[House Report 119-577]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Report
2d Session } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES { 119-577
======================================================================
SHARRI BRILEY AND ERIC EDMUNDSON VETERANS
BENEFITS EXPANSION ACT OF 2026
_______
April 2, 2026.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bost, from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 6047]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 6047) to amend title 38, United States Code, to
direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the dollar
amounts for the payment of certain disability compensation and
dependency and indemnity compensation under the laws
administered by the Secretary, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that
the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Amendment........................................................ 2
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 3
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 4
Hearings......................................................... 8
Subcommittee Consideration....................................... 8
Committee Consideration.......................................... 8
Committee Votes.................................................. 9
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 25
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 25
Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits............................. 25
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 25
Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate... 25
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 33
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 33
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 33
Statement on Duplication of Federal Programs..................... 33
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 33
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 34
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson
Veterans Benefits Expansion Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. INCREASE IN RATES OF CERTAIN DISABILITY COMPENSATION AND
DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION UNDER LAWS
ADMINISTERED BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) Increase to Rates of Wartime Disability Compensation.--
(1) In general.--Section 1114 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(u) In the case of a veteran eligible for a monthly aid and
attendance allowance under subsection (r) or subsection (t) of this
section, the Secretary shall, in addition to the total amount of
compensation for which the veteran is eligible under this section, pay
the veteran a supplemental monthly allowance at the rate of $833.33.''.
(2) Effective date; applicability.--Subsection (u) of such
section (as added by paragraph (1)) shall take effect on
December 1, 2026, and shall apply to months beginning on or
after such date.
(b) Increase to Rates of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.--
Section 5312 of such title is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
``(d)(1) Whenever there is an increase in benefit amounts payable
under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) as a
result of a determination made under section 215(i) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 415(i)), the Secretary shall, except as provided in paragraph
(2), effective on the date of such increase in benefit amounts,
increase the dollar amounts in effect for the payment of dependency and
indemnity compensation by the Secretary under paragraph (1) and
paragraph (3) of section 1311(a) of this title, as such amounts were in
effect immediately before the date of such increase in benefit amounts
payable under title II of the Social Security Act, by a percentage
equal to the sum of--
``(A) the percentage by which such benefit amounts are
increased; and
``(B) one percent.
``(2) After the first increase under paragraph (1) to the dollar
amounts in effect for the payment of dependency and indemnity
compensation by the Secretary under paragraph (1) and paragraph (3) of
section 1311(a) of this title, the Secretary shall carry out paragraph
(1)(B) by substituting `one half of one percent' for `one percent'.
``(3) Whenever there is an increase under paragraph (1) in amounts in
effect for the payment of dependency and indemnity compensation, the
Secretary shall publish such amounts, as increased pursuant to such
paragraph, in the Federal Register at the same time as the material
required by section 215(i)(2)(D) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
415(i)(2)(D)) is published by reason of a determination under section
215(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)).
``(4) The requirement to increase, pursuant to paragraph (1), the
amounts in effect for the payment of dependency and indemnity
compensation under paragraph (1) and paragraph (3) of section 1311 (a)
of this title by the Secretary shall--
``(A) take effect on December 1, 2026, and shall apply with
respect to months beginning on or after such date; and
``(B) terminate after the date on which the second increase
to such amounts pursuant to such paragraph occurs.''.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF WAIVERS OF FEES COLLECTED FOR HOUSING LOANS
GUARANTEED, INSURED, OR MADE BY THE SECRETARY OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS.
Section 3729(b)(2) of such title is amended, in the loan fee table--
(1) by striking ``June 9, 2034'' each place it appears and
inserting ``September 30, 2036'';
(2) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``0.50'' both places it
appears and inserting ``1.40''; and
(3) in subparagraph (I), by striking ``0.50'' each place it
appears and inserting ``1.0''.
SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN LIMITS ON PAYMENTS OF PENSION.
Section 5503(d)(7) of such title is amended by striking ``January 31,
2033'' and inserting ``September 30, 2036''.
SEC. 5. HOME AFFORDABILITY FOR GUARD AND RESERVE.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Home
Affordability for Guard and Reserve Act''.
(b) Eligibility of Certain Members of the Reserve Components and the
National Guard for Guaranteed Housing Loans.--
(1) Expanded definition of ``active duty'' for purposes of
housing loans.--Section 3701(b) of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(9) The term `active duty' has the meanings as follows:
``(A) In the case of members of the regular
components of the Armed Forces, the meaning given such
term in section 101(21)(A).
``(B) In the case of members of the reserve
components of the Armed Forces--
``(i) service on active duty (as defined in
section 101(d) of title 10), inactive-duty
training (as defined in section 101(d) of title
10), or annual training duty; or
``(ii) service on active duty under a call or
order to active duty under section 688,
12301(a), 12301(d), 12301(g), 12301(h), 12302,
12304, 12304a, or 12304b of title 10 or section
713 of title 14, but not including inactive
duty training (as defined in section 101(d) of
title 10) or annual training duty.
``(C) In the case of a member of the Army National
Guard of the United States or Air National Guard of the
United States, in addition to service described in
subparagraph (B), full-time service--
``(i) in the National Guard of a State for
the purpose of organizing, administering,
recruiting, instructing, or training the
National Guard;
``(ii) in the National Guard when performing
full-time National Guard duty (as defined in
section 101 of title 32); or
``(iii) in the National Guard when performing
active duty (as defined in section 101 of title
32).''.
(2) Retroactive applicability to service performed.--The
amendments made by this subsection shall apply with respect to
any service performed on or after September 11, 2001.
(c) Expansion of Eligibility for Guaranteed Housing Loans to Certain
Additional Personnel Upon Payment of Additional Loan Fee.--
(1) Expansion to individuals with at least 14 days of
service.--Section 3701(b) of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after paragraph (7) the following new
paragraph:
``(8) The term `veteran' also includes, for purposes of home
loans (subject to the additional loan fee in section
3729(b)(4)(J) of this title), an individual who--
``(A) is not otherwise eligible for the benefits of
this chapter;
``(B) has completed a total service of at least 14
days on active duty under paragraph (B) or (C) of
paragraph (9); and
``(C) following completion of such service, continued
to serve until the completion of entry level and skill
training (as defined in section 3301(3) of this
title).''.
(2) Basic entitlement.--Section 3702(a)(2) of title 38,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(H) Each individual described in section 3701(b)(8) of this
title.''.
(3) Additional loan fee for such individuals.--Section
3729(b)(4) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(J) In the case of a housing loan in which the veteran has
eligibility under section 3701(b)(8) of this title and does not
otherwise have eligibility, the loan fee table in paragraph (2)
shall be applied to the veteran or other obligor (as
applicable) by adding 1.00 to the percentage in the table.''.
(4) Notification to personnel.--The Secretary of Veteran
Affairs shall provide information about this benefit to the
Secretary of Defense to ensure that each member of a reserve
component or a member of the Army National Guard of the United
States or Air National Guard of the United States who completes
entry level and skill training (as defined in section 3301(3)
of title 38, United States Code) after the date of the
enactment of this Act is notified of their eligibility for
housing loan benefits under chapter 37 of such title, including
eligibility (subject to the additional loan fee) under section
3701(b)(8) of such title.
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 6047, the ``Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans
Benefits Expansion Act of 2026,'' was introduced by
Representative Tom Barrett of Michigan on November 17, 2025.
The bill would increase the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
monthly payment to veterans eligible for Special Monthly
Compensation (SMC) R1, R2, and T. A veteran may qualify for
these designations due to multiple, severe service-connected
disabilities that preclude that veteran from being able to work
or perform daily living tasks, as well as require regular in-
home aid and attendance from a family member or medical
professional. This bill would also provide an increase to VA's
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefit by 1.5%
over the next two years. This increase would be included when
VA implements the Veterans Cost of Living Adjustment Act,
passed by Congress annually to ensure the benefit keeps pace
with inflation. It would result in a 1% increase in the first
year followed by a 0.5% increase in the second year. Further,
this bill, as amended, would expand eligibility for the VA home
loan to Guard and Selected Reserve members with 14 days of
active-duty training, with a 1% increase on the VA home loan
funding fee.
Background and Need for Legislation
Section 1: Short Title
This section would establish the short title of the bill as
the ``Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits
Expansion Act of 2026.''
Section 2: Increase in Rates of Certain Disability Compensation and
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Under Laws Administered
by Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Veterans with catastrophic, service-connected disabilities
and their families often face lifelong financial, medical, and
caregiving challenges that extend well beyond those
contemplated when many VA benefit programs were originally
created. To compensate for these deficiencies in the standard
disability compensation system, Congress established Special
Monthly Compensation (SMC) rates.\1\ SMC R1, SMC R2, and SMC T
are three rates that address the most severely disabled
veterans, with veterans qualifying due to a confluence of
severe injuries and a need for regular aid and attendance.
These conditions result in an inability to work and care for
one's daily needs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\See 38 U.S.C. Sec. 1114(k-t).
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The Committee understands from information provided by VA
that the number of veterans qualifying for SMC is small. In
2025, according to VA's numbers, approximately 5,046 veterans
qualified for SMC R1, approximately 2,459 veterans qualified
for SMC R2, and approximately 267 qualified for SMC T. In many
cases, compensation rates for SMC have remained static for
decades, despite rising costs of living, increased caregiving
demands, and evolving medical understanding of severe
disability.
At a Full Committee legislative hearing, the Committee
heard from Mr. Edgar Edmundson, the father of catastrophically
disabled veteran Sgt. Eric Edmundson (Ret.), who spoke about
the challenges and sacrifices of families caring for a veteran
receiving SMC. Mr. Edmundson spoke about the specialized
caregiving needs and the hours of caregiving required to care
for his son Eric:
``Eric requires constant supervision--not because he
is unsafe, but because the environment around him can
become unsafe for someone with his impairments. Trained
caregivers prevent falls, prevent choking or
aspiration, ensure proper transfers, assist with
personal care, monitor health changes, and provide
engagement that keeps him connected to the world. While
I am enrolled in the VA's Program of Comprehensive
Assistance for Family Caregivers, these hours add up,
and families cannot shoulder them alone forever.''\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\Mr. Edgar Edmundson, Testimony in his Personal Capacity
(December 3, 2025), HHRG-119-VR00-Bio-EdmundsonE-20251203.pdf
(house.gov).
Mr. Edmundson also testified about the unique equipment,
therapies, and activities that are provided by VA for Eric's
care, including VA home modifications and the need for an
accessible environment, transportation and mobility support,
adaptative equipment and assistive technology, and therapeutic
and quality of life activities.\3\ Mr. Edmundson described the
additional costs that must be paid out of pocket by the family:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\Mr. Edgar Edmundson, Testimony in his Personal Capacity
(December 3, 2025), HHRG-119-VR00-Bio-EdmundsonE-20251203.pdf
(house.gov).
``The federal government provides many benefits and
services for veterans like Eric, but sometimes agencies
like the VA are so difficult to navigate that families
like ours end up paying out of pocket for needed
services like wet wipes, 4x4 gauze for stomach tube,
catheters, dental appointments. In addition, arbitrary
caps, misaligned programs, and increased costs of
living mean that available programs don't cover Eric's
needs. And sometimes, Eric, who will never be able to
work again, needs to simply have cash on hand to be
able to support his family. These are the things
additional funding supports. These are the things that
allow my son--and others like him--to experience life
with dignity, purpose, and comfort.''\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\Mr. Edgar Edmundson, Testimony in his Personal Capacity
(December 3, 2025), HHRG-119-VR00-Bio-EdmundsonE-20251203.pdf
(house.gov).
To address this issue, this section would increase the
amount of compensation payable under SMC R1, R2, and T by a
supplemental amount of $833.33 per month. This would amount to
an extra $10,000 in these benefits per year.
The Committee believes that this subsection is crucial to
ensure that VA benefits more accurately reflect the scope and
permanence of catastrophic service-connected disabilities and
that veterans with the most serious conditions, and the
families who support them, receive assistance commensurate with
their level of need.
