WHAT HAPPENED

CARES Act forbearance begins. Federal agencies issue written guidance to FHA, VA and USDA servicers stating paused payments are repaid over time and a lump sum is not required.

Federal agencies (interagency) to Servicers · CARES forbearance fact sheet

S049 CARES Act Forbearance Fact Sheet for FHA VA and USDA servicers · archived

VA's Loan Guaranty Service tells servicers, in its own circular, that a CARES Act forbearance must be granted on the borrower's word alone, that the borrower sets its length, and that no lump sum may be demanded on exit.

VA Loan Guaranty Service (Jeffrey F. London, Director) to Servicers · Circular 26-20-12

S259 VA Circular 26-20-12, Extended Relief Under the CARES Act for those Affected by COVID-19

VA tells servicers how to flag a COVID default in its own servicing system: by replacing an existing reason code, 'Energy/Environmental Cost', with 'National Emergency Declaration'. The flag is generic and repurposed; it does not name COVID.

VA Loan Guaranty Service to Servicers · Circular 26-20-17

S261 VA Circular 26-20-17, New Reason for Default for those Affected by COVID-19

VA extends the COVID foreclosure and eviction moratoria through December 31, 2020, in two circulars that say their contents 'are part of the guaranty contract' and 'are meant to bind the public'. Two of the 63 VA circulars this project holds say that; two others, on deferment and on refinance access after forbearance, say the opposite.

VA Loan Guaranty Service (Jeffrey F. London) to Servicers · Circulars 26-20-29 and 26-20-30

S263 VA Circular 26-20-29, Extended Eviction Moratorium for Borrowers Affected by COVID-19 · S264 VA Circular 26-20-30, Extended Foreclosure Moratorium for Borrowers Affected by COVID-19 · S262 VA Circular 26-20-33, Deferment as a COVID-19 Loss Mitigation Option for CARES Act Forbearance Cases · S265 VA Circular 26-20-25, Impact of CARES Act Forbearance on Purchase and Refinance Transactions

VA extends the COVID foreclosure moratorium through December 31, 2020 by a one-page change order to Circular 26-20-12. VA never reissued the base circular; its website still served the April 2020 text on September 12, 2026.

VA Loan Guaranty Service to Servicers · Circular 26-20-12 Change 1

S260 VA Circular 26-20-12 Change 1

VA authorizes deferment as a way out of a CARES Act forbearance: the missed payments move to the end of the loan with no added cost, fees or interest. The same circular says deferment carries no servicer incentive payment, and is not allowed for a veteran who needs a lower payment.

VA Loan Guaranty Service (Jeffrey F. London) to Servicers · Circular 26-20-33

S262 VA Circular 26-20-33, Deferment as a COVID-19 Loss Mitigation Option for CARES Act Forbearance Cases

The COVID-19 Veterans Assistance Partial Claim Payment program expires by regulation. VA will not accept a request for a partial claim payment after October 28, 2022. No replacement tool exists for VA borrowers exiting forbearance.

S104 38 CFR 36.4809 -- Expiration of the COVID-19 Veterans Assistance Partial Claim Payment program. · archived · S145 Loan Guaranty: COVID-19 Veterans Assistance Partial Claim Payment Program (final rule, 86 FR 28692)

The years with no partial claim. Families exit forbearance on terms the 2020 guidance ruled out.

S021 eCFR Title 38 Part 36 (VA loan regulations)

VBA Circular 26-23-25. VA strongly encourages a foreclosure moratorium on all VA-guaranteed loans through May 31, 2024, urging servicers to cease initiating, continuing or completing foreclosures. Stated reason includes the pending availability of VASP, which the circular places in March 2024.

VA to Servicers · VBA Circular 26-23-25

S091 VA Circular 26-23-25, Loan Repayment Relief for Borrowers · archived

House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing. The partial claim gap and foreclosure exposure are raised directly, three months before VASP launches.

Witnesses at hearing to House VA Committee · HVAC printed hearing record

S056 Hearing transcript, HVAC Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, February 15 2024 (Hearing 118-53) · archived

VA announces VASP, stating the program will help more than 40,000 veterans stay in their homes, and says it has strongly encouraged a foreclosure moratorium through May 31, 2024.

