退伍军人斯科特·博伊德与他的狗杰西在家中，位于俄亥俄州哥伦布市附近。一次贷款重组使他的退伍军人事务部住房贷款月供增加了近1200美元。由于从事军事情报工作，博伊德要求美国国家公共电台在任何照片中不要露出他的脸。
Army veteran Scott Boyd stands in his home with his dog, Jessi, near Columbus, Ohio. A loan modification raised his VA home loan payment by nearly $1,200 every month. Because of his work in military intelligence, Boyd asked that NPR not include his face in any photographs.
麦迪·麦加里为美国国家公共电台拍摄 自去年特朗普政府关闭一项旨在帮助退伍军人的低息贷款计划以来，数千名持有退伍军人事务部担保抵押贷款的退伍军人遭遇了更高的利率和月供。
Maddie McGarvey for NPR Thousands of military veterans with VA-backed mortgages have been hit with higher interest rates and monthly payments since last year, when the Trump administration shut down a low-interest program designed to help them.
美国国家公共电台的一项调查从退伍军人事务部获得了此前未曾报道的数据。调查显示，在因经济困难而进行贷款重组的退伍军人中，超过1.5万人的月供增加了至少150美元。超过700名退伍军人的月供增加了1000美元或更多。
Among veterans who had their loans modified after a financial hardship, more than 15,000 saw their monthly payments increase by at least $150, according to an NPR investigation that obtained previously unreported data from the Department of Veterans Affairs. More than 700 veterans suffered payment increases of $1,000 or more.
贷款机构提供贷款重组，是为了让房主能够补上逾期未还的款项。这涉及更改贷款条款，对绝大多数美国人来说，重组要么降低月供，要么维持不变，取决于他们能负担多少。但退伍军人事务部贷款并非如此，因为该部突然终止了这项计划。
Lenders offer loan modifications to enable homeowners to catch up on missed payments. It involves changing the loan terms, and for the vast majority of Americans, it either lowers their payment or keeps it the same, depending on what they can afford. But that's not the case for VA loans, since the VA abruptly ended the program.
美国国家公共电台发现，获得贷款重组的退伍军人中，63%的人月供上涨；相比之下，由政府支持的房利美和房地美担保的贷款（覆盖了美国大部分抵押贷款市场）在进行重组时，月供并未出现类似上涨。
NPR found that 63% of veterans who received a loan modification were hit with a payment increase, compared with just for modifications of loans guaranteed by the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which cover most of the U.S. mortgage market.
加利福尼亚州民主党众议员马克·高野是众议院退伍军人事务委员会的首席议员。在美国国家公共电台分享调查结果后，他表示：“这简直是疯狂至极。”
"This is the height of insanity," said California Democratic Rep. Mark Takano, the ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, after NPR shared its findings.
“这些退伍军人已经陷入经济困境——他们本来就已经有麻烦了，”他说。像斯科特·博伊德这样的退伍军人正在实实在在地付出代价。
"These are veterans that are already financially distressed — they were already in trouble," he said. Veterans like Scott Boyd are literally paying the price.
博伊德十几岁时，他的父亲死于癌症。他说，他把参军视为开始帮助家人的一条明确道路。
When Boyd was a teenager, his dad died of cancer. He said he saw the military as a clear path to start helping his family.
“我16岁时，我妈妈签了那些文件，”博伊德回忆道。“我当时想，‘我要把工资寄回家照顾我妈。’”他从步兵做起，经历过实战。后来，博伊德在军队情报部门工作，待过一些危险的地方。2002年退伍时，他掌握的技能为他进入科技行业打下了基础。2021年，他用退伍军人事务部的住房贷款在俄亥俄州哥伦布附近买了一套房子。和当时的其他购房者一样，他拿到了很低的利率。“我觉得非常幸运，”他说。
"My mom signed paperwork when I was 16," Boyd recalled. "I'm like, 'I'm sending my checks home to take care of my mom.'" He started out in the infantry and saw combat. Later, Boyd worked in Army intelligence in some dangerous places. When he got out in 2002, he had skills that set him up for a career in tech. In 2021, he bought a house near Columbus, Ohio, using a VA home loan. Like other buyers at the time, he got a nice low-interest rate. "I felt very blessed," he said.
