On behalf of our low-income clients, the National Consumer Law Center expressed serious concerns with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ proposed COVID-19 Veterans Assistance Partial Claim Payment program (COVID-VAPCP). VA-guaranteed borrowers who have recovered from COVID-19 hardships and can resume their pre-hardship payment need access to affordable plans that will bring their loans current and also support the VA’s loan fund.
NCLC appreciates the agency’s efforts to design relief. The VA’s proposed COVID-VAPCP option, however, will not meet the agency’s goals because the program will result in significant monthly payment increases for VA-guaranteed borrowers. We know from the previous financial crisis that such increases will cause substantial and unnecessary mortgage re-defaults and foreclosures.