VA to The public and servicers · VA news release

S146 VA announces new program to help more than 40,000 Veterans stay in their homes

VBA Circular 26-24-12, Loan Repayment Relief for Borrowers. VA announces a targeted foreclosure moratorium on VA-guaranteed loans running through December 31, 2024, stating its purpose is to give servicers time to implement VASP. Servicers may implement beginning May 31, 2024. VA expects full implementation not later than October 1, 2024. Circular valid until January 1, 2025.

VA to Servicers · VBA Circular 26-24-12

S092 VA Circular 26-24-12, Loan Repayment Relief for Borrowers · archived

VA press release announcing the extension. Describes the moratorium as originally slated to expire May 31 and states that VASP officially launches May 31 and mortgage servicers must have it fully implemented by October 1, 2024. Under Secretary for Benefits Josh Jacobs is quoted calling on servicers to follow the targeted moratorium.

VA (Under Sec. Josh Jacobs) to Servicers and the public · VA press release

S147 VA calls for extension of Veteran foreclosure moratorium through Dec. 31, 2024

VASP is implemented as the final option in the VA Home Retention Waterfall.

S011 VASP program record · archived

VA's own full-implementation deadline for VASP. From this date to the May 1, 2025 rescission is roughly seven months of broadly usable program, not the twelve months the period is commonly described as.

S092 VA Circular 26-24-12, Loan Repayment Relief for Borrowers · archived

Mortgage Bankers Association publishes a white paper on the coming gap in VA loss-mitigation options.

Mortgage Bankers Association to VA and the public · Published white paper

PENDING CITATION

MBA testifies to the House VA Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity. Asked what happens without the rescue program, Elizabeth Balce answers: the short answer is foreclosure. Period.

Mortgage Bankers Association (Elizabeth Balce) to House VA Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity · Subcommittee hearing testimony

S009 'Foreclosure. Period.' warning (Balce) · archived

Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Mark Takano, in a letter signed by 22 Democrats and Independents, ask Sec. Collins to reverse the end of VASP and avoid foreclosing on veterans who wish to keep paying.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Mark Takano, 22 signers to Sec. Doug Collins · Letter

S060 Blumenthal, Warren & Takano to Collins: Stop Pushing Thousands of Veterans into Foreclosure

VBA Circular 26-25-2 issued, announcing the VASP program wind down.

VA to Servicers · VBA Circular 26-25-2

S011 VASP program record · archived

VA rescinds the VA Home Retention Waterfall. VASP ends. 10,000 or more veteran families have already lost homes.

S011 VASP program record · archived

H.R. 1815 signed into law. Both chambers passed it by voice vote. Creates the Partial Claim Program at 38 U.S.C. 3737. Section 3737(h) permits the Secretary to act by administrative guidance before regulations.

Congress to VA · Public Law 119-31

S010 H.R. 1815, VA Home Loan Program Reform Act - Pub. L. 119-31 · archived

Reps. Mark Takano, Chris Pappas and Nikki Budzinski ask Sec. Collins in writing to explain reports that about 35,000 veterans received erroneous foreclosure letters, and to contact each borrower.

Reps. Mark Takano, Chris Pappas and Nikki Budzinski to Sec. Doug Collins · Letter

S290 Letter from Reps. Mark Takano, Chris Pappas and Nikki Budzinski to Secretary Collins on erroneous foreclosure letters, September 2 2025

Deadline for VA's report to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees on its strategy to make sure a veteran buying a home with a VA-guaranteed loan is not at a disadvantage in getting a real estate agent or broker. Section 4 of H.R. 1815, 90 days after enactment.

Congress, in Section 4 of H.R. 1815, the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act to Department of Veterans Affairs · Statute

S010 H.R. 1815, VA Home Loan Program Reform Act - Pub. L. 119-31 · archived

Pub. L. 119-37, div. G, title III. Sec 7307(a) narrows the 38 U.S.C. 3720(h) foreclosure protection; sec 7307(b) to (e) amend 38 U.S.C. 3737, including the 3737(h) guidance-in-advance-of-regulations authority.