Surviving family members of veterans who passed away: (1)
due to a service-connected condition, (2) during active-duty
service, or (3) after having been rated as 100% disabled by the
VA for 10 continuous years might qualify for DIC, which is VA's
largest survivor's benefit. In FY2024, 519,450 survivors were
actively receiving DIC. Under current law, survivors receive a
tax-free base amount of roughly $1,700 per month. While DIC is
meant to help support survivors after the death of their
veteran spouse, this benefit's base rate has not been increased
except for the annual Cost of Living adjustment since 1993.
Surviving spouses are often left to care for the shared
family and must assume the financial obligations of their
deceased servicemember. At a Full Committee legislative
hearing, members heard from Mrs. Sharri Briley, the surviving
spouse of CW-03 Donovan ``Bull'' Briley (KIA). The Committee
learned about CW-03 Briley's heroic service in Operation Gothic
Serpent, which later became known as the ``Blackhawk Down''
incident in Mogadishu, Somalia. As Mrs. Briley testified at a
Full Committee legislative hearing:
``Survivors have not received a real increase in over
30 years. During that time, the cost of food, housing,
childcare, and medical care has grown dramatically. A
modest but meaningful DIC increase will help surviving
spouses put food on the table, cover rent, and provide
stability for their children.''\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\Mrs. Sharri Briley, Testimony in her Personal Capacity (December
3, 2025), HHRG-119-VR00-Wstate-BrileyS-20251203.pdf (house.gov).
To address this need, this subsection would raise the base-
rate of DIC by 1.5 percent over two years, with a one percent
increase in the first year followed by a 0.5 percent increase
in the second year. Importantly, this adjustment would be in
addition to, and initiated by, the annual cost-of-living
adjustments (COLA) that account for inflation. This subsection
would provide the first increase to DIC, aside from
inflationary increases, since 1993.
The Committee believes that this subsection would help to
ensure that these families receive the recognition and support
they deserve after decades without a real adjustment to the
underlying benefit.
Section 3: Modification of Waivers of Fees Collected for Housing Loans
Guaranteed, Insured, or Made by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs
Under current law, veterans who utilize the VA Home Loan
Program pay a small fee that can be rolled into their monthly
mortgage payment. Additionally, under current law, the Interest
Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) is a VA home loan product
that allows a veteran with an existing VA home loan to
refinance their existing mortgage to a lower interest rate and
reduce their monthly payment.
This section would increase the IRRRL funding fee from 0.5%
to 1.40%. Under current law, an individual who assumes or takes
over a VA Home Loan from a veteran, pays a 0.5% funding fee.
This section would change the funding fee to 1%. This section
would cover the costs of the other section of this bill by
extending the current rates for VA home loan funding fees from
June 9, 2034, to September 30, 2036.
Extending the funding fee would increase a veteran's
monthly cost by about $8 on top of the monthly mortgage.
Disabled veterans would be exempt and would not pay the funding
fee and would not be affected by the extension of the home loan
fees in this bill. The Committee believes this short-term
extension of current funding fee rates is a reasonable way to
cover the costs associated with the other sections of this
bill.
This section would not change other advantageous aspects of
the VA home loan for veterans including the option to put no
money down, not pay private mortgage insurance, and to re-use
the benefit in the future.
The Committee believes that this section would provide
reasonable rate increases to the VA home loan to cover the
costs associated with the other sections of this bill.
Section 4: Extension of Certain Limits on Payments of Pension
Under current law (38 U.S.C. Sec. 5503(d)), the amount of
VA pension paid to a veteran without a spouse or children, a
veteran's surviving spouse with no children, or a veteran's
child who is admitted to a VA or Medicaid sponsored nursing
facility, is capped at $90 a month. This section would cover
the costs of the other sections of this bill by extending this
pension limitation to September 30, 2036. Because they receive
government sponsored care in a nursing home, these pension
beneficiaries do not require the full amount of pension to
cover their cost of living.
The Committee believes this short-term extension of the
current limit on pension payments would be a reasonable way to
cover the costs associated with the other sections of this
bill.
Section 5: Home Affordability for Guard and Reserve
Under current law, members of the National Guard must have
90 days of active-duty service, not including training, under
Title 10, or 90 days of full-time National Guard duty (Title
32) service, with at least 30 consecutive days of Title 32
activation, to be eligible for the VA Home Loan program. If
these activation requirements are not met, there is an option
for members of the National Guard to be eligible for a VA Home
Loan program with six creditable years in the Guard, and an
honorable discharge or retirement status.
Additionally, members of the Selected Reserve would be
eligible for the VA Home Loan program if they have served at
least 90 days of non-training active-duty service or have been
in the Selected Reserve for at least six years and were
discharged honorably or retired with an honorable discharge.
This section would expand VA Home Loan program eligibility to
Guard and Reservists with 14 days of active-duty service but
would require this population to pay an additional 1% fee.
The Committee believes that expanding VA Home Loan program
eligibility to allow Guard and Reserve members to be eligible
after 14 days of active-duty service with a 1% fee, rather than
90 days, would allow more members of the Guard and Reserve to
be able to live the American dream, build equity, and own their
first home. The Committee believes this 1% fee is a recognition
of the commitment difference between full-time, active-duty
military status for 90 days otherwise required to qualify for
the VA Home Loan compared to the 14 days of service allowed
under this section. The VA Home Loan program remains the best
home buying option, and the Committee believes this VA benefit
should be expanded to individuals who have served alongside
full-time active duty servicemembers.
Hearings
On December 3, 2025, the Full Committee held a legislative
hearing on H.R. 6047 and other bills that were pending before
the Committee.
The following witnesses testified:
Mrs. Sharri Briley, Surviving Spouse of Chief Warrant
Officer 3 Donovan `Bull' Briley; Mr. Edgar Edmundson,
Father of Seargent (Retired) Eric Edmundson; Mr. Tom
Wheaton, National Treasurer, Paralyzed Veterans of
America; Dr. Brian Miller, MD, Associate Professor of
Medicine, Johns Hopkins University; Ms. Kristina
Keenan, Legislative Director, Veterans of Foreign Wars
of the United States; Ms. Margarita Devlin, Principal
Deputy Undersecretary for Benefits, U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs; Ms. Stephanie Li, Associate Director
of Regulations, Legislation, Engagement, and Training,
Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs; Ms. Heather Ford, Acting Chief
Financial Officer, Veterans Health Administration, U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs; Mr. Kevin Johnson,
Director of Revenue Operations, Office of Finance,
Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs.
The following individuals and organizations submitted
statements for the record:
The Honorable French Hill of Arkansas; Gold Star
Spouses of America, Inc.; Tragedy Assistance Program
for Survivors; David J. Meyers, Brown University School
of Public Health; The American Legion; Disabled
American Veterans.
Committee Consideration
On February 12, 2026, the Full Committee met in open markup
session with a quorum being present, to consider H.R. 6047.
During consideration of the legislation, the following
amendments were offered:
An amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 6047 was
offered by Chairman Mike Bost of Illinois, which would strike
the text of the bill and instead increase Dependency and
Indemnity Compensation by an additional one-percent after the
first Cost of Living Adjustment Act (COLA) increase following
the passage of this Act, and an additional one-half of one-
percent after the second Cost of Living Adjustment Act
increase. This amendment in the nature of a substitute would
remove the provision requiring veterans with a disability
rating of 70% and below to pay the VA home loan funding fee on
their second use of the VA home loan. This amendment in the
nature of a substitute would also add two new sections, one of
which extends current law regarding the offset of veteran's
pensions for those residing in government funded nursing homes,
and a section that would expand the VA home loan funding fees
until September 30, 2036, increase IRRRLs funding fees from
0.5% to 1.4%, and increase the funding fee for borrowers
assuming a VA home loan from .5% to 1.0%. The amendment in the
nature of a substitute was agreed to by a recorded vote of 13
ayes, 10 nays.
Amendment #6 to the amendment in the nature of a substitute
to H.R. 6047 was offered by Representative Kelly Morrison of
Minnesota, which would strike sections 3 and 4, and insert a
new section 3 that would reduce the unobligated balance of
funds appropriated for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
by $5,000,000,000. The amendment failed by a recorded vote of
11 ayes, 12 nays.
Amendment #7 to the amendment in the nature of a substitute
to H.R. 6047 was offered by Representative Herb Conaway of New
Jersey, which would increase IRRRLs from 0.5% to 1.4%, extend
home loan funding fee rates, and add an additional 0.5% to VA
home loan assumptions, but would only apply to future
servicemembers after the enactment of this bill. The amendment
failed by a recorded vote of 11 ayes, 12 nays.
Amendment #12 to the amendment in the nature of a
substitute to H.R. 6047 was offered by Representative Maxine
Dexter of Oregon, which would strike section 3 and 4, and
insert a reduction to the estate tax exemption. The amendment
failed by a recorded vote of 11 ayes, 12 nays.
Amendment #13 to the amendment in the nature of a
substitute to H.R. 6047 was offered by Ranking Member Mark
Takano of California that would strike sections 3 and 4. The
amendment failed by a recorded vote of 11 ayes, 12 nays.
Amendment #14 to the amendment in the nature of a
substitute to H.R. 6047 was offered by Representative Maxine
Dexter of Oregon, which would extend current VA home loan fees,
but would strike the pension offset and would also strike
sections that would increase IRRRL fees for veterans who choose
to refinance their home loan and raise assumption fees for
individuals who assume a veterans home loan. The amendment
failed by a recorded vote of 11 ayes, 12 nays.
Amendment #1 to the amendment in the nature of a substitute
to H.R. 6047 was offered by Representative Tom Barrett of
Michigan, which would expand VA home loan eligibility to
members of the Guard and Reserve with 90 days to those with
just 14 days of active-duty service with a 1% increase in the
VA home loan funding fee. The amendment was agreed to by a
recorded vote of 23 ayes, 0 nays.
A motion by Representative Jack Bergman of Michigan to
report H.R. 6047, as amended, favorably to the House of
Representatives, was agreed to by a recorded vote of 13 ayes,
10 nays.
Committee Votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded
votes on the motion to report the legislation and amendments
thereto.
An amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute
to H.R. 6047 offered by Representative Morrison of Minnesota
(#6) was not agreed to by a recorded vote of 11 ayes, 12 noes.
An amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute
to H.R. 6047 offered by Representative Conaway of New Jersey
(#7) was not agreed to by a recorded vote of 11 ayes, 12 noes.
An amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute
to H.R. 6047 offered by Representative Dexter of Oregon (#12)
was not agreed to by a recorded vote of 11 ayes, 12 noes.
An amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute
to H.R. 6047 offered by Ranking Member Mark Takano of
California (#13) was not agreed to by a recorded vote of 11
ayes, 12 noes.
An amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute
to H.R. 6047 offered by Representative Dexter of Oregon (#14)
was not agreed to by a recorded vote of 11 ayes, 12 noes.
An amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 6047
offered by Representative Barrett of Michigan (#1) was agreed
to by a recorded vote of 23 ayes, 0 noes.
An amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 6047
offered by Chairman Mike Bost of Illinois was agreed to by a
recorded vote of 13 ayes, 10 noes.
A motion to favorably report H.R. 6047, as amended, to the
Full House was agreed to by a recorded vote of 13 ayes, 10
noes.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause
(2)(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee's oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the descriptive portions of
this report.
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee's performance
goals and objectives of H.R. 6047, as amended, would provide
members of the National Guard and Reserve a more affordable
home loan option, by expanding eligibility of the VA home loan
to Guard and Reserve members with 14 days of active duty
service, and increase the benefits received by surviving
spouses and veterans receiving special monthly compensation to
better reflect the unique circumstances faced by these
populations.
Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits
H.R. 6047, as amended, does not contain any Congressional
earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as
defined in clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
Committee Cost Estimate
The Committee adopts as its own the Congressional Budget
Office cost estimate on this measure.
Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office
Cost Estimate
Pursuant to clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the following is the cost
estimate for H.R. 6047, as amended, provided by the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) pursuant to section 402 of
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:
The bill would:
Provide cost-of-living adjustments for
dependency and indemnity compensation
Create a new monthly benefit for certain
disabled veterans who receive aid and attendance
benefits
Increase the rates for fees that the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) charges borrowers
for home loan guarantees
Expand eligibility for VA-guaranteed home
loans to certain members of the military's reserve
component
Extend a temporary limitation on certain
pension payments
Estimated budgetary effects would mainly stem from:
Increasing monthly benefits paid to
recipients of dependency and indemnity compensation
Paying a new monthly benefit to disabled
veterans
Increasing rates for fees that VA charges
borrowers for home loan guarantees
Providing federal guarantees for home loans
and mortgage-backed securities
Areas of significant uncertainty include:
Anticipating the change in the number of
home loans guaranteed or securitized by federal
agencies and entities.
