Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) introduced a bill this week to lower housing costs for U.S. veterans by reducing U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan fees.
Ogles’ bill, the Affordable Housing For Veterans Act, would change the existing U.S. Code to eliminate the fees payable on home loans made or guaranteed by the VA.
The bill would specifically replace “November 15, 2031” everywhere it appears in the loan fee table in the U.S. Code (38 U.S.C. 3729(b)(2)) and replace it with “October 1, 2024.”
The change, according to Ogles’ office, would result in “swift loan fee reductions for veterans as high as 65 percent” for veterans, servicemembers, and surviving spouse homebuyers.
If passed, the costs incurred by Ogles’ bill would be recouped by rescinding $4.8 billion from the $80 billion made available to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) through the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022.
Ogles said his bill is a win for both U.S. veterans and taxpayers.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is auctioning off American houses to criminal illegal aliens, leaving countless American veterans homeless on the streets and many unable to purchase a home,” Ogles said in a statement.
“My bill will dramatically reduce VA home loan fees and allow our servicemembers to be rewarded instead of punished when buying a home. Not only will this legislation help veterans, but it will not affect taxpayers as this will be paid for by cutting billions from the ever-expanding IRS,” Ogles added.
Ogles’ bill is sponsored by Texas U.S. Representative Randy Weber (R-TX-14) and Florida U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL-13), who is a U.S. Air Force veteran.
“I’m proud to co-sponsor Rep. Ogles’ Affordable Housing for Veterans Act. It is time we give back to our fellow patriots who have put their lives on the line for us,” Luna said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Andy Ogles” by Andy Ogles.
I applaud this effort, however, lets not kid ourselves that it will be paid for because of fungible money that doesn’t exist. Instead of taking it from the IRS fund, we should eliminate that $80B increase that the spineless Speaker let through, and cut spending across the board. We NEED a balanced budget NOW, not in ten years. If we don’t take austere measures ourselves we will soon be facing them from the rest of the world. A balanced budget (including debt pay down) now will be of utmost importance to stabilize the dollar.
The sad reality is we have very few members of Congress who will stand for such an important priority.