Congress · Public Law 119-37

S019 Pub. L. 119-37 §7307(e); 38 U.S.C. §3737(h) as amended · archived

House Veterans' Affairs Committee oversight hearing. Asked by Rep. Chris Pappas when the partial claim program would be operational, Sec. Collins answers: "It should be done shortly." The first of three VA answers over 79 days that grew less specific, not more (Mar 26, Apr 30).

Sec. Doug Collins to Rep. Chris Pappas (HVAC Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Ranking Member) · HVAC Full Committee Oversight Hearing

S171 HVAC Full Committee Oversight Hearing, February 11, 2026

NCLC testifies that the draft policy would push roughly 30,000 veterans into average payment increases of about 150 dollars per month.

National Consumer Law Center (Alys Cohen) to House VA Committee · HVAC hearing

S003 NCLC analysis to HVAC EO Subcommittee (Cohen) · archived

Chairman Van Orden asks VA for its word that it will not foreclose on any veteran, if within its power, until the partial claim is done. The transcript records no answer.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden, Chairman, HVAC Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity to VA Loan Guaranty Service (Patrick Zondervan) · HVAC Economic Opportunity Subcommittee hearing

S255 Kitchen Table Issues: Lowering Costs for Veteran Families Through the VA Home Loan Program, printed hearing, Serial No. 119-53, HVAC Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, March 26 2026

NPR reports that the VA's decision to end its rescue program is driving veteran foreclosures.

NPR (Chris Arnold and Quil Lawrence) to The public · National reporting

S002 NPR VA foreclosure investigation (Arnold/Lawrence) · archived

VA answers a senator, a national broadcaster and a congresswoman in writing about foreclosed veterans, spring 2026. Each answer recites the process; none offers a way back into the home.

VA Loan Guaranty Service to Sen. Patty Murray (for a Washington family, Leann Ledford's own); NPR; Rep. Harriet Hageman (for a Wyoming family) · Constituent-inquiry replies and a written statement to NPR

S258 VA Loan Guaranty Service response to Sen. Patty Murray's inquiry for a Washington veteran family (the household of Leann Ledford, who compiles this record), forwarded by the senator April 2 2026 (Intranet Quorum IMA00592850) · S253 Congressional Record, Vol. 172, No. 86, May 20 2026, House pages H3632 to H3642: debate on H. Res. 1300, the rule for H.R. 1041, H.R. 6047 and H.R. 1329 · S257 VA Loan Guaranty Service letter to Rep. Harriet M. Hageman, May 7 2026, answering a constituent inquiry about a foreclosed VA-guaranteed loan in Wyoming

House Report 119-622 on the FY2027 MilCon-VA appropriations bill directs VA to report within 90 days of enactment on five items, including the number of veteran borrowers delinquent or at risk of foreclosure and the Partial Claim Program timeline.

House Committee on Appropriations to Department of Veterans Affairs · Committee report

S195 House Report 119-622 accompanying H.R. 8469, MilCon-VA Appropriations Act 2027

Senate Appropriations MilCon-VA subcommittee hearing. Asked by Sen. Jon Ossoff to commit to working with the subcommittee on foreclosure prevention and veteran homelessness prevention, Sec. Collins answers: "Yeah, we are and trying to find the right way to do that."

Sec. Doug Collins to Sen. Jon Ossoff · Senate Appropriations MilCon-VA subcommittee hearing

S159 WATCH: Sen. Ossoff Secures Commitment from VA Secretary Collins to Work on Preventing Veteran Foreclosure · S161 Ossoff Presses Doug Collins On Reports Of 'Retaliation And Intimidation' At VA Facility (video)

VA answers a congressional inquiry about a Wyoming veteran foreclosed on in September 2025: "restoration of the prior loan terms is no longer possible." The same official had told the House on March 26 the partial claim was coming in the upcoming months.

Patrick J. Zondervan, Executive Director, VA Loan Guaranty Service to Rep. Harriet Hageman, on behalf of a constituent family · VA constituent-inquiry letter

S257 VA Loan Guaranty Service letter to Rep. Harriet M. Hageman, May 7 2026, answering a constituent inquiry about a foreclosed VA-guaranteed loan in Wyoming · S245 Hearing transcript, HVAC Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, March 26 2026, "Kitchen Table Issues: Lowering Costs for Veteran Families Through the VA Home Loan Program"

Rules Committee. The H.R. 6047 funding-fee fight comes to a head.

