CARES Act creates COVID-19 VA mortgage forbearance, allowing veterans to pause payments

Congress passes and President Trump signs the CARES Act, which includes a VA mortgage forbearance provision allowing veterans with VA-backed home loans who experience income loss from COVID-19 to pause mortgage payments for up to 360 days. Thousands of veterans use the program. But when the forbearance period ends in October 2022, the VA's partial claim program, which would allow veterans to move missed payments to the back of their loans, lacks authorization to restart, leaving veterans facing sudden lump-sum bills they cannot afford.