NEGLECTING OUR VETERANS

One group was omitted from the economic stimulus plan passed by our Congress and signed by President Bush. From this article in the March 8, 2008 edition of the Washington Post:

When Congress and the White House put together the $150 billion economic stimulus package, they raised the maximum mortgage limits in high-cost areas for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration.

But lawmakers neglected to include a similar increase for the government's primary home purchase program for veterans: Department of Veterans Affairs-backed loans. While the limits of the other three programs now extend to $729,750 in the highest-cost areas, including Washington -- at least through Dec. 31 -- VA loans remain capped at $417,000.

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As a result of the omission, areas with high concentrations of veterans and high housing costs -- California, Maryland, Virginia, the District and Florida, among others -- are effectively cut out of the stimulus package's benefits when it comes to VA loans....

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...How could a wartime president, a speaker of the House who represents high-cost San Francisco and its extensive military installations, an entire Cabinet agency, and veterans committees in the House and Senate all fail to include the VA program with generous loan-limit increases for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA?...

Veterans are an exceptionally good mortgage-risk:

...During the third quarter of 2007, the VA 30-day delinquency rate was 6.58 percent, compared with 12.92 percent for the FHA and 16.3 percent for private subprime loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The foreclosure rate for VA loans during the same period was 1.03 percent, vs. 2.2 percent for FHA and 6.89 percent for subprime....

Politicians claim they support our troops. Not offering our veterans the same mortgage break offered to others less committed and less solvent receive is an atrocity. In my view, there is no excuse for the oversight!