Bill summary: H.R. 6047 would increase benefits paid by the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by providing a cost-of-
living adjustment (COLA) for dependency and indemnity
compensation (DIC) and by creating a new monthly benefit for
certain disabled veterans. The bill also would increase the
rate for fees that VA charges borrowers for home loan
guarantees and expand eligibility for such guarantees to
certain members of the military reserves. Finally, the bill
would extend a temporary limitation on certain pension payments
through September 30, 2036.
Estimated Federal cost: The estimated budgetary effects of
H.R. 6047 are shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation
fall within budget functions 370 (commerce and housing credit),
550 (health), and 700 (veterans benefits and services).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF H.R. 6047
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By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2026-2031 2026-2036
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INCREASES OR DECREASES (-) in DIRECT SPENDING
Estimated Budget Authority...................... * 11 68 111 144 174 184 185 -9 *-453 -457 508 -42
Estimated Outlays............................... * 11 68 111 144 174 184 185 -9 -453 -457 508 -42
INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Estimated Authorization......................... * 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 8 8 9 27 65
Estimated Outlays............................... * 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 8 8 9 27 65
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = between -$500,000 and $500,000.
Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the
legislation will be enacted in fiscal year 2026 and that
outlays will follow historical spending patterns for the
affected programs.
Direct spending: Enacting the changes to disability
benefits, loan guarantees, and pensions would reduce net direct
spending by $42 million over the 2026-2036 period, CBO
estimates (see Table 2).
TABLE 2.--ESTIMATED CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING UNDER H.R. 6047
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2026- 2026-
2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2031 2036
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation:
Estimated Budget Authority................................ 0 164 247 274 289 305 320 338 356 376 397 1,279 3,066
Estimated Outlays......................................... 0 164 247 274 289 305 320 338 356 376 397 1,279 3,066
Additional Disability Compensation:
Estimated Budget Authority................................ 0 68 87 92 96 100 105 109 114 118 123 443 1,012
Estimated Outlays......................................... 0 68 87 92 96 100 105 109 114 118 123 443 1,012
Home Loan Fees:
Estimated Budget Authority................................ * -217 -261 -250 -236 -226 -236 -247 -459 -927 -954 -1,190 -4,013
Estimated Outlays......................................... * -217 -261 -250 -236 -226 -236 -247 -459 -927 -954 -1,190 -4,013
Home Loans for Reserve Duty:
Estimated Budget Authority................................ * -4 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -7 -8 -8 -11 -24 -63
Estimated Outlays......................................... * -4 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -7 -8 -8 -11 -24 -63
Pensions and Medicaid:
Estimated Budget Authority................................ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -8 -12 -12 -12 0 -44
Estimated Outlays......................................... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -8 -12 -12 -12 0 -44
Total Changes:
Estimated Budget Authority............................ * 11 68 111 144 174 184 185 -9 -453 -457 508 -42
Estimated Outlays..................................... * 11 68 111 144 174 184 185 -9 -453 -457 508 -42
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = between -$500,000 and $500,000.
Dependency and indemnity compensation. H.R. 6047 would
provide two COLAs to dependency and indemnity compensation, a
benefit paid to certain surviving dependents of veterans who
die from service-connected disabilities or who die after being
rated totally disabled by VA for at least 10 years prior to
death. The first increase would be 1 percentage point more than
the COLA that Social Security recipients will receive in
December 2026.
The second increase would be 0.5 percentage points more
than the adjustment that will occur in December 2027. Section
257 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985 requires that CBO's baseline projections incorporate the
assumption that Social Security COLAs will be provided to DIC
beneficiaries; thus, this estimate accounts for the differences
between the increases specified in the bill and the Social
Security COLAs projected in CBO's February 2026 baseline. The
adjustments would increase the average monthly DIC payment for
nearly 600,000 recipients by about $23 in calendar year 2027
and by about $34 in calendar year 2028; by 2036, the average
monthly payment for nearly 800,000 recipients would be about
$42 greater. In total, CBO estimates that enacting the
provision would increase outlays for DIC by $3 billion over the
2026-2036 period.
Additional disability compensation. H.R. 6047 would create
a new monthly benefit for disabled veterans who receive a
monthly aid and attendance allowance from VA. That allowance is
paid to disabled veterans who meet additional criteria, such as
requiring assistance to perform daily activities. CBO estimates
that about 8,000 veterans currently receive aid and attendance
allowances and that, by 2036, that number will increase to
about 10,000. The new benefit would be $833 per month, and
payments would begin in December 2026; after future COLAs, CBO
estimates that the benefit amount would increase to $1,026 per
month in 2036. In total, CBO estimates that enacting the
provision would increase outlays for disability compensation by
$1 billion over the 2026-2036 period.
Home loan fees. H.R. 6047 would make two changes to the
fees that VA charges borrowers for its loan guarantees.
First, the bill would extend, for almost 28 months, the
current rates for loan guarantees. VA provides loan guarantees
to lenders that allow eligible borrowers to obtain better loan
terms--such as lower interest rates or smaller down payments--
to purchase, construct, improve, or refinance a home. VA
typically pays lenders up to 25 percent of the outstanding
mortgage balance if a borrower's home is foreclosed upon. Those
payments, net of fees paid by borrowers and recoveries by
lenders, constitute the subsidy cost for the loan
guarantees.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, the subsidy cost of
a loan guarantee is the net present value of estimated payments by the
government to cover defaults and delinquencies, interest subsidies, or
other expenses offset by any payments to the government, including
origination or other fees, penalties, and recoveries on defaulted
loans. Such subsidy costs are calculated by discounting those expected
cash flows using the rate on Treasury securities of comparable
maturity. The resulting estimated subsidy costs are recorded in the
budget when the loans are disbursed or modified. A positive subsidy
indicates that the loan results in net outlays from the Treasury; a
negative subsidy indicates that the loan results in net receipts to the
Treasury.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CBO's baseline projects that, on average, VA will annually
guarantee around 600,000 loans of roughly $490,000 each at a
subsidy rate of 0.93 percent and that those loan guarantees
will cost $27.5 billion over the 2026-2036 period. Under
current law, the rates for most of the fees that borrowers
currently pay average about 2.3 percent of their loan amount;
for loans guaranteed after June 9, 2034, those rates will drop
to about 1.2 percent of the loan amount. H.R. 6047 would extend
the higher rates through September 30, 2036, which would reduce
the subsidy cost of loans guaranteed during that period.
Second, the bill would increase the fees that VA charges
borrowers for certain refinancing loans and people who take
over--that is, assume--existing VA-guaranteed loans from a
seller. Under current law, the rate is 0.5 percent of the
amount loaned or assumed. The bill would increase those rates
to 1.4 percent for refinancing loans and 1.0 percent for loan
assumptions. Those rate increases would decrease the subsidy
cost of the loans, which would reduce direct spending.
Using its forecast of loan volume based on data provided by
VA, CBO estimates that extending and increasing the fee rates
as specified in the bill would decrease net direct spending by
$4 billion over the 2026-2036 period.
Home loans for reserve duty. H.R. 6047 would count
specified reserve-component duty as active duty when
calculating eligibility for home loans guaranteed by VA. That
duty would include basic or initial training and other types of
training, such as the two weeks of annual training and monthly
weekend drills that are required for nearly all members of the
military's reserve component (which consists of the federal
reserves and the National Guard). Currently, reservists must
serve at least six years in the Selected Reserve or 90 days on
active or full-time National Guard duty to be eligible for the
loan-guarantee benefit. Counting the time spent on training
duties toward the active-duty requirement, as specified in H.R.
6047, would increase the number of people who would obtain a
VA-guaranteed home loan.
The bill also would grant eligibility for VA loan
guarantees to reservists after 14 days of active-duty service.
Under current law, reservists must serve 90 days on active duty
to be eligible for VA loan guarantees. Reservists who become
eligible because of that change would be charged an additional
1 percent fee for a loan guarantee; however, because the bill
would count reserve training duty as active duty, CBO expects
that most reservists would meet the current 90-day criteria
during their first year of service and thus avoid paying that
additional fee.
Using data from VA on the veteran population and loan
guarantees and from the Department of Defense on military
separations, CBO estimates that about 1,600 reservists would
obtain VA-guaranteed home loans each year at an average amount
of $475,000. Of those borrowers, 300 would obtain a VA-
guaranteed loan because of the bill, and 1,300 would have
otherwise obtained a loan guaranteed or securitized by other
federal programs under current law. Those changes in loan
activity would reduce direct spending by $63 million over the
2026-2036 period. Those changes also would affect spending for
programs managed by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development; the budgetary effects of those programs are
discussed under ``Spending Subject to Appropriation.''
VA home loans. CBO estimates that the home loans guaranteed
by VA under the bill would have an average subsidy rate of -0.6
percent and that those loans would decrease direct spending by
$48 million over the 2026-2036 period.
Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs). Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac are GSEs whose operations CBO treats as part of the
federal budget in its baseline projections.\2\ CBO estimates
the cost of the GSEs' guarantees of mortgage-backed securities
on a fair-value basis, rather than on a cash basis or using the
process specified in the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990. The
fair value of a loan guarantee is the market price that a
private-sector financial institution would charge to assume the
guarantee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\For more information about how CBO estimates the costs of the
GSEs, see Congressional Budget Office, Accounting for Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac in the Federal Budget (September 2018), www.cbo.gov/
publication/54475.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a fair-value basis, CBO estimates that the guarantees
issued by the GSEs under current law have an average subsidy
rate of 0.56 percent over the 2026-2036 period. CBO estimates
that the increase in VA-guaranteed loans made under the bill
would reduce the number of loans backed by the GSEs annually by
about 500 and decrease annual volume by $250 million, and thus
would reduce direct spending by $15 million over the 2026-2036
period.
Pensions and Medicaid. Under current law, VA reduces
pension payments to veterans and survivors who reside in
Medicaid nursing homes to $90 per month. That required
reduction expires January 31, 2033. H.R. 6047 would extend that
reduction for 44 months, through September 30, 2036. CBO
estimates that extending that requirement would reduce VA
benefits by $2 million per month. As a result of that reduction
in beneficiaries' income, Medicaid would pay more of the cost
of their care, increasing spending for that program by $1
million per month. Thus, enacting the provision would reduce
net direct spending by $44 million over the 2026-2036 period.
Spending subject to appropriation: Costs for federal loan
guarantees issued by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
and securities guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, both managed by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, are recorded in
the budget as discretionary spending. Because of the increase
in VA loan guarantees discussed under ``Home Loans for Reserve
Duty,'' CBO expects changes in the number of guarantees made by
FHA and Ginnie Mae and estimates that implementing H.R. 6047
would, on net, increase spending subject to appropriation by
$65 million over the 2026-2036 period, assuming appropriation
actions consistent with that estimate (see Table 1).
Federal Housing Administration. In CBO's estimation, the
present value of federal receipts from FHA's housing loan
guarantee program exceeds the present value of payments made by
the federal government to mortgage lenders; thus, those loans
have a negative subsidy rate. That negative subsidy is
classified in the budget as offsetting collections that reduce
spending subject to appropriation. CBO estimates that the
increase in VA-guaranteed loans under H.R. 6047 would, on
average, reduce the number of loans that FHA guarantees
annually by about 800 and decrease annual volume by $375
million over the 2026-2036 period. The loss of the negative
subsidy from those loans would increase spending subject to
appropriation for FHA by $75 million over the 2026-2036 period.