S100 H.R. 6047, Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act of 2026, as engrossed in the House · archived · S291 H.R.6047, Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act of 2026, bill page · archived

Asked five times how many veterans are likely to be foreclosed on, HVAC Chairman Bost answers on the Rules Committee record: 90,000, which with the 10,000 already foreclosed would be 100,000 veterans.

Rep. Mike Bost, Chairman, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, House Committee on Rules · House Committee on Rules, hearing on H.R. 1041, H.R. 6047 and H.R. 1329

S140 Rules Committee Hearing H.R.1041, H.R.6047, H.R.1329 · archived · S256 Congressional Record, Vol. 172, No. 85, May 19 2026, Daily Digest pages D530 to D531: Committee on Rules, hearing on H.R. 1041, H.R. 6047 and H.R. 1329

Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. Sec. Collins commits under oath to a June 15, 2026 partial-claim standup date.

Sec. Doug Collins to SVAC · SVAC hearing

S096 Veterans affairs secretary collins testifies on 2026 budget request / 679573 · archived

Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. Chairman Moran asks the VA Chief Financial Officer to explain a proposed restructuring of how VA reports healthcare spending. The CFO answers that the account structure co-mingles costs: "all I can tell you is that it's going to cost more and that we can't manage to it because we don't know where we're managing to." The testimony concerns VA's health care account structure, not the home loan program.

Asst. Sec. Richard F. Topping, VA Chief Financial Officer to Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee (Chairman Moran) · SVAC hearing, May 20 2026

S096 Veterans affairs secretary collins testifies on 2026 budget request / 679573 · archived · S001 Sen. Blumenthal remarks, SVAC hearing (15,000+ figure) · archived

On the House floor, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez puts the numbers into the Congressional Record: more than 10,000 veterans have lost their homes, and 90,000 more are behind on their mortgages or in the foreclosure process.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez to House of Representatives · House floor, debate on H. Res. 1300

S253 Congressional Record, Vol. 172, No. 86, May 20 2026, House pages H3632 to H3642: debate on H. Res. 1300, the rule for H.R. 1041, H.R. 6047 and H.R. 1329

Twenty-eight members of Congress, led by Rep. Chris Pappas, demand a targeted foreclosure moratorium and the VA's legal basis if it refuses. Written response required by June 2.

28 members of Congress to VA · Letter

S015 Rep. Pappas + 27 colleagues (28 signers), foreclosure-moratorium letter · archived

VA issues Transmittal Sheet Change 14 and creates M26-4 Chapter 22, the Partial Claim chapter, effective June 1 2026. Ten qualifying criteria in section 22.02, seven of which do not appear in 38 U.S.C. 3737.

VA Loan Guaranty Service (Patrick J. Zondervan) to Regional Loan Center personnel and Loan Administration participants · Transmittal Sheet Change 14

S013 M26-4 Chapter 22 (VA loss-mitigation / partial-claim policy) · archived

The deadline set by the 28-member congressional demand letter for VA to establish a foreclosure moratorium passes. VA does not respond by the deadline.

Congress to Department of Veterans Affairs · Congressional demand letter

S015 Rep. Pappas + 27 colleagues (28 signers), foreclosure-moratorium letter · archived

VA Partial Claim Program is available and live, per Transmittal Change 14.

VA to Servicers · VA announcement

S013 M26-4 Chapter 22 (VA loss-mitigation / partial-claim policy) · archived

NCLC launch-day release renews the demand that VA direct servicers to hold off foreclosing until the program is actually operational.

National Consumer Law Center to VA · Public release

S120 VA Must Pause Foreclosures Until New Mortgage Assistance Program Is Accessible · archived

Military.com reports the launched program carries equity-stripping and re-foreclosure risk, and restates the 25 percent reinstatement cap.

Military.com (Derricke Dennis) to The public · News report

S116 New VA Mortgage Assistance Program Warning for Veterans Facing Foreclosure · archived

Full implementation deadline. Transmittal Change 14 states full implementation is expected no later than 180 days from publication of the final policy. 180 days from June 1 2026.

VA to Servicers · VA handbook and email

S013 M26-4 Chapter 22 (VA loss-mitigation / partial-claim policy) · archived