OMAHA, NE — Navy veteran and congressional candidate Kishla Askins released the following statement following a new NPR investigation revealing that more than 10,000 veterans have lost their homes after the Trump administration shut down a key VA mortgage rescue program:

“More than 10,000 veterans losing their homes is not just unacceptable, it is a failure of leadership by the Trump administration.

Here in Nebraska, this hits close to home. Our state is deeply connected to the military through Offutt Air Force Base, home to U.S. Strategic Command and a strong community of veterans and military families who have earned the benefits they were promised.

“While exact local numbers aren’t publicly available, Nebraska is home to tens of thousands of veteran homeowners, meaning families here are among those impacted by this failure.”

I’ve spent 30 years in uniform caring for service members and their families, and I later served as a senior executive at the Department of Veterans Affairs working on enterprise-wide integration and reform. I know how these systems are supposed to function and this is not it.

The VA home loan program is one of the most important benefits earned through service. That trust was broken when the Trump administration shut down a critical safety net without a plan to protect the people who rely on it.

Leaders were warned this would happen and they proceeded anyway.”

According to the NPR investigation:

• More than 10,000 veterans have already lost their homes to foreclosure

• Nearly 90,000 more are at risk or already in the foreclosure process

• The VA shut down the VASP (VA Servicing Purchase) program without a replacement ready, despite industry warnings

Askins contrasted the administration’s priorities with its impact on veterans:

“The same administration asking for hundreds of billions of dollars for an unnecessary war is saying it can’t afford to keep veterans in their homes when they come back.

That is a fundamental failure of priorities.

When veterans and military families lose housing stability, it doesn’t just affect them — it affects readiness, retention, and the strength of our military communities.

This is about accountability. When decisions at the federal level harm veterans and their families, there must be answers and there must be action to fix it.”

Askins called for immediate action to stabilize the situation, including restoring effective loss-mitigation options and ensuring any replacement program is fully operational before policy changes are implemented.

“In Congress, I will ensure we keep our promises to our veterans, families, caregivers and survivors. This work includes ensuring veterans have reliable, consistent access to the benefits they earned, including protections that keep them in their homes.”

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