Ginnie Mae. Ginnie Mae is a federal government corporation
that guarantees securities backed mostly by single-family
mortgages originated through FHA, the Rural Housing Service,
and VA. As the number of VA loans increases under the bill, by
an average of 800 loans annually, Ginnie Mae's volume also
increases. In CBO's estimation, Ginnie Mae's mortgage-backed
securities have a negative subsidy rate. As with FHA, that
negative subsidy is classified in the budget as offsetting
collections that reduce spending subject to appropriation. CBO
estimates that the increase in VA-guaranteed loans would
increase the volume of mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by
Ginnie Mae by $400 million annually over the 2026-2036 period.
On that basis, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would
decrease spending subject to appropriation for Ginnie Mae by
$10 million over that same period.
Uncertainty: CBO's estimate for H.R. 6047 is subject to
uncertainty. In particular, the changes in the number of home
loans for reservists that would be guaranteed by FHA, Ginnie
Mae, the GSEs, and VA could be higher or lower than we project.
To the extent that those changes differ from CBO's estimates,
subsidy costs could be higher or lower than those estimated.
Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or
revenues. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those
pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in Table 3.
TABLE 3.--CBO'S ESTIMATE OF THE STATUTORY PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS OF H.R. 6047, THE SHARRI BRILEY AND ERIC EDMUNDSON VETERANS BENEFITS EXPANSION ACT OF
2026, AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS ON FEBRUARY 12, 2026
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2026-2031 2026-2036
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NET INCREASE OR DECREASE (-) IN THE DEFICIT
Pay-As-You-Go Effect.............................. 0 11 68 111 144 174 184 185 -9 -453 -457 508 -42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increase in long-term net direct spending and deficits: CBO
estimates that enacting H.R. 6047 would increase net direct
spending by more than $2.5 billion in each of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6047 would increase on
budget deficits by more than $5 billion in each of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037.
Mandates: The bill contains no intergovernmental or
private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Julia Aman (for the
Department of Housing and Urban Development), Paul B.A. Holland
(for the Department of Veterans Affairs' home loans), Zunara
Naeem (for government-sponsored enterprises), David Rafferty
(for disability compensation), Logan Smith (for disability
compensation); Mandates: Brandon Lever.
Estimate reviewed by: Justin Humphrey, Chief, Finance,
Housing, and Education Cost Estimates Unit; David Newman,
Chief, Defense, International Affairs, and Veterans' Affairs
Cost Estimates Unit; Kathleen FitzGerald, Chief, Public and
Private Mandates Unit; Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy
Director of Budget Analysis.
Estimate approved by: Phillip L. Swagel, Director,
Congressional Budget Office.
Federal Mandates Statement
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded
Mandate Reform Act, P.L. 104-4, is inapplicable to H.R. 6047,
as amended.
Advisory Committee Statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act would be created by H.R.
6047, as amended.
Applicability to Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that H.R. 6047, as amended, does not
relate to the terms and conditions of employment or access to
public services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
Statement on Duplication of Federal Programs
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision
of H.R. 6047, as amended, would establish or reauthorize a
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of
another Federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation
Section 1. Short title
This section would establish the short title of the bill as
the ``Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits
Expansion Act of 2026.''
Section 2. Increase in rates of certain disability compensation and
dependency and indemnity compensation under laws administered
by Secretary of Veterans Affairs
This section would amend 38 U.S.C. Sec. 1114 to pay
veterans eligible for aid and attendance allowance under
subsection (r) or (t) an additional amount of compensation at
the monthly rate of $833.33. The change would take effect on
December 1, 2026.
This section would amend 38 U.S.C. Sec. 5312 to require the
Secretary to add one percent to the percentage by which
dependency and indemnity compensation is increased by the
veterans' cost of living adjustment act.
After the first one-percent additional increase is made to
dependency and indemnity compensation, the VA Secretary would
provide a second increase of one half of one percent.
Whenever there is an increase made to dependency and
indemnity compensation, the VA Secretary would also publish the
amounts of the increase in the Federal Register at the same
time as the material required by the cost-of-living adjustment
act.
This section would take effect on December 1, 2026, and the
requirement to increase dependency and indemnity compensation
by additional amounts would terminate after the second
increase.
Section 3. Modification of waivers of fees collected for housing loans
guaranteed, insured, or made by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs
This section would increase the IRRRL funding fee from 0.5%
to 1.40% for when a veteran refinances their VA home loan and
would extend the current VA home loan funding fee rates from
June 9, 2034, to September 30, 2036, to help offset the
legislation. Finally, this section would also increase the fee
for when an individual assumes a VA home loan from a veteran
from 0.5% to 1%.
Section 4. Extension of certain limits on payments of pension
This section would extend the limitation of pension payable
to certain veterans, their surviving spouses, and their
children as established in 38 U.S.C. Sec. 5503(d)(7) from
January 31, 2033, to September 30, 2036.
Section. 5. Home affordability for Guard and Reserve
This section would extend the VA home loan program to allow
eligibility for Guard and Select Reservists that have served at
least 14 days of active duty, including active-duty training,
with an additional 1% increase on the VA home loan funding fee.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change
is proposed is shown in roman):
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
PART II--GENERAL BENEFITS
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 11--COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY OR DEATH
* * * * * * *
SUBCHAPTER II--WARTIME DISABILITY COMPENSATION
* * * * * * *
Sec. 1114. Rates of wartime disability compensation
For the purposes of section 1110 of this title--
(a) if and while the disability is rated 10 percent the
monthly compensation shall be $123;
(b) if and while the disability is rated 20 percent the
monthly compensation shall be $243;
(c) if and while the disability is rated 30 percent the
monthly compensation shall be $376;
(d) if and while the disability is rated 40 percent the
monthly compensation shall be $541;
(e) if and while the disability is rated 50 percent the
monthly compensation shall be $770;
(f) if and while the disability is rated 60 percent the
monthly compensation shall be $974;
(g) if and while the disability is rated 70 percent the
monthly compensation shall be $1,228;
(h) if and while the disability is rated 80 percent the
monthly compensation shall be $1,427;
(i) if and while the disability is rated 90 percent the
monthly compensation shall be $1,604;
(j) if and while the disability is rated as total the monthly
compensation shall be $2,673;
(k) if the veteran, as the result of service-connected
disability, has suffered the anatomical loss or loss of use of
one or more creative organs, or one foot, or one hand, or both
buttocks, or blindness of one eye, having only light
perception, has suffered complete organic aphonia with constant
inability to communicate by speech, or deafness of both ears,
having absence of air and bone conduction, or, in the case of a
woman veteran, has suffered the anatomical loss of 25 percent
or more of tissue from a single breast or both breasts in
combination (including loss by mastectomy or partial
mastectomy) or has received radiation treatment of breast
tissue, the rate of compensation therefor shall be $96 per
month for each such loss or loss of use independent of any
other compensation provided in subsections (a) through (j) or
subsection (s) of this section but in no event to exceed $3,327
per month; and in the event the veteran has suffered one or
more of the disabilities heretofore specified in this
subsection, in addition to the requirement for any of the rates
specified in subsections (l) through (n) of this section, the
rate of compensation shall be increased by $96 per month for
each such loss or loss of use, but in no event to exceed $4,667
per month;
(l) if the veteran, as the result of service-connected
disability, has suffered the anatomical loss or loss of use of
both feet, or of one hand and one foot, or is blind in both
eyes, with 5/200 visual acuity or less, or is permanently
bedridden or with such significant disabilities as to be in
need of regular aid and attendance, the monthly compensation
shall be $3,327;
(m) if the veteran, as the result of service-connected
disability, has suffered the anatomical loss or loss of use of
both hands, or of both legs with factors preventing natural
knee action with prostheses in place, or of one arm and one leg
with factors preventing natural elbow and knee action with
prostheses in place, or has suffered blindness in both eyes
having only light perception, or has suffered blindness in both
eyes, rendering such veteran so significantly disabled as to be
in need of regular aid and attendance, the monthly compensation
shall be $3,671;
(n) if the veteran, as the result of service-connected
disability, has suffered the anatomical loss or loss of use of
both arms with factors preventing natural elbow action with
prostheses in place, has suffered the anatomical loss of both
legs with factors that prevent the use of prosthetic
appliances, or has suffered the anatomical loss of one arm and
one leg with factors that prevent the use of prosthetic
appliances, or has suffered the anatomical loss of both eyes,
or has suffered blindness without light perception in both
eyes, the monthly compensation shall be $4,176;
(o) if the veteran, as the result of service-connected
disability, has suffered disability under conditions which
would entitle such veteran to two or more of the rates provided
in one or more subsections (l) through (n) of this section, no
condition being considered twice in the determination, or if
the veteran has suffered bilateral deafness (and the hearing
impairment in either one or both ears is service connected)
rated at 60 percent or more disabling and the veteran has also
suffered service-connected total blindness with 20/200 visual
acuity or less, or if the veteran has suffered service-
connected total deafness in one ear or bilateral deafness (and
the hearing impairment in either one or both ears is service
connected) rated at 40 percent or more disabling and the
veteran has also suffered service-connected blindness having
only light perception or less, or if the veteran has suffered
the anatomical loss of both arms with factors that prevent the
use of prosthetic appliances, the monthly compensation shall be
$4,667;
(p) in the event the veteran's service-connected disabilities
exceed the requirements for any of the rates prescribed in this
section, the Secretary may allow the next higher rate or an
intermediate rate, but in no event in excess of $4,667. In the
event the veteran has suffered service-connected blindness with
5/200 visual acuity or less and (1) has also suffered bilateral
deafness (and the hearing impairment in either one or both ears
is service connected) rated at no less than 30 percent
disabling, the Secretary shall allow the next higher rate, or
(2) has also suffered service-connected total deafness in one
ear or service-connected anatomical loss or loss of use of one
hand or one foot, the Secretary shall allow the next
intermediate rate, but in no event in excess of $4,667. In the
event the veteran has suffered service-connected blindness,
having only light perception or less, and has also suffered
bilateral deafness (and the hearing impairment in either one or
both ears is service connected) rated at 10 or 20 percent
disabling, the Secretary shall allow the next intermediate
rate, but in no event in excess of $4,667. In the event the
veteran has suffered the anatomical loss or loss of use, or a
combination of anatomical loss and loss of use, of three
extremities, the Secretary shall allow the next higher rate or
intermediate rate, but in no event in excess of $4,667. Any
intermediate rate under this subsection shall be established at
the arithmetic mean, rounded down to the nearest dollar,
between the two rates concerned.
(r) Subject to section 5503(c) of this title, if any veteran,
otherwise entitled to compensation authorized under subsection
(o) of this section, at the maximum rate authorized under
subsection (p) of this section, or at the intermediate rate
authorized between the rates authorized under subsections (n)
and (o) of this section and at the rate authorized under
subsection (k) of this section, is in need of regular aid and
attendance, then, in addition to such compensation--
(1) the veteran shall be paid a monthly aid
and attendance allowance at the rate of $2,002;
or
(2) if the veteran, in addition to such need
for regular aid and attendance, is in need of a
higher level of care, such veteran shall be
paid a monthly aid and attendance allowance at
the rate of $2,983, in lieu of the allowance
authorized in clause (1) of this subsection, if
the Secretary finds that the veteran, in the
absence of the provision of such care, would
require hospitalization, nursing home care, or
other residential institutional care.
For the purposes of clause (2) of this subsection, need for a
higher level of care shall be considered to be need for
personal health-care services provided on a daily basis in the
veteran's home by a person who is licensed to provide such
services or who provides such services under the regular
supervision of a licensed health-care professional. The
existence of the need for such care shall be determined by a
physician employed by the Department or, in areas where no such
physician is available, by a physician carrying out such
function under contract or fee arrangement based on an
examination by such physician. For the purposes of section 1134
of this title, such allowance shall be considered as additional
compensation payable for disability.
(s) If the veteran has a service-connected disability rated
as total, and (1) has additional service-connected disability
or disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent or more,
or, (2) by reason of such veteran's service-connected
disability or disabilities, is permanently housebound, then the
monthly compensation shall be $2,993. For the purpose of this
subsection, the requirement of ``permanently housebound'' will
be considered to have been met when the veteran is
substantially confined to such veteran's house (ward or
clinical areas, if institutionalized) or immediate premises due
to a service-connected disability or disabilities which it is
reasonably certain will remain throughout such veteran's
lifetime.
