Mark Takano
Representative for California · Democratic · United States
“They should have to look in the eyes of our sailors who were on the USS Lincoln, our soldiers and our airmen and marines in the Middle East and tell them: Thank you for your service, but we are cutting your benefits.”
House of Representatives16 September 2026Source ↗
“House Republicans' posture this week--our last week of session before an unexpected recess--is honestly symbolic of their posture with veterans in this Congress. At every turn, the majority has ensured that veterans were at the end of their priority list, from benefits-cutting legislation to canceled oversight hearings.”
House of Representatives16 September 2026Source ↗
“Our own estimates now put that figure in excess of 17,000 foreclosures. Let's review how we got here. The unprecedented crisis of COVID-19 required action from the VA to prevent the loss of hundreds of thousands of homes.”
House of Representatives16 September 2026Source ↗
“Billions of dollars are going to private industry on the backs of veterans serving our country. Oracle isn't the only company getting rich or richer while the rest of America struggles with rising healthcare costs, expensive groceries, and sky-high gas prices.”
House of Representatives16 September 2026Source ↗
“However, last year, Secretary Collins, President Trump, and Elon Musk's DOGE abruptly ended the VASP program, giving veterans no notice that a critical lifeline for borrowers was being ripped away. The decision was for and celebrated by Chairman Bost and subcommittee Chairman Van Orden.”
House of Representatives16 September 2026Source ↗
“This victory belongs to them, but our work is not over until the Major Richard Star Act is signed into law. We have come too far, built too much momentum, and brought together too powerful a coalition to stop now. We must force the majority to act.”
House of Representatives16 September 2026Source ↗
The complete record
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“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 586, the Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act, as amended. Liver fluke is a serious parasitic infection that is a well- recognized risk factor for the development of bile duct cancer. H.R. 586, as amended, would require VA, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to commence an epidemiological study on the prevalence of bile duct cancer in veterans who served in the Vietnam war versus their nonveteran U.S. resident counterparts. This legislation requires VA to submit a report with the results of the study broken out by age, gender, race, ethnicity, and geographic location.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Speaker, in closing, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 1228, the Prioritizing Veterans' Survivors Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“``Even a straightforward solution, such as forcing veterans to sell their homes to cover their arrears, would not leave the veteran better off precisely because the cost of housing has increased dramatically in the past 5 years. Until better policy solutions are in place that provide for stronger underwriting, ending the VASP program abruptly will only harm veterans and their families. ``Congress, VA, and other stakeholders must work together to offer practical, cost-effective solutions that better serve veterans. Our veterans earned their home loan guarantee benefit, and they deserve a viable option to get back on track with payments and keep their homes. ``Secretary Collins, you have repeatedly stated that the mission of VA is to serve veterans and that no benefits would be cut. We call on you now to follow your words.'' {time} 1645 Mr.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“All have testified that VASP is the only program of its kind that currently exists as the last resort for veterans facing foreclosure. ``Critics of VASP, who believe the program will incentivize veterans to purposely default on their loans to get a lower mortgage rate, grossly misunderstand and mischaracterize the sacrifices veterans and their loved ones have made in service to our Nation. The VA should learn from its past, when in the 1990s, GAO found that VA- insured homes foreclosed upon was the most expensive option, costing VA an average of $25,387, which is the equivalent of $65,038 today. While past policies have assumed that veterans have been financially irresponsible for assuming mortgages they can't afford, today's financial and housing market puts veterans at risk of losing their homes in a much more vulnerable situation.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“We write today to urge you to immediately reverse this decision, and avoid foreclosing on veterans who simply wish to keep paying their mortgage and keep their home. ``Since the inception of the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program (VASP) in May 2024, over 17,000 veterans have been able to avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes.'' This represents 0.46 percent of the 3.7 million total loans under the VA home loan program. ``VASP was established as a last resort option within VA's Home Retention Waterfall to help veterans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this emergency, Congress and the VA rightfully allowed borrowers to request forbearance and allowed missed payments to be added to the end of the loan term.