Published: 12-21-07
Washington D.C. – The U.S. House of Represenatives has approved legislation which Congressman Lloyd Doggett helped to craft that expands home ownership opportunities for Texas veterans.“Those who fight to keep our home safe deserve a fighting chance at home ownership” said Congressman Doggett a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee. “This bill is truly a way to honor our veterans not only with words but with deeds – in this cases the deed to a home. I appreciate the important work of the Texas Veterans Land Board with whose staff I worked to secure passage of this important legislation.”
Through an arbitrary limitation only veterans who served in active duty prior to 1977 are currently eligible for low-interest home loans from the proceeds of Qualified Veterans Mortgage Bonds administered by the Texas Veterans Land Board. The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief (HEART) Act removes this restriction expanding eligibility for these low-interest home loans to all qualified veterans regardless of when they served. Through this program Texas veterans will be eligible for below-market home loans of up to $325000.
In Texas the bill will enable the Texas Veterans Land Board to expand its existing low-interest loan program to several thousand additional Texas veterans. Texas is one of only five states in the Nation to offer veterans a special home loan program and the only state to offer the unique combination of low-interest rates for land housing and home improvement loans.
“This is not an entitlement Texas veterans have earned this benefit through their service to our nation” said Jerry Patterson Chairman of the Texas Veterans Land Board. “I want to thank Congressman Doggett for his support to our veterans.”
The HEART Act also provides additional benefits to veterans and military families. The legislation allows active duty reservists to make penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans and includes differential wages paid by an employer to an employee who becomes active duty military in the calculation of wages for retirement plan purposes.