(t) Subject to section 5503(c) of this title, if any veteran,
as the result of service-connected disability, is in need of
regular aid and attendance for the residuals of traumatic brain
injury, is not eligible for compensation under subsection
(r)(2), and in the absence of such regular aid and attendance
would require hospitalization, nursing home care, or other
residential institutional care, the veteran shall be paid, in
addition to any other compensation under this section, a
monthly aid and attendance allowance equal to the rate
described in subsection (r)(2), which for purposes of section
1134 of this title shall be considered as additional
compensation payable for disability. An allowance authorized
under this subsection shall be paid in lieu of any allowance
authorized by subsection (r)(1).
(u) In the case of a veteran eligible for a monthly aid and
attendance allowance under subsection (r) or subsection (t) of
this section, the Secretary shall, in addition to the total
amount of compensation for which the veteran is eligible under
this section, pay the veteran a supplemental monthly allowance
at the rate of $833.33.
* * * * * * *
PART III--READJUSTMENT AND RELATED BENEFITS
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 37--HOUSING AND SMALL BUSINESS LOANS
* * * * * * *
SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL
Sec. 3701. Definitions
(a) For the purpose of this chapter, the term ``housing
loan'' means a loan for any of the purposes specified by
sections 3710(a) and 3712(a)(1) of this title.
(b) For the purposes of housing loans under this chapter--
(1) The term ``World War II'' (A) means the period
beginning on September 16, 1940, and ending on July 25,
1947, and (B) includes, in the case of any veteran who
enlisted or reenlisted in a Regular component of the
Armed Forces after October 6, 1945, and before October
7, 1946, the period of the first such enlistment or
reenlistment.
(2) The term ``veteran'' includes the surviving
spouse of any veteran (including a person who died in
the active military, naval, air, or space service) who
died from a service-connected disability, but only if
such surviving spouse is not eligible for benefits
under this chapter on the basis of the spouse's own
active duty. The active duty or service in the Selected
Reserve of the deceased spouse shall be deemed to have
been active duty or service in the Selected Reserve by
such surviving spouse for the purposes of this chapter.
(3) The term ``veteran'' also includes, for purposes
of home loans, the spouse of any member of the Armed
Forces serving on active duty who is listed, pursuant
to section 556 of title 37, United States Code, and
regulations issued thereunder, by the Secretary
concerned in one or more of the following categories
and has been so listed for a total of more than ninety
days: (A) missing in action, (B) captured in line of
duty by a hostile force, or (C) forcibly detained or
interned in line of duty by a foreign government or
power. The active duty of the member shall be deemed to
have been active duty by such spouse for the purposes
of this chapter. The loan eligibility of such spouse
under this paragraph shall be limited to one loan
guaranteed or made for the acquisition of a home, and
entitlement to such loan shall terminate automatically,
if not used, upon receipt by such spouse of official
notice that the member is no longer listed in one of
the categories specified in the first sentence of this
paragraph.
(4) The term ``veteran'' also includes an individual
serving on active duty.
(5)(A) The term ``veteran'' also includes an
individual who is not otherwise eligible for the
benefits of this chapter and (i) who has completed a
total service of at least 6 years in the Selected
Reserve and, following the completion of such service,
was discharged from service with an honorable
discharge, was placed on the retired list, was
transferred to the Standby Reserve or an element of the
Ready Reserve other than the Selected Reserve after
service in the Selected Reserve characterized by the
Secretary concerned as honorable service, or continues
serving in the Selected Reserve, or (ii) who was
discharged or released from the Selected Reserve before
completing 6 years of service because of a service-
connected disability.
(B) The term ``Selected Reserve'' means the Selected
Reserve of the Ready Reserve of any of the reserve
components (including the Army National Guard of the
United States and the Air National Guard of the United
States) of the Armed Forces, as required to be
maintained under section 10143(a) of title 10.
(6) The term ``veteran'' also includes, for purposes
of home loans, the surviving spouse of a veteran who
died and who was in receipt of or entitled to receive
(or but for the receipt of retired or retirement pay
was entitled to receive) compensation at the time of
death for a service-connected disability rated totally
disabling if--
(A) the disability was continuously rated
totally disabling for a period of 10 or more
years immediately preceding death;
(B) the disability was continuously rated
totally disabling for a period of not less than
five years from the date of such veteran's
discharge or other release from active duty; or
(C) the veteran was a former prisoner of war
who died after September 30, 1999, and the
disability was continuously rated totally
disabling for a period of not less than one
year immediately preceding death.
(7) The term ``veteran'' also includes, for purposes
of home loans, an individual who performed full-time
National Guard duty (as that term is defined in section
101 of title 10) for a period--
(A) of not less than 90 cumulative days; and
(B) that includes 30 consecutive days.
(8) The term ``veteran'' also includes, for purposes
of home loans (subject to the additional loan fee in
section 3729(b)(4)(J) of this title), an individual
who--
(A) is not otherwise eligible for the
benefits of this chapter;
(B) has completed a total service of at least
14 days on active duty under paragraph (B) or
(C) of paragraph (9); and
(C) following completion of such service,
continued to serve until the completion of
entry level and skill training (as defined in
section 3301(3) of this title).
(9) The term ``active duty'' has the meanings as
follows:
(A) In the case of members of the regular
components of the Armed Forces, the meaning
given such term in section 101(21)(A).
(B) In the case of members of the reserve
components of the Armed Forces--
(i) service on active duty (as
defined in section 101(d) of title 10),
inactive-duty training (as defined in
section 101(d) of title 10), or annual
training duty; or
(ii) service on active duty under a
call or order to active duty under
section 688, 12301(a), 12301(d),
12301(g), 12301(h), 12302, 12304,
12304a, or 12304b of title 10 or
section 713 of title 14, but not
including inactive duty training (as
defined in section 101(d) of title 10)
or annual training duty.
(C) In the case of a member of the Army
National Guard of the United States or Air
National Guard of the United States, in
addition to service described in subparagraph
(B), full-time service--
(i) in the National Guard of a State
for the purpose of organizing,
administering, recruiting, instructing,
or training the National Guard;
(ii) in the National Guard when
performing full-time National Guard
duty (as defined in section 101 of
title 32); or
(iii) in the National Guard when
performing active duty (as defined in
section 101 of title 32).
(c) Benefits shall not be afforded under this chapter to any
individual on account of service as a commissioned officer of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or
predecessor entity), or of the Regular or Reserve Corps of the
Public Health Service, unless such service would have qualified
such individual for benefits under title III of the
Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944.
Sec. 3702. Basic entitlement
(a)(1) The veterans described in paragraph (2) of this
subsection are eligible for the housing loan benefits of this
chapter. In the case of any veteran who served on active duty
during two or more of the periods specified in paragraph (2)
for which eligibility for the housing loan benefits under this
chapter may be granted, entitlement derived from service during
the most recent such period (A) shall cancel any unused
entitlement derived from service during any earlier such
period, and (B) shall be reduced by the amount by which
entitlement from service during any earlier such period has
been used to obtain a direct, guaranteed, or insured housing
loan--
(i) on real property which the veteran owns at the
time of application; or
(ii) as to which the Secretary has incurred actual
liability or loss, unless in the event of loss or the
incurrence and payment of such liability by the
Secretary the resulting indebtedness of the veteran to
the United States has been paid in full.
(2) The veterans referred to in the first sentence of
paragraph (1) of this subsection are the following:
(A) Each veteran who served on active duty at any
time during World War II, the Korean conflict, or the
Vietnam era and whose total service was for 90 days or
more.
(B) Each veteran who after September 15, 1940, was
discharged or released from a period of active duty for
a service-connected disability.
(C) Each veteran, other than a veteran described in
clause (A) or (B) of this paragraph, who--
(i) served after July 25, 1947, for a period
of more than 180 days and was discharged or
released therefrom under conditions other than
dishonorable; or
(ii) has served more than 180 days in active
duty status and continues on active duty
without a break therein.
(D) Each veteran who served on active duty for 90
days or more at any time during the Persian Gulf War,
other than a veteran ineligible for benefits under this
title by reason of section 5303A(b) of this title.
(E) Each veteran described in section 3701(b)(5) of
this title.
(F) Each veteran who was discharged or released from
a period of active duty of 90 days or more by reason of
a sole survivorship discharge (as that term is defined
in section 1174(i) of title 10).
(G) Each individual described in section 3701(b)(7)
of this title.
(H) Each individual described in section 3701(b)(8)
of this title.
(3) Any unused entitlement of World War II or Korean conflict
veterans which expired under provisions of law in effect before
October 23, 1970, is hereby restored and shall not expire until
used.
(4) A veteran's entitlement under this chapter shall not be
reduced by any entitlement used by the veteran's spouse which
was based upon the provisions of paragraph (3) of section
3701(b) of this title.
(b) In computing the aggregate amount of guaranty or
insurance housing loan entitlement available to a veteran under
this chapter, the Secretary may exclude the amount of guaranty
or insurance housing loan entitlement used for any guaranteed,
insured, or direct loan under the following circumstances:
(1)(A) The property which secured the loan has been
disposed of by the veteran or has been destroyed by
fire or other natural hazard; and
(B) the loan has been repaid in full, or the
Secretary has been released from liability as to the
loan, or if the Secretary has suffered a loss on such
loan, the loss has been paid in full.
(2) A veteran-transferee has agreed to assume the
outstanding balance on the loan and consented to the
use of the veteran-transferee's entitlement, to the
extent that the entitlement of the veteran-transferor
had been used originally, in place of the veteran-
transferor's for the guaranteed, insured, or direct
loan, and the veteran-transferee otherwise meets the
requirements of this chapter.
(3)(A) The loan has been repaid in full; and
(B) the loan for which the veteran seeks to use
entitlement under this chapter is secured by the same
property which secured the loan referred to in
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
(4) In a case not covered by paragraph (1) or (2)--
(A) the loan has been repaid in full and, if
the Secretary has suffered a loss on the loan,
the loss has been paid in full; or
(B) the Secretary has been released from
liability as to the loan and, if the Secretary
has suffered a loss on the loan, the loss has
been paid in full.
The Secretary may, in any case involving circumstances the
Secretary deems appropriate, waive one or more of the
conditions prescribed in paragraph (1). The authority of the
Secretary under this subsection to exclude an amount of
guaranty or insurance housing loan entitlement previously used
by a veteran may be exercised only once for that veteran under
the authority of paragraph (4).
(c) An honorable discharge shall be deemed to be a
certificate of eligibility to apply for a guaranteed loan. Any
veteran who does not have a discharge certificate, or who
received a discharge other than honorable, may apply to the
Secretary for a certificate of eligibility. Upon making a loan
guaranteed or insured under this chapter, the lender shall
forthwith transmit to the Secretary a report thereon in such
detail as the Secretary may, from time to time, prescribe.
Where the loan is guaranteed, the Secretary shall provide the
lender with a loan guaranty certificate or other evidence of
the guaranty. The Secretary shall also endorse on the veteran's
discharge, or eligibility certificate, the amount and type of
guaranty used, and the amount, if any, remaining. Nothing in
this chapter shall preclude the assignment of any guaranteed
loan or the security therefor.
(d) Housing loans will be automatically guaranteed under this
chapter only if made (1) by any Federal land bank, national
bank, State bank, private bank, building and loan association,
insurance company, credit union, or mortgage and loan company,
that is subject to examination and supervision by an agency of
the United States or of any State, or (2) by any State, or (3)
by any lender approved by the Secretary pursuant to standards
established by the Secretary. Any housing loan proposed to be
made to a veteran pursuant to this chapter by any lender not of
a class specified in the preceding sentence may be guaranteed
by the Secretary if the Secretary finds that it is in accord
otherwise with the provisions of this chapter.
(e) The Secretary may at any time upon thirty days' notice
require housing loans to be made by any lender or class of
lenders to be submitted to the Secretary for prior approval. No
guaranty or insurance liability shall exist with respect to any
such loan unless evidence of guaranty or insurance is issued by
the Secretary.
(f) Any housing loan at least 20 percent of which is
guaranteed under this chapter may be made by any national bank
or Federal savings and loan association, or by any bank, trust
company, building and loan association, or insurance company,
organized or authorized to do business in the District of
Columbia. Any such loan may be so made without regard to the
limitations and restrictions of any other law relating to--
(1) ratio of amount of loan to the value of the
property;
(2) maturity of loan;
(3) requirement for mortgage or other security;
(4) dignity of lien; or
(5) percentage of assets which may be invested in
real estate loans.
