CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN FIGHTS FOR EQUAL BENEFITS FOR NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE SERVICE MEMBERS
Congressman Pat Ryan Fights for Equal Benefits for National Guard and Reserve Service Members
Ryan reintroduces his “Expanding Home Loans for Guard and Reservists Act” to expand VA home loans eligibility for U.S. National Guard and Reserve service members
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Pat Ryan reintroduced his bill, the “Expanding Home Loans for Guard and Reservists Act,” alongside Jen Kiggans (R-VA), a Navy veteran. The bill will expand eligibility for Veterans Affairs home loans benefits to service members in the National Guard and Reserves to be on par with that of other service members.
“Our brave service members make huge sacrifices, both at home and abroad, to protect our country,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “Now more than ever, we’re calling on our National Guard and Reservists to keep our communities safe - they shouldn’t face disproportionate barriers to own a home in the very country and communities they are putting it all on the line to protect. I’m proud that this will right the injustice that our Guard and Reservists currently face in accessing the life transforming VA home loans that they earned.”
“The men and women who serve in our National Guard and military reserves stand ready to deploy at a moment’s notice in defense of our freedoms,” said Congresswoman Jen Kiggans. “It’s unacceptable that – up until now – they have been denied full VA housing benefits. At a time when inflation and interest rates have greatly increased the difficulty of buying a home, our veterans should be able to access the full range of benefits that our country owes them for their service and sacrifice. I’m proud to join Congressman Ryan to make the home buying process easier for former servicemembers across the country!”
The Expanding Home Loans for Guard and Reservists Act was the first bill that Congressman Ryan introduced in Congress and it previously passed the House with bipartisan support in September 2022. The bill failed to pass in the Senate before the end of the 117th Congress, requiring its reintroduction in the 118th Congress.
The Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 [signed into law Jan 5, 2020, PL 116-315] expanded the VA Home Loan eligibility to National Guard service members who perform “full-time National Guard duty” for at least 90 days, of which 30 are consecutive.
Since that law was enacted, Guard and Reservists have identified a gap that makes it more difficult for certain National Guard service members conducting Active Duty training to receive the full credit for their time served and access the VA home loan benefit they are rightfully due. As a result of this current gap, service members training or entering the National Guard into longer training pipelines like Special Forces, Aviation, or linguistics face inequitable access to VA home loans. This bill provides a technical fix to the present injustice so that each of our men and women in uniform can earn the benefits they have earned through their full-time National Guard duty and service to our country.
Congressman Ryan is a U.S. Army combat veteran and is the first West Point alumnus to represent the Academy in Congress. The reintroduction of the Expanding Home Loans for Guard and Reservists Act builds on his record of fighting for service members, military families, and veterans.
Last week, Congressman Ryan held a Veterans Week of Action, in which he introduced the Never Forgotten Korean War POW Act and announced that his office had secured over $1 million in casework assistance for NY-18 veterans since the start of the year. Congressman Ryan also utilized his Constituent Advocacy Resources Empowerment Services (C.A.R.E.S.) Van to deliver assistance directly to veterans at local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Posts and veterans services offices.
In February, Congressman Ryan also introduced the Healthcare Fairness for Military Families Act to expand TriCare eligibility for the children of service members and ensure equity for military families by bringing eligibility for young adult dependents in line with that offered by private insurance plans.
Congressman Ryan also cosponsors the following legislation to ensure veterans and military service members receive the benefits they are due:
- The Major Richard Star Act
- The Vet CENTERS for Mental Health Act
- The Captain James Edge Gold Star Spouse Equity Act
- The Jax Act
- The GUARD VA Benefits Act
- The Military Family Nutrition Act of 2023
- The VET CARE Act of 2023
- The PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program Act
- The Servicemember’s Mental Health Improvement Act
- The VA Work-Study Improvement Act
- The Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act of 2023
- The Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act
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