day Message from President Trump

August 1, 2022

Navajo Code Talker Samuel Sandoval dies

August 1, 2022

#VeteranOfTheDay Marine Corps Veteran Victor “Brute” Harold Krulak

August 1, 2022

Trump supporters attempt world record boat parade near Clearwater Beach

August 1, 2022

Veteran honored for once-secret role in WWII ‘Ghost Army’

August 1, 2022

Helping a Fellow Vet with Disability Claim : Veterans

July 31, 2022

Table Tennis 1. European Championship1995 Vienna (Wien)Veterans Orlovwki Dvoracek Tischtennis

July 31, 2022

Low-Cost Tech Shaping Modern Battlefield > U.S. Department of Defense > Defense Department News

July 31, 2022

The Army won’t lower its standards again to meet recruitment goals

July 31, 2022

Coast Guard veteran held without bail in ID theft mystery

July 31, 2022

British Normandy Memorial opens on D-Day anniversary

July 31, 2022

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Stories

July 31, 2022
Thursday, February 2, 2023
  • PRESS RELEASE
  • ADVERTISE
  • CONTACT
198 Veterans News
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Global Veterans
  • USA Veterans
  • EU Veterans
  • Canadian Veterans
  • Australian Veterans
  • Asia Veterans
  • African Veterans
  • Veteran Supports
  • More
    • Global Veteran Supports
    • Veterans Nonprofits
    • Veterans Sponsors
    • Sponsorship
    • Veteran Blogs
    • Veteran Books
    • VIP videos of Veterans
198 Veterans News
No Result
View All Result
Home USA Veteran News

New law expands VA loan eligibility for Guard, COVID-19 vets

by The Editor
January 30, 2021
in USA Veteran News
261 5
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Email

[ad_1]

Early career National Guard troops who supported COVID-19 response this year may soon be eligible for Veterans Affairs home loan benefits, thanks to a provision in this year’s Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act.

President Donald Trump signed the legislation on Jan. 5, narrowly avoiding an accidental “pocket veto.” Had he not signed it today, the measure would not have become law unless the new Congress passed similar legislation.

When the legislation becomes law, Guard troops who have served at least 90 days of qualifying Title 32 active duty service, including a stint of at least 30 days, will be newly eligible for the loan. The expanded eligibility is applied retroactively, too.

Tens of thousands of Guard members logged qualifying service in 2020 as part of the nationwide COVID-19 response. At the mission’s peak on May 12, 47,100 Guard troops were on Title 32 orders for pandemic response, according to National Guard Bureau data shared with Military Times.

National Guard troops could only become eligible for the VA loan benefit in one of two ways, according to the VA website: 90 days of federal active-duty service or six years of retirement-creditable service in the Guard or another reserve component of the military. Only Title 10 orders –– which come in the event of a federal mobilization for deployment –– counted towards the 90 day threshold, though.

Now that has changed.

The bill is “Congress’ recognition that the benefits gap [between full-time National Guard duty and active duty] is no longer appropriate,” said John Goheen, communications director for the National Guard Association of the United States, in a phone interview with Military Times. He argued that the benefits need “to be more reflective of what the nation is asking of its guardsmen and reservists.”

NGAUS previously made the home loan eligibility expansion a legislative priority for the group, which advocates on behalf of Guard troops on Capitol Hill. A bipartisan group of legislators had introduced a bill seeking to expand eligibility earlier this year.

Sign up for the Early Bird Brief

Get the military’s most comprehensive news and information every morning

By giving us your email, you are opting in to the Early Bird Brief.

Military Times Logo

“VA is ready to ensure that members of the National Guard who qualify with expanded eligibility requirements will have access to their home loan benefits,” said Susan Carter, director of the VA’s office of media relations.

“Practically speaking, the change means that thousands more National Guard personnel will qualify for the VA home loan,” said Dr. Dwight Stirling, CEO of the Center for Law and Military Policy and a former California National Guard judge advocate general. “Full-time National Guard service is fundamentally no different from federal service.

While the VA did not have an estimate of how many Guard troops would become newly eligible for the benefit, the Congressional Budget Office projected that “roughly 2,000 more [Guard troops] would obtain loan guarantees over the next 10 years.”