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I will return back to the issue of VASP and read aloud a letter that I am circulating to my colleagues for a signature to the Secretary, and it begins with: ``Dear Secretary Collins: On April 3, 2025, you abruptly announced the closure of the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program (VASP), leaving tens of thousands of veterans at risk of foreclosure. These actions were taken unilaterally, leaving veterans, veterans service organizations, and mortgage services unsure how the closure would be administered, and what would happen to veterans that are already reeling from this administration's assault on veterans and our economy.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Your stories demonstrate bravery and courage, and you deserve every ounce of our effort in creating a VA that is welcoming and accessible, and every dollar of benefits we can muster on your behalf. Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I ask my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Representative Jahana Hayes has introduced legislation to raise the levels of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation benefits to be on par with other Federal survivors' programs. We have Republican Members like Richard Hudson, who has introduced the Love Lives On Act, with Veterans' Affairs Committee member Representative Kelly Morrison, that would repeal the ridiculous penalties survivors face when they choose to remarry. My hope is that we can consider those bills soon. In the meantime, however, I do support this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to support it, as well. I extend a special thanks to the survivors who may be listening today and those who are with us only in spirit.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“That is why I am deeply concerned by all of the DOGE cuts to the VA's outreach efforts. Overall, we have seen an underutilization of survivors' benefits, so we must do whatever we can to remedy that situation. This bill is a small but important step in that process. I would be remiss, however, if I didn't also point to other legislation that we can and should be taking up to improve benefits for survivors. I have introduced H.R. 2278, the Survivor Benefits Delivery Improvement Act, a bill that puts new tools in the VA's hands to aid in reaching survivors where they are and better inform them of the benefits they have earned. We have Members, like Representative Julia Brownley, who have introduced legislation to extend CHAMPVA eligibility.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“The VA made this move with the idea that it would increase emphasis on the office and oversight of OSA as VBA has more capacity to properly oversee the function. However, the survivors' community has been critical of this move, characterizing it as a downgrade of the function and a diminishing of the importance of survivors in the VA's mission. H.R. 1228 is responsive to those concerns. Now, historically, there has been a lack of resources dedicated to the mission of serving survivors. For example, there are only four employees in the Office of Survivors Assistance to serve over 450,000 potentially eligible beneficiaries. By the way, Secretary Collins actually fired one of those four people. We also see a lack of awareness of who is part of the survivors' community, where the community is, and a lack of direct and targeted outreach.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 1228, the Prioritizing Veterans' Survivors Act. The bill requires the VA to move the Office of Survivors Assistance, or OSA, to a position directly reporting to the Office of the VA Secretary. The Office of Survivors Assistance was established by statute in 2008 to serve as a resource regarding all benefits and services furnished by the Department to survivors and dependents of deceased veterans and members of the Armed Forces. OSA also serves as a principal adviser to the Secretary and promotes the use of VA benefits, programs, and services to survivors. VA moved the supervision of OSA from the Office of Outreach, Transition and Economic Development to VBA's Pension and Fiduciary Service.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“VA had the tools, and has the responsibility, to intervene when veterans faced foreclosure. VASP was working. It had already helped over 15,000 veterans keep their homes with tens of thousands more eligible. Ending it based on the false narrative that veterans would game the system is an insult to their service and sacrifices. This decision abandons our values. It punishes the very people who kept their promise to America. Mr. Speaker, it is our turn to keep our promise to them. I urge my colleagues to support the FAIR Act and send a clear message: We don't let veterans fall through the cracks. Not on our watch. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 983, the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Ending this critical support without a clear plan is not just reckless, but it is cruel. That is why I am introducing the Foreclosure Assistance Immediately Reinstated, or FAIR Act, to reinstate the VASP program and make it clear that VA's job is to help veterans stay in their homes, not push them into homelessness. The VA Home Loan Program has been a pillar of the American middle class since the original GI Bill. It helped returning World War II veterans achieve economic security through homeownership. Yet, today's veterans, facing high costs, low wages, and an unstable economy, need that same promise fulfilled. Let me be very clear. This is not a handout. These are earned benefits. Veterans stepped up to defend our country, our Nation, and they deserve more than empty slogans and broken promises in return.