但几年后，博伊德遭遇了一场危机：他在一次大规模裁员中失去了工作，他说自己的作战经历以创伤后应激障碍的形式回来纠缠他。他住进代顿退伍军人事务部医院接受治疗，但房贷开始拖欠。
But a few years later, Boyd hit a crisis: He lost his job in a mass layoff, and he said his time in combat came back to haunt him in the form of PTSD. He checked himself into the Dayton VA hospital for treatment but fell behind on his mortgage.
博伊德和成千上万的其他退伍军人被迫接受了成本高得多的修改后住房贷款。数百人每月至少多还1000美元。
Boyd and thousands of other veterans were pushed into much-higher-cost modified home loans. Hundreds are paying at least $1,000 more a month.
大多数美国人在这种情况下都能得到帮助。抵押贷款公司不想收回房产，因为公司和房主都会遭受损失。因此，他们有可以动用的手段来帮助那些拖欠还款的人。
Most Americans can get help in a situation like this. Mortgage companies don't want to foreclose because both they and the homeowner experience losses. So they have levers they can pull to help people who've fallen behind on payments.
博伊德的贷款机构告诉他不用担心，因为退伍军人事务部有一个贷款宽限计划，允许他暂停还款，并在之后为他提供一种负担得起的补缴方式。“后来我发现那不是真的，”他说。
Boyd's lender told him that he didn't have to worry because the VA had a loan forbearance program that would allow him to pause his payments and provide him with an affordable way to catch up after. "I later found out that wasn't true," he said.
那不是真的，因为特朗普政府随后关停了退伍军人事务部住房贷款计划的一个关键部分。它名为退伍军人事务部贷款服务购买（VASP）计划。没有它，像博伊德这样的退伍军人就陷入困境，除了按如今更高的利率接受成本高得多的修改后住房贷款外别无选择。
It wasn't true because the Trump administration then shut down a key part of the VA's home loan program. It was called the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program Without it, vets like Boyd were stranded with no option but a much-higher-cost modified home loan at today's higher interest rates.
Planet Money 退伍军人贷款灾难 在博伊德的案例中，他现在每月要多还1181美元。
Planet Money The veteran loan calamity In Boyd's case, he is now stuck paying $1,181 more — every month.
“这太离谱了，”博伊德说。“我记得我当时就在想，‘这简直是坏透了。’”国会中一些人也同意这一点。
"This is outrageous," said Boyd. "I remember just thinking to myself, 'This is just so broken.'" Some in Congress agree.
“退伍军人事务部住房贷款计划不应让这位经历过地狱般磨难的退伍军人、这位作战老兵的处境变得更糟、更令人焦虑，”塔卡诺谈到博伊德的具体案例时说道。
"The VA home loan program should not be making things worse and more stressful for that veteran, a combat veteran, who's been through hell," said Takano, about Boyd's case in particular.
2025年，民主党籍加利福尼亚州众议员马克·塔卡诺在国会山发言。
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., speaks on Capitol Hill in 2025.
罗德·兰基/美联社 伊利诺伊州共和党众议员迈克·博斯特，众议院退伍军人事务委员会主席，未回应美国国家公共电台（NPR）的多次置评请求。NPR还联系了威斯康星州共和党众议员德里克·范奥登，他是该委员会成员，曾主导要求终止VASP计划的呼吁。他也没有回应置评请求。
Rod Lamkey/AP Illinois Republican Rep. Mike Bost, chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, did not respond to NPR's repeated requests for comment. NPR also reached out to Wisconsin Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a committee member who led the call to wind down the VASP program. He also did not respond to requests for comment.
退伍军人事务部在一份声明中表示，该部门通过付款延期、贷款修改和个性化还款计划等项目，帮助数千名退伍军人“保住住房所有权和/或避免止赎”。
The VA said in a statement that it helps thousands of veterans "retain homeownership and/or avoid foreclosure through programs like payment forbearance, loan modifications and individualized repayment plans."
退伍军人事务部此前已被警告此事会发生 在VASP计划关闭前，该计划通过将拖欠的付款纳入一笔利率为2.5%的新抵押贷款，帮助了数万名拖欠住房贷款付款的退伍军人。在当今利率较高的环境下，这使该计划成为退伍军人的救命稻草。
The VA was warned this would happen Before it was shut down, the VASP program was helping tens of thousands of veterans who had fallen behind on their home loan payments by rolling those missed payments into a new mortgage with a low 2.5% interest rate. That made the program a lifeline for vets in today's higher-interest-rate environment.