* * * * * * *
SUBCHAPTER III--ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 3729. Loan fee
(a) Requirement of Fee.--(1) Except as provided in subsection
(c), a fee shall be collected from each person obtaining a
housing loan guaranteed, insured, or made under this chapter,
and each person assuming a loan to which section 3714 of this
title applies. No such loan may be guaranteed, insured, made,
or assumed until the fee payable under this section has been
remitted to the Secretary.
(2) The fee may be included in the loan and paid from the
proceeds thereof.
(b) Determination of Fee.--(1) The amount of the fee shall be
determined from the loan fee table in paragraph (2). The fee is
expressed as a percentage of the total amount of the loan
guaranteed, insured, or made, or, in the case of a loan
assumption, the unpaid principal balance of the loan on the
date of the transfer of the property.
(2) The loan fee table referred to in paragraph (1) is as
follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of loan Active duty veteran Reservist Other obligor
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A)(i) Initial loan described in 2.15 2.40 NA
section 3710(a) to purchase or
construct a dwelling with 0-down, or
any other initial loan described in
section 3710(a) other than with 5-
down or 10-down (closed on or after
October 1, 2004, and before January
1, 2020).
(A)(ii) Initial loan described in 2.30 2.30 NA
section 3710(a) to purchase or
construct a dwelling with 0-down, or
any other initial loan described in
section 3710(a) other than with 5-
down or 10-down (closed on or after
January 1, 2020, and before April 7,
2023).
(A)(iii) Initial loan described in 2.15 2.15 NA
section 3710(a) to purchase or
construct a dwelling with 0-down, or
any other initial loan described in
section 3710(a) other than with 5-
down or 10-down (closed on or after
April 7, 2023, and before [June 9,
2034] September 30, 2036 ).
(A)(iv) Initial loan described in 1.40 1.40 NA
section 3710(a) to purchase or
construct a dwelling with 0-down, or
any other initial loan described in
section 3710(a) other than with 5-
down or 10-down (closed on or after
[June 9, 2034] September 30, 2036 ).
(B)(i) Subsequent loan described in 3.30 3.30 NA
section 3710(a) to purchase or
construct a dwelling with 0-down, or
any other subsequent loan described
in section 3710(a) (closed on or
after October 1, 2004, and before
January 1, 2020).
(B)(ii) Subsequent loan described in 3.60 3.60 NA
section 3710(a) to purchase or
construct a dwelling with 0-down, or
any other subsequent loan described
in section 3710(a) (closed on or
after January 1, 2020, and before
April 7, 2023).
(B)(iii) Subsequent loan described in 3.30 3.30 NA
section 3710(a) to purchase or
construct a dwelling with 0-down, or
any other subsequent loan described
in section 3710(a) (closed on or
after April 7, 2023, and before
[June 9, 2034] September 30, 2036 ).
(B)(iv) Subsequent loan described in 1.25 1.25 NA
section 3710(a) to purchase or
construct a dwelling with 0-down, or
any other subsequent loan described
in section 3710(a) (closed on or
after [June 9, 2034] September 30,
2036 ).
(C)(i) Loan described in section 1.50 1.75 NA
3710(a) to purchase or construct a
dwelling with 5-down (closed before
January 1, 2020).
(C)(ii) Loan described in section 1.65 1.65 NA
3710(a) to purchase or construct a
dwelling with 5-down (closed on or
after January 1, 2020, and before
April 7, 2023).
(C)(iii) Loan described in section 1.50 1.50 NA
3710(a) to purchase or construct a
dwelling with 5-down (closed on or
after April 7, 2023, and before
[June 9, 2034] September 30, 2036 ).
(C)(iv) Loan described in section 0.75 0.75 NA
3710(a) to purchase or construct a
dwelling with 5-down (closed on or
after [June 9, 2034] September 30,
2036 ).
(D)(i) Loan described in section 1.25 1.50 NA
3710(a) to purchase or construct a
dwelling with 10-down (closed before
January 1, 2020).
(D)(ii) Loan described in section 1.40 1.40 NA
3710(a) to purchase or construct a
dwelling with 10-down (closed on or
after January 1, 2020, and before
April 7, 2023).
(D)(iii) Loan described in section 1.25 1.25 NA
3710(a) to purchase or construct a
dwelling with 10-down (closed on or
after April 7, 2023, and before
[June 9, 2034] September 30, 2036 ).
(D)(iv) Loan described in section 0.50 0.50 NA
3710(a) to purchase or construct a
dwelling with 10-down (closed on or
after [June 9, 2034] September 30,
2036 ).
(E) Interest rate reduction [0.50] 1.40 [0.50] 1.40 NA
refinancing loan.
(F) Direct loan under section 3711... 1.00 1.00 NA
(G) Manufactured home loan under 1.00 1.00 NA
section 3712 (other than an interest
rate reduction refinancing loan).
(H) Loan to Native American veteran 1.25 1.25 NA
under section 3762 (other than an
interest rate reduction refinancing
loan).
(I) Loan assumption under section [0.50] 1.0 [0.50] 1.0 [0.50] 1.0
3714.
(J) Loan under section 3733(a)....... 2.25 2.25 2.25.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) Any reference to a section in the ``Type of loan'' column
in the loan fee table in paragraph (2) refers to a section of
this title.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2):
(A) The term ``active duty veteran'' means any
veteran eligible for the benefits of this chapter other
than a Reservist.
(B) The term ``Reservist'' means a veteran described
in section 3701(b)(5)(A) of this title who is eligible
under section 3702(a)(2)(E) of this title.
(C) The term ``other obligor'' means a person who is
not a veteran, as defined in section 101 of this title
or other provision of this chapter.
(D)(i) The term ``initial loan'' means a loan to a
veteran guaranteed under section 3710 or made under
section 3711 of this title if the veteran has never
obtained a loan guaranteed under section 3710 or made
under section 3711 of this title.
(ii) If a veteran has obtained a loan guaranteed
under section 3710 or made under section 3711 of this
title and the dwelling securing such loan was
substantially damaged or destroyed by a major disaster
declared by the President under section 401 of the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), the Secretary shall
treat as an initial loan, as defined in clause (i), the
next loan the Secretary guarantees or makes to such
veteran under section 3710 or 3711, respectively, if--
(I) such loan is guaranteed or made before
the date that is three years after the date on
which the dwelling was substantially damaged or
destroyed; and
(II) such loan is only for repairs or
construction of the dwelling, as determined by
the Secretary.
(E) The term ``subsequent loan'' means a loan to a
veteran, other than an interest rate reduction
refinancing loan, guaranteed under section 3710 or made
under section 3711 of this title that is not an initial
loan.
(F) The term ``interest rate reduction refinancing
loan'' means a loan described in section 3710(a)(8),
3710(a)(9)(B)(i), 3710(a)(11), 3712(a)(1)(F), or
3762(h)(1) of this title.
(G) The term ``0-down'' means a downpayment, if any,
of less than 5 percent of the total purchase price or
construction cost of the dwelling.
(H) The term ``5-down'' means a downpayment of at
least 5 percent or more, but less than 10 percent, of
the total purchase price or construction cost of the
dwelling.
(I) The term ``10-down'' means a downpayment of 10
percent or more of the total purchase price or
construction cost of the dwelling.
(J) In the case of a housing loan in which the
veteran has eligibility under section 3701(b)(8) of
this title and does not otherwise have eligibility, the
loan fee table in paragraph (2) shall be applied to the
veteran or other obligor (as applicable) by adding 1.00
to the percentage in the table.
(c) Waiver of Fee.--(1) A fee may not be collected under this
section from a veteran who is receiving compensation (or who,
but for the receipt of retirement pay or active service pay,
would be entitled to receive compensation), from a surviving
spouse of any veteran (including a person who died in the
active military, naval, air, or space service) who died from a
service-connected disability, or from a member of the Armed
Forces who is serving on active duty and who provides, on or
before the date of loan closing, evidence of having been
awarded the Purple Heart.
(2)(A) A veteran described in subparagraph (B) shall be
treated as receiving compensation for purposes of this
subsection as of the date of the rating described in such
subparagraph without regard to whether an effective date of the
award of compensation is established as of that date.
(B) A veteran described in this subparagraph is a veteran who
is rated eligible to receive compensation--
(i) as the result of a pre-discharge disability
examination and rating; or
(ii) based on a pre-discharge review of existing
medical evidence (including service medical and
treatment records) that results in the issuance of a
memorandum rating.
* * * * * * *
PART IV--GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 53--SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 5312. Annual adjustment of certain benefit rates
(a) Whenever there is an increase in benefit amounts payable
under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et
seq.) as a result of a determination made under section 215(i)
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)), the Secretary shall, effective
on the date of such increase in benefit amounts, increase each
maximum annual rate of pension under sections 1521, 1541, and
1542 of this title, the rate of increased pension paid under
such sections 1521 and 1541 on account of children, and each
rate of monthly allowance paid under section 1805 of this
title, as such rates were in effect immediately prior to the
date of such increase in benefit amounts payable under title II
of the Social Security Act, by the same percentage as the
percentage by which such benefit amounts are increased.
(b)(1) Whenever there is an increase in benefit amounts
payable under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
401 et seq.) as a result of a determination made under section
215(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)), the Secretary shall,
effective on the date of such increase in benefit amounts,
increase the maximum monthly rates of dependency and indemnity
compensation for parents payable under subsections (b), (c),
and (d), and the monthly rate provided in subsection (g), of
section 1315 of this title and the annual income limitations
prescribed in subsections (b)(3), (c)(3), and (d)(3) of such
section, and the annual benefit amount limitations under
sections 5507(c)(2)(D) and 5508 of this title, as such rates
and limitations were in effect immediately prior to the date of
such increase in benefit amounts payable under title II of the
Social Security Act, by the same percentage as the percentage
by which such benefit amounts are increased.
(2)(A) Whenever there is an increase under paragraph (1) of
this subsection in such rates and annual income limitations,
the Secretary shall, effective on the date of such increase in
such rates and limitations, adjust (as provided in subparagraph
(B) of this paragraph) the rates of dependency and indemnity
compensation payable under subsection (b)(1) or (c)(1) of
section 1315 of this title to any parent whose annual income is
more than $800 but not more than the annual income limitation
in effect under subsection (b)(3) or (c)(3) of such section, as
appropriate, and adjust the rates of such compensation payable
under subsection (d)(1) of such section to any parent whose
annual income is more than $1,000 but not more than the annual
income limitation in effect under subsection (d)(3) of such
section.
(B) The adjustment in rates of dependency and indemnity
compensation referred to in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph
shall be made by the Secretary in accordance with regulations
which the Secretary shall prescribe.
(c)(1) Whenever there is an increase under subsection (a) in
benefit rates payable under sections 1521, 1541, 1542, and 1805
of this title and an increase under subsection (b) in benefit
rates and annual income limitations under section 1315 of this
title, the Secretary shall publish such rates and limitations
(including those rates adjusted by the Secretary under
subsection (b)(2) of this section), as increased pursuant to
such subsections, in the Federal Register at the same time as
the material required by section 215(i)(2)(D) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)(2)(D)) is published by reason of
a determination under section 215(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
415(i)).
(2) Whenever such rates and income limitations are so
increased, the Secretary may round such rates and income
limitations in such manner as the Secretary considers equitable
and appropriate for ease of administration.
(d)(1) Whenever there is an increase in benefit amounts
payable under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
401 et seq.) as a result of a determination made under section
215(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)), the Secretary shall,
except as provided in paragraph (2), effective on the date of
such increase in benefit amounts, increase the dollar amounts
in effect for the payment of dependency and indemnity
compensation by the Secretary under paragraph (1) and paragraph
(3) of section 1311(a) of this title, as such amounts were in
effect immediately before the date of such increase in benefit
amounts payable under title II of the Social Security Act, by a
percentage equal to the sum of--
(A) the percentage by which such benefit amounts are
increased; and
(B) one percent.