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“The decision came down just hours after the new Trump tariffs sent our economy reeling, plunging the stock market, increasing job insecurity, and deepening financial strain on working families, including veterans. It is hard to imagine a starker representation of their values. At the very moment veterans are needing stability, the administration chose to take it away. They did it while Republicans in Congress are pushing massive tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. The Republicans are pushing for massive tax cuts for billionaires while forcing veterans into foreclosures. Veterans who served this Nation are now calling our offices, panicked and unsure if they will lose their homes. They don't know what is next, and the truth is neither does VA. Secretary Collins has provided no answers and no alternatives to VASP.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, while the House debates various veterans-related legislation today, none are more urgent than the legislation I am introducing to stop thousands of veterans from losing their homes. Last Thursday, Secretary Doug Collins and President Trump announced the abrupt termination of the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program, known as VASP. This program was designed to prevent foreclosures for veterans with VA home loans who had exhausted every other option. With no notice, no replacement, and no plan, the Trump administration decided that these veterans are on their own.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“It preserves the GI Bill benefits for student veterans, and it makes the entire GI Bill program more solvent and sustainable so that the GI Bill stays available for veterans for generations into the future. Mr. Speaker, it is also crucial to ensure that selected reservists receive the same benefits as their Active-Duty counterparts by ensuring that in-State tuition is granted regardless of their residency. This bill will expand educational opportunities by providing them with more affordable education options. Their dedication to serving our country deserves nothing less. We passed this bill last Congress, but, unfortunately, the Senate did not consider it in time. I hope we finish this work in this Congress, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 983, the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2025. This bill mandates the Department of Veterans Affairs to deny courses that do not charge in-State tuition rates to veterans using certain educational assistance under title 10. The VA already has the authority to disapprove courses at higher education institutions that do not offer in-State tuition rates for other GI Bill beneficiaries. Mandating in-State tuition rates is good policy. It ensures that only schools who prioritize quality education at a fair price participate in the programs.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“We must do everything possible to ensure that student veterans are able to access their educational benefits and that they can get the quality education they deserve so that they can have a better chance of success after they transition from military service. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 981 and urge my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1615”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act, authored by Representative Mike Levin, created these Shopping Sheets, benefiting student veterans around the country who now know more about what a school offers and charges. This legislation further refines the sheets so that they can be better tailored for specific school programs and student needs. This is a welcome improvement that ensures we won't waste time on paperwork that doesn't benefit student veterans. Mr. Speaker, Democrats in the House have continued to advocate for increased transparency and quality of education for student veterans. Transparency and accountability in education are under assault with the dismantling of the Department of Education, which leaves student veterans and their hard-earned benefits at risk of exploitation and fraud.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 981, the Veterans Education Transparency and Training Act, or VETT Act, introduced by Representative Van Orden. The bill makes improvements to the Shopping Sheet that is offered to student veterans when they are applying to institutions of higher learning. These Shopping Sheets give student veterans more information about the schools they are considering before they take the major step of enrollment. This legislation improves student Shopping Sheets for enrollments at colleges and universities. The Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, Black history has shaped our country, and I am proud to celebrate Black History Month with my Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus colleagues. The coalition of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islanders, and Black Americans has worked hand-in-hand for generations to advance racial equality.”
House of Representatives25 February 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the brave firefighters who have stepped into the breach to take on the fires raging across southern California. Their bravery has been on full display these past weeks, including in my own district, where they have valiantly and swiftly responded in Jurupa Valley to the Clay fire. We all owe them our thanks.”
House of Representatives23 January 2025Source ↗