Governor Jim Doyle is announcing today at the State of Wisconsin Building Commission that $61 million in additional funding will be available for veterans mortgage loans. This action makes loans available for the first time to veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Somalia, the Gulf War, Panama, Grenada, and Lebanon.
Anticipating the possible enactment of federal legislation paving the way for the expansion, last December Governor Doyle instructed the Department of Administration to prepare a motion for State Building Commission to raise additional funding to expand the Wisconsin Veterans Home Loan Program. The Building Commission unanimously adopted a motion that has resulted in making available $61 million of the State of Wisconsin’s general obligation qualified veterans mortgage bonds.
“Veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan, and other more recent conflicts have made enormous sacrifices for our country, and I’m pleased that they will now have the same access to this program as other veterans,” Governor Doyle said. “Wisconsin has the best veterans system in the nation, and this action makes it even stronger.”
Wisconsin is one of five states in the nation that has a program to offer low-interest Veterans Primary Mortgage Loans to veterans, funded by tax-exempt bonds known has as the Qualified Veterans Mortgage Bonds. However, prior to the passage of recent federal legislation the internal revenue code limited the availability of these loans to military veterans who began their service prior to 1977. The federal legislation expanded the definition of eligibility to all qualifying veterans who are within 25 years of the date of their discharge from military service. The enactment of this legislation gives Wisconsin state veterans who have fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Somalia, the Gulf War, Panama, Grenada, and Lebanon access to the funds made available through the issuance of general obligation bonds as approved by the building commission.