(2) After the first increase under paragraph (1) to the
dollar amounts in effect for the payment of dependency and
indemnity compensation by the Secretary under paragraph (1) and
paragraph (3) of section 1311(a) of this title, the Secretary
shall carry out paragraph (1)(B) by substituting ``one half of
one percent'' for ``one percent''.
(3) Whenever there is an increase under paragraph (1) in
amounts in effect for the payment of dependency and indemnity
compensation, the Secretary shall publish such amounts, as
increased pursuant to such paragraph, in the Federal Register
at the same time as the material required by section
215(i)(2)(D) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
415(i)(2)(D)) is published by reason of a determination under
section 215(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)).
(4) The requirement to increase, pursuant to paragraph (1),
the amounts in effect for the payment of dependency and
indemnity compensation under paragraph (1) and paragraph (3) of
section 1311 (a) of this title by the Secretary shall--
(A) take effect on December 1, 2026, and shall apply
with respect to months beginning on or after such date;
and
(B) terminate after the date on which the second
increase to such amounts pursuant to such paragraph
occurs.
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 55--MINORS, INCOMPETENTS, AND OTHER WARDS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 5503. Hospitalized veterans and estates of incompetent
institutionalized veterans
(a)(1)(A) Where any veteran having neither spouse nor child
is being furnished domiciliary care by the Department, no
pension in excess of $90 per month shall be paid to or for the
veteran for any period after the end of the third full calendar
month following the month of admission for such care.
(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (D) of this paragraph,
where any veteran having neither spouse nor child is being
furnished nursing home care by the Department, no pension in
excess of $90 per month shall be paid to or for the veteran for
any period after the end of the third full calendar month
following the month of admission for such care. Any amount in
excess of $90 per month to which the veteran would be entitled
but for the application of the preceding sentence shall be
deposited in a revolving fund at the Department medical
facility which furnished the veteran nursing care, and such
amount shall be available for obligation without fiscal year
limitation to help defray operating expenses of that facility.
(C) No pension in excess of $90 per month shall be paid to or
for a veteran having neither spouse nor child for any period
after the month in which such veteran is readmitted for care
described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph and
furnished by the Department if such veteran is readmitted
within six months of a period of care in connection with which
pension was reduced pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B) of this
paragraph.
(D) In the case of a veteran being furnished nursing home
care by the Department and with respect to whom subparagraph
(B) of this paragraph requires a reduction in pension, such
reduction shall not be made for a period of up to three
additional calendar months after the last day of the third
month referred to in such subparagraph if the Secretary
determines that the primary purpose for the furnishing of such
care during such additional period is for the Department to
provide such veteran with a prescribed program of
rehabilitation services, under chapter 17 of this title,
designed to restore such veteran's ability to function within
such veteran's family and community. If the Secretary
determines that it is necessary, after such period, for the
veteran to continue such program of rehabilitation services in
order to achieve the purposes of such program and that the
primary purpose of furnishing nursing home care to the veteran
continues to be the provision of such program to the veteran,
the reduction in pension required by subparagraph (B) of this
paragraph shall not be made for the number of calendar months
that the Secretary determines is necessary for the veteran to
achieve the purposes of such program.
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall also apply to a
veteran being furnished such care who has a spouse but whose
pension is payable under section 1521(b) of this title. In such
a case, the Secretary may apportion and pay to the spouse, upon
an affirmative showing of hardship, all or any part of the
amounts in excess of the amount payable to the veteran while
being furnished such care which would be payable to the veteran
if pension were payable under section 1521(c) of this title.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or
any other provision of law, no reduction shall be made in the
pension of any veteran for any part of the period during which
the veteran is furnished hospital treatment, or institutional
or domiciliary care, for Hansen's disease, by the United States
or any political subdivision thereof.
(c) Where any veteran in receipt of an aid and attendance
allowance described in subsection (r) or (t) of section 1114 of
this title is hospitalized at Government expense, such
allowance shall be discontinued from the first day of the
second calendar month which begins after the date of the
veteran's admission for such hospitalization for so long as
such hospitalization continues. Any discontinuance required by
administrative regulation, during hospitalization of a veteran
by the Department, of increased pension based on need of
regular aid and attendance or additional compensation based on
need of regular aid and attendance as described in subsection
(l) or (m) of section 1114 of this title, shall not be
effective earlier than the first day of the second calendar
month which begins after the date of the veteran's admission
for hospitalization. In case a veteran affected by this
subsection leaves a hospital against medical advice and is
thereafter admitted to hospitalization within six months from
the date of such departure, such allowance, increased pension,
or additional compensation, as the case may be, shall be
discontinued from the date of such readmission for so long as
such hospitalization continues.
(d)(1) For the purposes of this subsection--
(A) the term ``Medicaid plan'' means a State plan for
medical assistance referred to in section 1902(a) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)); and
(B) the term ``nursing facility'' means a nursing
facility described in section 1919 of such Act (42
U.S.C. 1396r), other than a facility that is a State
home with respect to which the Secretary makes per diem
payments for nursing home care pursuant to section
1741(a) of this title.
(2) If a veteran having neither spouse nor child is covered
by a Medicaid plan for services furnished such veteran by a
nursing facility, no pension in excess of $90 per month shall
be paid to or for the veteran for any period after the month of
admission to such nursing facility.
(3) Notwithstanding any provision of title XIX of the Social
Security Act, the amount of the payment paid a nursing facility
pursuant to a Medicaid plan for services furnished a veteran
may not be reduced by any amount of pension permitted to be
paid such veteran under paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(4) A veteran is not liable to the United States for any
payment of pension in excess of the amount permitted under this
subsection that is paid to or for the veteran by reason of the
inability or failure of the Secretary to reduce the veteran's
pension under this subsection unless such inability or failure
is the result of a willful concealment by the veteran of
information necessary to make a reduction in pension under this
subsection.
(5)(A) The provisions of this subsection shall apply with
respect to a surviving spouse having no child in the same
manner as they apply to a veteran having neither spouse nor
child.
(B) The provisions of this subsection shall apply with
respect to a child entitled to pension under section 1542 of
this title in the same manner as they apply to a veteran having
neither spouse nor child.
(6) The costs of administering this subsection shall be paid
for from amounts available to the Department of Veterans
Affairs for the payment of compensation and pension.
(7) This subsection expires on [January 31, 2033] September
30, 2036.
* * * * * * *
MINORITY VIEWS
On February 12, 2026, the House Committee on Veterans
Affairs met in open markup session to consider H.R. 6047, the
Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion
Act of 2025, and other bills. H.R. 6047 was ordered reported by
the Committee as amended on a roll call vote of 13 yeas and 10
nays, with all but one Committee Democrat voting nay.
Committee Democrats strongly support the goals of
increasing Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) for
catastrophically injured servicemembers and raising Dependency
and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) for surviving spouses and
children of veterans and servicemembers. However, we have deep
reservations about the continued insistence of the Majority
that any increase to veterans' benefits must necessarily be
offset by a corresponding diminishment of benefits for other
veterans or increases in fees on active duty servicemembers. We
resoundingly reject that premise. And we would posit instead
that there are numerous and distinct paths forward for
legislation to increase veterans' benefits by even a greater
degree, that do not require us to lower benefits for any other
cohort. Indeed, Committee Democrats submitted numerous
alternative offsets at the Committee's markup of this
legislation. But all were rejected by the Majority on a party
line vote.
Nevertheless, Committee Democrats remain committed to
increasing SMC and DIC. But we assert that this must be done in
a way that does not negatively affect the lives and livelihoods
of others. At a time when this Congress has seen fit to spend
hundreds of billions of dollars on priorities both foreign and
domestic, we feel the modest ask in H.R. 6047 can and should be
accommodated without asking the very same people who may
benefit from these programs to sacrifice more.
INCREASE TO SPECIAL MONTHLY COMPENSATION
A veteran receiving disability compensation may also
receive additional Special Monthly Compensation if his or her
disability results in a loss, or loss of use, of an extremity
or organ or if the disability renders him or her housebound or
in need of daily aid and attendance by another person. Various
types of extreme disabilities qualify for SMC, including but
not limited to ``the anatomical loss or loss of use of one or
more creative organs, or one foot, or one hand, or both
buttocks, or blindness of one eye.'' This includes most if not
all veterans who have service-connected paralysis or blindness.
The severity of the disability or combination of disabilities
determines the compensation. SMC rates are increased on an
annual basis through the annual veterans' cost of living
adjustment (COLA). However, the base rate has not been
increased since 2009.
H.R. 6047 would increase the base rates of SMC paid to
certain veterans in need of aid and attendance, 38USC1114(r)
and 38USC1114(t), by an additional $833 per month ($10,000
annually). Often our most catastrophically injured
servicemembers and veterans need round-the-clock care. And that
care is typically provided by spouses, children and parents,
who must put their own careers on hold in order to provide that
care. They do so willingly. But their sacrifice underscores the
need to ensure the government is stepping up to support these
veterans and their caregivers with their day-to-day expenses.
This SMC increase works toward that end, and Committee
Democrats support this increase.
INCREASE TO DIC
When a veteran with a service-connected disability (SCD)
passes, their survivors may be eligible for Dependency and
Indemnity Compensation (DIC). DIC is a tax-free monetary
benefit generally payable to a surviving spouse, child, or
parent of servicemembers who died while on active duty, active
duty for training, or inactive duty training; or to survivors
of veterans who died from their service-connected disabilities;
or to certain survivors of veterans who were totally disabled
due to service-connected causes at the time of their death.
Currently, DIC is paid at the rate of 43 percent of the
compensation owed to a veteran with a 100 percent SCD rating.
There are several circumstances that can increase that amount.
For example, the length of the veteran's injury or illness, the
recipient's own disability status, and the presence of
dependents. The base amount, which was established by law in
1993, is increased every year after the passage of the annual
COLA bill. That COLA rate is equal to the rate of the annual
Social Security COLA. The current base rate for DIC is
$1,653.07.
In contrast, survivors of other federal employees are
currently paid at 55 percent of their loved-one's pension rate
upon their death, as compared to 43 percent for military and
veteran survivors. Accordingly, advocates have for years been
championing legislation to bring parity to this cohort. The
most current version is H.R. 2055, the Caring for Survivors
Act, introduced by Rep. Jahnna Hayes, which has over 100
cosponsors, mostly Democratic. Committee Democrats strongly
support that legislation and have been advocating that the
Committee pass the measure in order to bring true parity to DIC
recipients. However, to date the Majority has refused.
Instead, the Majority chose to put forward H.R. 6047 which
would increase DIC by 1 percent above and beyond the annual
COLA the first year after enactment, and increase DIC 0.5
percent over COLA the second year. This would amount to a
change in the base rate of DIC of less than 0.5 percent (from
43 percent to 43.4 percent). Committee Democrats acknowledge
that any additional money in the pockets of survivors is
welcomed during a time of skyrocketing costs and when
affordability is among Americans' chief concerns. However, this
modest amount barely moves the needle on what is truly
necessary, and more importantly what is deserved by our
veterans' survivors. Such a modest amount coupled with the
mechanism that the Majority is using to offset the cost of this
provision shortchanges our nation's veterans and survivors and
their sacrifice.
BUDGET OFFSET
The introduced version of H.R. 6047 would have imposed a VA
home loan financing fee on veterans with a disability rating of
70 percent and below for the first time ever. The Majority
thankfully removed that language due to strong opposition
expressed by Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Disabled American
Veterans (DAV), other VSOs, and Committee Democrats in the
legislative hearing in December 2025. The Majority then
proposed in January 2026 to raise VA home loan fee rates from
2.15 percent to 2.45 percent for initial use loans and from 3.3
percent to 4.3 percent for subsequent loans. The Majority again
backed down from their proposal due to strong, and justified,
opposition.
The Majority finally settled on new offset language at the
Committee's markup of this legislation that would severely
increase home loan fees on active duty servicemembers and non-
disabled veterans trying to refinance their home loans to a
lower payment. That offset is as follows:
Extension of current VA Home Loan Funding
Fee rates through FY2036, year ten of the budget
window, which generates $1.5 billion.
