The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee advanced H.R. 6047, the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act of 2025, on Feb. 11, adopting an amendment backed by ROA to expand VA home loan eligibility for reserve component servicemembers.
The amendment, introduced by Rep. Barrett (MI-08), broadens the definition of “active duty” for home loan purposes to include qualifying service under Title 10, Title 14 and Title 32 orders, as well as training duty.
The change would apply retroactively to service performed on or after Sept. 11, 2001.
Servicemembers who qualify solely because of a new 14 day threshold would pay an additional 1% funding fee — a compromise that allowed the amendment to advance.
ROA led a coalition with the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Association in support of the proposal and successfully opposed an effort to exclude Basic Training from qualifying service.
“Representative Barrett’s amendment would extend the promise of VA homeownership benefits to a new cohort of reserve component servicemembers and their families,” said retired Army Maj. Gen. John B. Hashem, ROA’s CEO. “At a moment of high housing costs, these benefits are essential to making homeownership attainable for those who serve.”
Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA 39) expressed concern about the added fee but ultimately supported the amendment, which passed 23–0.
In their coalition letter, ROA, EANGUS, and MCRA urged a thorough review of the proposed additional fee in Section 3 of the amendment, along with the broader fee adjustments in the bill, to assess their impact on the VA home loan program’s purchasing power, solvency, and the break even horizon for veterans when refinancing.
“Without such scrutiny, these changes risk diminishing the program’s affordability and pricing out the very servicemembers it was designed to support,” the letter stated.
“Should the review conclude that these adjustments make housing under the program unaffordable or significantly extend the break even horizon in a way that compromises the program’s intended flexibility, we strongly recommend reconsideration and appropriate corrective action.”
The full bill as amended advanced 13 10 and now heads to the House floor.
Watch the markup here.