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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 70 May 2024 J O U R N A L veterans directly to help them retain their homes. In total, the VA helped more than 145,000 veterans and their families avoid foreclosure in 2023 alone. "When a veteran falls on hard times, we work with them and their loan servicers every step of the way to help prevent foreclosure—including offering repayment plans, loan modifications, and more," VA Under Secretary for Benefits Josh Jacobs said. "But some veterans still need additional support after those steps, and that's what VASP is all about. This pro- gram will help ensure that when a veteran goes into default, there is an additional affordable payment option that will work in a higher interest rate environment—so they can keep their homes." Highlighting VASP Program Measures Veterans interested in the VASP program will not apply directly for VASP. Instead, beginning May 31, mortgage servicers will identify qualified borrow- ers and submit requests on behalf of veterans based on a review of all home retention options available and quali- fying criteria. Veterans facing financial hardship are encouraged to work with their mortgage servicers to explore their available options. "The VASP program is badly needed as veteran borrowers have had no meaningful alternatives to foreclosure for over a year," said Steve Sharpe, Senior Attorney at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). "The VA must extend the foreclosure pause until VASP is imple- mented so that all eligible borrowers have fair access to the new program. We also urge VA to eliminate any rules that unnecessarily limit access to VASP for borrowers who previously received unaffordable loan modifications." The VA anticipates that VASP will result in a government subsidy spending reduction of approximately $1.5 billion from 2024 to 2033, making it beneficial for veterans, taxpayers, servicers, and loan holders alike. This is because the savings associated with avoiding foreclo- sures outweighs the cost of purchasing these homes. The VA has existing au- thority to establish and implement VASP under 38 U.S.C. § 3732 and § 3720. "Servicers have performed extraordi- narily since the pandemic to implement new forbearance and home retention programs from the VA and other fed- eral agencies, helping more than eight million families stay in their homes," Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) President and CEO Robert D. Broeksmit, CMB said. "While the VA has announced a May 31 effective date, it is important for Veterans to understand that the VA has assured servicers that additional time will be provided to implement this complex and novel program. Servicers will work diligently to modify their sys- tems and operations and train their staffs to implement the program by the VA's deadline, when announced." Government Intervention in Preserving Veteran Homeownership The Biden administration recently announced a $14 million initiative that seeks to find permanent housing for U.S. vets. Through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the VA, $14 million in HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Hous- ing (HUD-VASH) vouchers were awarded to 66 Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) across the country for more than 1,400 vouchers. The HUD-VASH program pro- vides housing and an array of supportive services to veterans experiencing home- lessness by combining rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services provided by the VA. "As President Biden reminds us, our one truly sacred obligation is to the men and women of the United States Military Services," HUD Principal Deputy Assis- tant Secretary Richard Monocchio said. "The continued success of the HUD- VASH program stands as testament to our collective devotion to caring for Veterans and their families when they return home. At HUD, we are committed to continuing to strengthen the HUD- VASH program to serve as many Veterans as possible." According to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), the number of veterans experiencing home- lessness has fallen by 11% since early 2020—the most significant decline in more than five years. There are currently more than 110,000 HUD-VASH vouchers being administered by 700-plus PHAs. Since 2008, HUD has issued new HUD- VASH vouchers every year. Additionally, more than 81,000 of those total vouchers are actively under lease by HUD-VASH veterans, with many additional veterans having been issued vouchers and cur- rently searching for housing to lease. GINNIE MAE ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF LMI DISCLOSURE INITIATIVES G innie Mae has announced the expansion of its low-to-moder- ate income (LMI) disclosure ini- tiative to incorporate pool-level data for its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and Home Mortgage-Backed Securities (HMBS) programs. This extension builds on Ginnie Mae's work to improve its securities filings, which began three years ago. Ginnie Mae has made advance- ments in its securities program, such as producing security-level LMI disclosures for the Single-Family program, publish- ing the Ginnie Mae Social Impact and Sustainability Framework, and updating its prospectus. These disclosures are an integral part of Ginnie Mae's response to rising investor demand for greater trans- parency into Ginnie Mae mortgage pools, with a particular emphasis on meeting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment criteria. "As interest in social impact invest- ments continues to grow, Ginnie Mae is finding ways to provide more data on the underlying loans in our securities to help investors make better-informed decisions," said Sam Valverde, Principal Executive VP of Ginnie Mae. "The dis- closures being released today reflect the unique impact of our HMBS program in helping to drive retirement security for lower-income households." Ginnie Mae collaborated with govern- ment-insuring agencies to deliver month-