Committee Democrats do not have
issue with the extension of current home loan
fees through the current budget window, as that
is common Committee practice. However, this
offset is the Committee's largest and principal
source of revenue. As such, its full use here
indicates no other priorities aside from this
bill will become law this Congress
Increased the VA Home Loan Interest Rate
Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) Funding Fee from 0.5
percent to 1.4 percent through FY36, year ten of the
budget window, which raises $2.4 billion.
Committee Democrats oppose this
fee due to the unreasonable cost imposed on
veterans and its effects on those with
distressed mortgages. It is unconscionable to
make refinancing more difficult for those who
are facing foreclosure. We will note also that
contrary to common practice, this fee would not
revert back to its current rate at the end of
the budget window. This increase will saddle
veterans with higher fees in perpetuity.
Funding Fees for VA Home Loan Assumptions
would increase from 0.5 percent to 1.0 percent through
FY36, year ten of the budget window, which generates
$100 million in revenue.
Committee Democrats oppose this
fee due to the burden this additional fee
places on servicemembers and veterans who are
attempting to sell their home or purchase a
home from another veteran. Active duty
servicemembers and veterans are by nature more
mobile, and more frequently must sell their
homes. The ability to assume a VA loan at a low
interest rate makes their home more attractive
on the market. Accordingly, any increases in
those fees may make these homes less attractive
and could decrease the ability of the
servicemember or veteran to relocate as
necessary.
Extend VA's authority to collect pensions of
institutionalized veterans through FY36, year ten of
the budget window, which generates $44 million in
revenue.
Committee Democrats do not have
issue with the extension through the current
budget window, as that is common Committee
practice. However, the exhaustion of this pay-
for by this bill indicates that the Majority
intends that no other priorities besides this
bill will become law this Congress. We will
note that there is also increasing hesitancy
among VSOs and Members to continued use of this
offset.
Rep. Barrett Amendment: Adopted at markup,
this amendment would expand VA Home Loan eligibility to
more National Guard and Reservist duty statuses, but
charges those with 14 to 89 days of eligibility a one
percent surcharge on top of all other fees.
The Committee supports expansion
of VA Home Loan eligibility to more Guardsmen
and Reservists as a matter of policy. Democrats
have supported full benefits parity for
Guardsmen and Reservists for many years through
bills such as H.R. 1423, Guard and Reserve GI
Bill Parity Act of 2025. However, we have
concerns with the amendment's creation of a
lesser benefit tier for Reserve Component
servicemembers. In 2019, Congress purposely
created one tier of VA Home Loan benefits in
recognition of the heavy use of the Reserve
Component in the Global War on Terror as an
Operational Reserve.
Because of poor drafting, the
Majority accidentally made almost all Guardsmen
and Reservists eligible for the VA Home Loan
without the surcharge upon graduating their
Initial Entry Training (i.e. basic training).
Committee Democrats support this change, as it
creates parity with active duty servicemember
benefits, but it does create an offset
imbalance in the bill, as very few
servicemembers will be paying the Majority's
one percent sur-fee.
This amendment raises $32
million in mandatory revenues, but costs $65
million in discretionary spending, which the
Majority is required to offset because of the
guidance of the current Majority Leader.
However, the Majority did not choose to fully
offset this amendment at markup. This results
in H.R. 6047 being reported out of committee
without being fully offset, despite the
Majority's instance that the offsets above be
added in Committee to cover the cost of the
legislation.
As stated above, the near tripling of fees on IRRRLs is
especially problematic for Committee Democrats. The tripling of
this fee means that the average veteran will be paying an
additional $3,780 in fees. (Based on the Q1 FY26 VA Home Loan
average of a $420,000 refinancing, a veteran will pay a $5,880
average fee, versus the current $2,100 average fee.)
Refinancing is also a major off-ramp for veterans who have
loans in distress or who are on the path to foreclosure.
Veterans in that position do not have significant cash on hand
to pay the funding fee upfront, so it is rolled into the loan.
This means the veteran will pay interest on the fee, and the
time until a veteran breaks even on the refinancing is much
further in the future.
At the current 0.5 percent fee rate, the
average refinancing veteran pays an average total of
$4,700 in fees and interest on those fees over the life
of the loan ($2,100 in fees and $2,600 in interest.)
With the increased 1.4 percent fee rate, the
average veteran will pay an additional $8,460 in fees
and interest (an additional $3,780 in fees plus an
additional $4,680 in interest over the life of the
loan, for a total of $8,460), for a total of $13,160 in
fees and interest over the life of the loan.
Veterans would not break even on IRRRLs with the new fee
rate until 56 months (4.67 years), versus the current 20 months
(1.6 years). This means a veteran would be at risk of losing
moneyon the transaction and stuck in their home for 2.8 times
longer post refinancing without building equity in the home, placing
them at greater financial risk.
As inflation continues to increase the cost of living for
veterans, being underwater for longer due to higher loan fees
puts veterans at greater risk of losing their home or facing
foreclosure. This also means the VA Home Loan program is
potentially on the hook for larger loan guarantees, increasing
risk to the solvency of the program.
This is especially concerning as VA has not implemented the
Partial Claims Program after the Trump Administration, cheered
on by the current House Majority, did away with the Veterans
Affairs Servicing Purchase Program (VASP), which provided VA
options to restructure distressed loans, prevent foreclosures,
and keep veterans in their homes. In the absence of these
programs, the best loss mitigation option for veterans is an
IRRRL. But as costs continue to rise on Americans and veterans
under the current administration, veterans attempting to
refinance to stay in their homes would have a longer period of
being underwater on the refinancing.
Underwater loans (either initial or refinanced loans) put
veterans and their families at greater risk for housing
insecurity or homelessness and expose the VA Home Loan Program
to greater financial solvency risk. An analogous situation is
what occurred during the 2008 Financial Crisis where banks with
large portfolios of underwater loans eventually required
federal bailouts.
The bill also doubles the Funding Fee for the Assumption of
VA Home Loans from 0.5 percent to one percent through FY36
(year ten of the budget window). A veteran or non-veteran can
assume (i.e. take over) a VA Home Loan and continue paying the
remainder of the loan. These are not a common occurrence
because buyers, sellers and lenders are not familiar with the
process and the remainder of the value of the house must be
paid with cash up front, or through a secondary mortgage on the
house. However, assumptions are financially beneficial to the
seller because they create financial flexibility, especially
for servicemembers who must relocate. They are also financially
beneficial to buyers because these mortgages are generally at a
much lower interest rate than current market rates, and have
progressed much further into the amortization schedule, so more
of each mortgage payment goes towards paying down the
principle, versus paying interest.
REJECTED AMENDMENTS
At the Committee's markup of this legislation, Committee
Democrats highlighted numerous additional offsets that allowed
for expansion of SMC and DIC without raising fees on active
duty servicemembers or veterans. Additionally, Committee
Democrats highlighted the fact that the Committee could choose
to advance this bill with no offset at all, as was a practice
during both Democratic and Republican control of Congress in
previous years. All of those amendments were rejected by the
Majority on party-line votes. Below is a summary of those
amendments.
Morrison Amendment to the Amendment in the
Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 6047--This amendment
would have stricken the entirety of the offsets (Secs.
3 & 4 of the bill), and replaced them with a transfer
of $5 billion from Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) funding.
In P.L. 119-21, ICE received a
budget infusion of roughly $30 billion on top
of its annual appropriation. This amendment
would use only a small portion of the plus-up
amount to fund benefits for veterans and
survivors. The need to increase these benefits
for veterans and survivors is immediate. ICE is
not expected to use or need this money until
Fiscal Years 2031 and 2032; Congress can
backfill that money in the future, if it is
determined to be needed.
Conaway Amendment to the Amendment in the
Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 6047--This amendment
would have instituted a grandfather provision, limiting
the imposition of new, higher loan fees only to those
who join the military on or after the date of
enactment.
When civilians take an oath to
join the United States military, they are
signing physical, verbal, and moral contracts
with the American people. Those contracts
entail not just their rights and
responsibilities as members of the military,
but also the care and benefits a servicemember
may receive when their time in uniform is over.
Committee Democrats feel that we must not
change the terms of that deal after the fact,
as the Majority's legislation would do.
Dexter Amendment to the Amendment in the
Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 6047--This amendment
would have removed only the portions of the offset
related to IRRRL and Loan Assumptions Funding Fee
increases.
As discussed previously,
affordability is a chief concern among the
American public. Accordingly, in our opinion we
should not be artificially raising costs on
distressed homeowners and those who need to
sell their home or refinance their home loan by
increasing fees.
Dexter Amendment #2 to the Amendment in the
Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 6047--This amendment
would have temporarily reduced the estate tax exemption
increase passed in P.L. 119-21 from $15 million to
$14.5 million, for a portion of the ten-year budget
window to offset the cost of the bill.
Committee Democrats disagree
with the Majority's decision to triple the
exemption from paying estate tax from $5
million to $15 million in P.L. 119-21. We would
rather that money be used to fund much-needed
benefits expansions for veterans and their
survivors. There is no material difference in
someone inheriting $14.5 million tax free
versus $15 million. But there is a great
material difference for catastrophically
disabled veterans and survivors who are in need
of the increases proposed by the underlying
bill.
Takano Amendment to the Amendment in the
Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 6047--This amendment
would have stricken the entirety of the offsets (Secs.
3 & 4) used to pay for the benefits increases in the
bill.
There is nothing in the rules of
the House nor in the rules of the Committee
that require the costs of legislation to be
offset when reporting a bill to the full House.
House rules only require that the legislation
be offset before it is passed by the chamber.
Senate rules do not even require that. Even
then, the House may choose to wave those rules
at its discretion, and often does. Committee
Democrats feel that the American people are
willing to shoulder the costs of these benefits
increases, if only they are asked, as they have
done with the original 1944 GI Bill, the Post-
9/11 GI Bill and PACT Act. Removing the offsets
at the committee phase allows us time to work
with other committees to find more appropriate
budget offsets, or to allow debate on whether
or not it is appropriate to waive budgetary
rules in this instance.
CONCLUSION
Our nation is almost 250 years old. In this time, we have
seen our fair share of military engagement and outright war. We
have more than enough of a historical record to understand that
the cost of these wars did not end at the last appropriation
marked for battle. We promised to care for our veterans when
their time in service is done, and in this case that means
their families as well. Congress should not turn away or hide
from that fact. If we are to support the cost of starting and
sustaining war, we must acknowledge the financial cost of
supporting those veterans it creates when they come home.
Committee Democrats feel that we must stop treating our
work in Congress as something out of the Hunger Games--that
someone must suffer so that someone else can get what they need
... that we need to force school children, small business
owners, and veterans to compete with each other for help from
their government. Committee Democrats are not going to play
that game with the benefits our veterans and their survivors
have earned.
We believe that Congress should fund healthcare and
benefits for veterans that have gone to war for this country.
If members of the House wish to continue to increase funding
for defense spending and military aid, then they should be
morally required to consider the long-term cost of taking care
of the servicemembers that they or the administration, in
Congress' abdication, chooses to send into harm's way.
We do not demand offsets for funding for the equipment our
troops need. This is the right thing to do. Taking care of
veterans is also the right thing to do. We hope that our
country and this Congress will not perpetuate a double standard
when we discuss funding and support for servicemembers and that
for our veterans and their families. America deserves better.
Americans want better, and they have said so.
According to a February 6-9, 2026 Economist/YouGov poll of
1,730 U.S. adult citizens, when asked whether the federal
government should increase or decrease spending on veterans, 46
percent of Americans say spending should increase a lot and an
additional 28 percent say it should increase slightly. That is
74 percent of the American people saying we should spend more
on veterans. Only 4 percent responded that spending should
decrease. This support crosses party lines. Democrats,
Independents, and Republicans all support increasing spending
on veterans.
So, when we are told that we have no choice but to raise
fees on servicemembers and veteran homeowners to fund these
increases, that simply does not reflect what the American
people believe. It does not match the rhetoric that many
elected officials proffer. It also does not meet the sacred
promise we as a country made to servicemembers. The American
people overwhelmingly support spending more on veterans. They
do not believe we should take from one group of veterans to pay
another, as this bill is currently written requires. Nor do
Committee Democrats.
The question is whether this Congress chooses to ignore the
cost of war and make veterans pay for the consequences and
earned benefits of their service.
Mark Takano,
Ranking Member.
[all]