Does my Title 32 service make me eligible for the VA loan?

According to the legislation, qualifying Title 32 service must have been active-duty periods completed under sections 316, 502, 503, 504, or 505 of the federal law. At least one of the periods of service must have been for more than 30 days, as well.

Most of this year’s National Guard COVID-19 response has been under Title 32 502(f) orders, with tens of thousands of troops surpassing the 90-day threshold necessary to qualify under the new legislation, and thousands more logging at least 31 days.

Time spent on orders for initial military training does not count even under the new law, but other schools do count, so long as the orders were issued under the applicable sections of Title 32.

The eligibility expansion also means that periods of annual training orders –– most of which are under section 503 of Title 32 –– can count towards the VA loan, as long as the service member has completed at least one order of more than 30 days.

For example, under the new law, a Guard member who has completed an 89-day Title 32 order for coronavirus response — as some did, due to a political kerfuffle over extending Title 32 authorizations in summer 2020 — is eligible for the VA home loan benefit if they have completed even one day of annual training in their career.

“Those shorter training periods would count towards the 90-day threshold,” said Samantha Gonzales, director of strategic communications for the House Veterans Affairs Committee, in an email to Military Times.

VA officials told Military Times that they would allow troops to document their shorter periods of service –– for which they frequently do not receive discharge papers — using documents such as retirement point statements and copies of “applicable military orders.”

“VA will evaluate all available information related to eligibility,” said Carter, director of VA’s Office of Media Relations, in an email to Military Times shortly before Trump signed the bill. “If HR7105 is signed, VA is prepared to quickly provide guidance to staff to make [eligibility] determinations for members of the National Guard”

“Members of the National Guard can visit https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/eligibility/ for information on eligibility,” she added. “The site will be updated after the bill is enacted.”

Disclosure: The author of this article, Davis Winkie, is a member of NGAUS.



[ad_2]

Source link

Tags: COVID19eligibilityexpandsGuardLawLoanVets
Share207Tweet130Send
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

Desmond inquiry: Lionel Desmond’s case manager at Veterans Affairs begins testimony – Halifax

June 22, 2021

Afghans, Canadian veterans in Alberta fear Taliban takeover will undo years of progress

August 14, 2021

Lionel Desmond inquiry: Veterans Affairs review cites delays, calls for changes – Halifax

June 25, 2021

Hello world!

1

Lady Gaga Pulled Off One of the Best Halftime Shows Ever

0

Barack Obama’s Now Mainly Focusing on Wearing This Casual Backwards Hat

0

Veterans Day Message from President Trump

August 1, 2022

Navajo Code Talker Samuel Sandoval dies

August 1, 2022

#VeteranOfTheDay Marine Corps Veteran Victor “Brute” Harold Krulak

August 1, 2022
198 Veterans News

Own and operated by The Ike Lemuwa Group, LLC a Commonwealth of Virginia Limited Liability Company, USA.
Info@nigeriasmartnews.com / info@ikelemuwagroup.com
Toll-Free: 1 888 642 8433
3821 Dominion Drive Dumfries, Virginia, 22026. USA

Trending News

Nicholas Charles Revello Plaintiff V.s Keren Laina Sangalaza Defendant

Claiming a presumptive without knowing it

Brown Water Navy Heroes | The Veterans Site News

Commission Soon to Begin Examining Problem of Sexual Assault in Military > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE > Defense Department News

If Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling, veterans will not receive disability payments : Veterans

Recent News

Veterans Day Message from President Trump

Navajo Code Talker Samuel Sandoval dies

#VeteranOfTheDay Marine Corps Veteran Victor “Brute” Harold Krulak

Trump supporters attempt world record boat parade near Clearwater Beach

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA
  • Cookie Policy
  • T & C
  • Contact

198 Veterans News - Copyright AllRights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Global Veterans
  • USA Veterans
  • EU Veterans
  • Canadian Veterans
  • Australian Veterans
  • Asia Veterans
  • African Veterans
  • Veteran Supports
  • More
    • Global Veteran Supports
    • Veterans Nonprofits
    • Veterans Sponsors
    • Sponsorship
    • Veteran Blogs
    • Veteran Books
    • VIP videos of Veterans

198 Veterans News - Copyright AllRights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In