博伊德表示，他的抵押贷款公司一直告诉他，等他能恢复偿还抵押贷款时，他也可以使用VASP计划。
And Boyd said his mortgage company had been telling him that he too could use VASP when he was able to resume paying his mortgage.
“我会不断问他们：‘好吧，这拖欠的情况越来越严重了’，他们会说：‘你还有这最后一张王牌可以打。’” 这发生在2025年春天，即特朗普第二届政府上任仅几个月后。众议院退伍军人事务委员会的关键共和党成员公开反对VASP计划，该计划是拜登政府在其自身的退伍军人住房贷款灾难后创建的。共和党人警告称，VASP计划让纳税人为数千笔发放给难以偿还的退伍军人的贷款承担风险。
" I would constantly ask them, 'OK, this is getting further and further behind,' and they were like, 'You have this last lever to pull.'" This was in the spring of 2025, just months into the second Trump administration. Key Republicans on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee vocally opposed VASP, which the Biden administration created after its own VA home loan disaster Republicans warned that VASP was putting taxpayers on the hook for thousands of loans to vets who had trouble paying.
“如果拜登版本的退伍军人事务部偿还援助计划（VASP）得以继续，我担心我的退伍军人同胞未来将无法获得房屋贷款，”威斯康星州共和党众议员德里克·范奥登（Derrick Van Orden）于2025年3月11日在众议院退伍军人事务委员会听证会上表示。威斯康星州共和党众议员德里克·范奥登于10月20日在威斯康星州欧克莱尔发表讲话。他目前正面临激烈的连任竞选。
"If the Biden version of VASP was allowed to continue, I fear that the home loan will not exist in the future for my fellow veterans," said Van Orden during a House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing on March 11, 2025 Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., speaks in Eau Claire, Wis., on Oct. 20. He is currently in a tight race for reelection.
美联社的埃伦·施密特（Ellen Schmidt）摄 但在同一场听证会以及致国会的信件和新闻稿中，抵押贷款行业和住房团体明确警告特朗普政府，在未首先为退伍军人创造另一个可行选项之前，切勿取消该计划。他们表示，如果退伍军人事务部在建立替代方案之前关闭该计划，退伍军人的处境将比其他美国房主面临更糟糕的选择。
Ellen Schmidt/AP But at the same hearing as well as in letters to Congress press releases the mortgage industry and housing groups explicitly warned the Trump administration not to kill the program without first creating another viable option for vets. They said if the VA shut down the program before standing up a replacement, vets would be left with far worse options than other American homeowners.
随着利率升至7%左右，他们警告称，唯一剩下的选择将是按当前较高利率办理的修改后贷款，这将导致那些无法承担更高月供的人遭遇房屋止赎。而这正是目前正在发生的事情。
With interest rates up around 7%, they warned that the only option left would be a modified loan at the current higher rates, which would result in foreclosures for those who couldn't afford the higher payments. And that's exactly what has been happening.
“当他们告诉我的时候，我一直在心里算账，你知道吗？”博伊德（Boyd）在谈到他被提供的贷款修改方案时说道。“如果我要从2.75%（的利率）涨到6.75%……这看起来太荒谬了，”他说。
" I was doing the math in my head as they were telling me, you know?" Boyd said about the loan modification he was presented with. "If I'm going from 2.75 to 6.75 … it seemed ridiculous," he said.
利率的这种跃升不仅会使他的月供增加近1200美元，而且他的贷款期限也被延长到了40年。因此，他月供中用于偿还本金的比例从大约一半，变成了现在超过90%的月供仅用于支付利息。
Not only would that jump in his interest rate boost his payment by nearly $1,200 every month, but his loan term was extended to 40 years. So he went from about half of his monthly payment going toward principal to now more than 90% of his payment going to cover just the interest.
住房政策委员会的的马修·道格拉斯表示：“在没有替代方案的情况下突然终止一个项目，这是一个可以预见的结果。”他代表美国最大的抵押贷款公司，也是警告退伍军人事务部不要终止VASP项目的人之一。当被问及美国国家公共电台的调查结果时，他说：“借款人将面临那种令人震惊的还款额增长，这在数学上是必然的。”
"This was a foreseeable outcome of abruptly ending a program without a replacement in place," said Matthew Douglas, of the Housing Policy Council. He represents the largest mortgage companies in the U.S. and was among those warning the VA not to kill VASP. Asked about NPR's findings, he said, "It's a mathematical certainty that borrowers are going to have those kind of shocking payment increases."
