Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Bruce Braley (IA-01) released a statement after participating in a joint-chamber forum with Holly Petraeus on alleged mortgage-related violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Holly Petraeus serves as the Director of the Office of Servicemember Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Following the forum, Rep. Braley said:
"More and more, it seems our veterans are returning from combat only to face new challenges here at home. Whether it's an injury or a financial crisis caused by long deployments and time off from their civilian jobs, our veterans deserve to know that we're standing up for them. This forum identified serious problems and issues with the way banks and lending institutions currently treat our soldiers and their families - and we need to take action to protect them from this abuse. That's why I introduced the Protecting Veterans' Homes Act earlier this year. My bill will give our soldiers enough time to get back on their feet and get their finances in order before being kicked out of their homes. This is the least we can do for the brave men and women who serve this country."
In May, Rep. Braley introduced the Protecting Veterans' Homes Act to protect veterans from being foreclosed upon by big banks. The bill would give returning soldiers time to get their finances in order after long deployments. Currently, similar protections for veterans are set to expire in December of 2012. Rep. Braley's bill would make these protections permanent and would extend the grace period from nine months to a full year for veterans returning from deployments.
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