Senators request increased Government Accountability Office oversight of VA loan program that assists Native American veterans in purchasing and improving homes
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema and a bipartisan group of Senators are calling for the federal government to review the Department of Veterans Affairs Native American Direct Loan program following reports noting low levels of participation in the program. The Native American Direct Loan program allows eligible Native American veterans to finance the construction, purchase, or improvement of a home in tribal communities.
“Native American veterans earned critical housing benefits, and the federal government must ensure the Native American Direct Loan program is effective and accessible for veterans in tribal communities,” said Sinema.
In the letter, Sinema called on the Government Accountability Office to lay out VA’s practices to collect comprehensive data on Native American veterans eligible to participate in the NADL program and to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in serving this veteran population.
Sinema also asked:
- What practices does USDA’s pilot program under their Rural Development service use to provide education and application support and how do these practices compare to those used by VA for the purposes of learning from other, similar programs?
- How does the VA Loan Guaranty Service’s reliance on the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Tribal Status Report impact the timeliness of VA’s loan servicing operations?
- What appraisal practices need to be reviewed that specifically relate to Native American home buyers, including those on Native American reservations?
A copy of the letter can be found HERE.