尽管有这些警告，特朗普政府仍于2025年5月1日终止了VASP项目——显然是与众议院共和党人协调进行的，后者在退伍军人事务部之前就宣布了这一举措，尽管VASP是通过行政手段终止的，国会并未进行投票。
Despite the warnings, the Trump administration ended the VASP program on May 1, 2025 — apparently in coordination with House Republicans, who announced the move before the Department of Veterans Affairs did, even though VASP was ended administratively, with no vote from Congress.
博斯特和范奥登在当时的一份联合新闻稿中表示：“我们——以及我们的许多同事——对VASP不仅会影响退伍军人事务部住房贷款项目的未来，还会影响整个抵押贷款行业的影响深感担忧。今天，特朗普政府理所当然地终止了退伍军人事务部的VASP项目。”
"We — along with many of our colleagues — had serious concerns about the impact VASP would have on not only the future of VA's home loan program, but the mortgage lending business as a whole. Today, the Trump administration rightfully put an end to VA's VASP program," Bost and Van Orden said in a joint press release at the time.
退伍军人事务部新闻秘书奎因·斯莱文在给美国国家公共电台的声明中写道：“国会中许多有影响力的声音支持终止VASP，因为该项目的整个退伍军人事务部住房贷款项目置于风险之中。”退伍军人事务部的新项目正在缓慢推出。博伊德与他的伴侣以及她四个孩子住在一起，他们共同抚养这些孩子。
In his statement to NPR, VA press secretary Quinn Slaven wrote: "many leading voices in Congress supported the termination of VASP, which put the entire VA home loan program at risk." The VA's new program slowly rolls out Boyd lives with his partner and her four children, whom they are raising together.
在范奥登呼吁废除VASP的同时，他已经起草了一项法案，用一个全新的退伍军人事务部部分索赔项目（PCP）来取代它。在退伍军人事务部终止VASP之后，国会迅速以广泛的两党支持通过了该法案。该法案指示退伍军人事务部为拖欠还款的退伍军人创建一个选项，使他们能够将未付的款项移到贷款期限的末尾。这样一来，退伍军人可以保留原有的抵押贷款，而不必被迫接受更高成本的贷款。
At the same time Van Orden was calling for VASP to be scuttled, he had written a bill to replace it with a new VA Partial Claim Program (PCP). Congress quickly passed that bill with broad bipartisan support in the wake of the VA scuttling VASP. It directed the VA to create an option for vets behind on payments, enabling them to move their missed payments to the back of their loan term. That way, vets could keep their original mortgage and not be forced into a higher-cost loan.
但在终止VASP后，退伍军人事务部耗时13个多月设计并公布新方案的细节，于今年6月完成。随后，行业又获得180天时间来实施该方案。大多数抵押贷款公司仍未提供该方案。
But after ending VASP, it took the VA more than 13 months to design and announce the details of the new program which it did in June of this year. And the industry was then given another 180 days to implement it. Most mortgage companies still do not offer it.
在那一空档期，数千名退伍军人获得了利率和还款额更高的修改贷款。退伍军人事务部的新PCP方案不会为这些退伍军人提供任何帮助——他们将继续困在这些修改贷款中。
In that gap, thousands of veterans got modified loans with higher interest rates and payments. The VA's new PCP program won't do anything to help those vets — they'll remain stuck in those modified loans.
国会可以提供帮助。博伊德手持一枚国防部在他服役期间赠予他的挑战币。
Congress could help Boyd holds a challenge coin from the Department of Defense that was given to him during his military service.
NPR就落入两个方案之间空档期的退伍军人问题询问了退伍军人事务部。退伍军人事务部发言人斯莱文在声明中表示，退伍军人事务部住房贷款项目“基于这样一个前提：虽然退伍军人可能需要一些帮助，但他们通常必须能够支付抵押贷款。”行业组织表示，提高陷入困境的房主的还款额，会使他们更有可能再次违约并面临止赎。
NPR asked the VA about the vets who fell into the gap between the two programs. Slaven, the VA spokesman, said in his statement that the VA home loan program "is based on the premise that while Veterans may need some assistance, they must generally be able to make their mortgage payments." Industry groups say raising a struggling homeowner's payment makes it more likely for them to redefault and face foreclosure.
