ROA applauds the House passage of the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act of 2026 (H.R. 6047), a comprehensive veterans benefits package that includes the Home Affordability for Guard and Reserve Act as Section 5. The home loan provision was sponsored and championed by Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI), and the broader bill was shepherded through the House by Chairman Mike Bost (R-IL). H.R. 6047 now moves to the Senate for consideration.
The Home Affordability for Guard and Reserve Act expands VA home loan eligibility to cover the full range of duty statuses under which citizen-warriors serve, putting homeownership within reach for Guardsmen and Reservists and their families. For too long, the patchwork of duty statuses governing Reserve Component service has produced inequitable outcomes in VA home loan eligibility, with Reserve Component members performing the same missions as their Active Component counterparts yet finding themselves on the wrong side of statutory definitions written for a different era. Section 5 resolves that inequity.
ROA is especially grateful to Rep. Barrett for authoring the Home Affordability for Guard and Reserve Act and for his determined advocacy in securing its inclusion in H.R. 6047. His leadership on this provision delivers a long-overdue fix for the men and women of the Reserve Components.
In his floor remarks ahead of passage, Chairman Bost entered into the Congressional Record a coalition letter spearheaded by ROA endorsing the bill and urging its passage. ROA is grateful to Chairman Bost for elevating the coalition’s voice on the House floor and for the partnership his committee staff extended throughout the legislative process.
“This victory belongs to Rep. Tom Barrett, who authored and championed the Home Affordability for Guard and Reserve Act, and to Chairman Bost, whose leadership carried it across the floor,” said ROA Chief Executive Officer Major General John B. Hashem, USA (Ret.). “Together they have delivered overdue parity for the men and women who serve in our Reserve Components. ROA is grateful for their stewardship, for the professionalism of their staffs, and for the recognition Chairman Bost gave to the broader coalition by entering our joint letter into the Congressional Record.”
ROA will continue to advocate alongside its coalition partners for swift Senate consideration of H.R. 6047 and looks forward to seeing the bill signed into law.