根据行业数据，VASP终止后，退伍军人事务部贷款的止赎数量升至10年高点。专家在9月的国会圆桌会议上警告说，政府帮助这些退伍军人的时间所剩无几，否则一波止赎潮仍将到来。
Foreclosures on VA loans rose to a 10-year high after VASP was killed, according to industry data. Experts warned in a congressional roundtable in September that time is running out for the government to help these vets or a wave of foreclosures is still to come.
众议员高野告诉NPR，退伍军人事务部如果愿意，可以让这些退伍军人重新获得较低成本的抵押贷款，或者国会可以通过立法来实现。“我们可以为那些利率大幅上升的退伍军人做些什么，”高野说。
Rep. Takano told NPR that the VA, if it chose to, could put these vets back into lower-cost mortgages or that Congress could pass a law to do it. "We could do something for those veterans who saw a jump in their interest rates," Takano said.
艰难守住房子。博伊德说，在收到退伍军人事务部提供的更差贷款选项后，他感到挫败。
Hanging on to home Boyd says he feels defeated after receiving worse loan options from the VA.
在俄亥俄州哥伦布市郊，斯科特·博伊德仍在设法支付那些更高的抵押贷款。
Outside Columbus, Ohio, Scott Boyd is still managing to make those higher mortgage payments.
他说，当他买下这栋房子时，感觉这对他、他的伴侣以及他们共同抚养的四个孩子来说，是住所和稳定生活的保障。
When he bought the home, he said, it felt like a guarantee of shelter and stability for him, his partner and the four kids they are raising together.
他说：“我作出过承诺，无论如何，我都要建一个足够大的家……我想让他们上更好的学校，诸如此类。”
" I made a commitment, saying no matter what, I want to build a home that is big enough. … I wanted to get them in better schools and things like that," he said.
甚至在最近岳父生病时，他还能帮上忙。他们把岳父安置在装修好的地下室里，让他在那里接受居家临终关怀。
He was even able to help when his father-in-law became ill recently; they moved him into the finished basement, where he got home hospice care.
因此，当他拿到那份贷款修改的条款时，家里不仅有孩子，还有生命垂危的岳父。他经济上刚刚重新站起来，却被告知要么接受贷款修改，要么面临止赎。
So when he was presented with the terms of that loan modification, he had not only kids in the house but his dying father-in-law too. He'd just gotten back on his feet financially and was being told his options were the loan modification or foreclosure.
他说：“我的工作还是新的，感觉很不稳定……我的创伤后应激障碍也不稳定……当时看来，接受贷款修改似乎是正确的事。”
"My job was still new, and that still felt shaky. … My PTSD was shaky. … It seemed like the right thing to do was just to take the modification," he said.
博伊德签署贷款修改两周后，退伍军人事务部推出了新的“部分索赔计划”，该计划本可以让他保留原来的贷款条款，维持同样的月供和2.75%的低利率。又过了两个月，第一家抵押贷款公司才向退伍军人开放该计划，而业内大多数公司仍在努力赶在退伍军人事务部设定的11月28日截止日期前将该计划落实到位。
Two weeks after Boyd signed the loan modification, the VA launched the new Partial Claim Program that would have allowed him to keep his original loan terms with the same monthly payment and low 2.75% interest rate. It took two more months before the first mortgage company offered vets access to the PCP, and most of the industry is still working to stand up the program before the deadline that the VA gave it of Nov. 28.
博伊德说，他不常谈起自己的服役经历，也不觉得自己理应得到比其他美国人更好的待遇。但他没想到，退伍军人事务部会给他比那些从未服役者更糟糕的选择。
Boyd said that he doesn't often talk about his service and that he doesn't feel entitled to be treated better than any other American. But he did not expect the VA to give him worse options than those of people who never served.
博伊德说：“我最强烈的感受是受到了伤害。我没有生气，只是觉得自己非常挫败。”
" I really felt hurt more than anything. I wasn't angry. I was just like, I felt so defeated," Boyd said.
“我为这个国家所做的一切，我经历过的一切，看到过的一切，不得不面对的一切……最终却变成一句：‘是的，我很抱歉——我们的系统里还没有这个……对此我们无能为力。’”
"Everything that I've done for this country and the things that I've been through, the things that I've seen, the things I've had to deal with … it's come down to, 'Yeah, I'm sorry — it's not in our systems yet. … There's nothing we can do about it.'" VA Loan Veterans Affairs