House subcommittee wants special consideration for impacted service members in foreclosures with security clearance

A House subcommittee wants to minimize the impact of home foreclosures on service members’ careers by requiring special consideration when a security clearance is given or renewed.


Draft legislation prepared for passage on Thursday by the House Armed Services Committee’s readiness panel would not guarantee that the loss of a home to foreclosure doesn’t hurt, but it would require that anyone with a record of foreclosure on their credit report receives a more careful review.

In a report accompanying the legislation, the panel says “the recent housing crisis and resulting foreclosures are a potential problem for members of the armed forces since a foreclosure could jeopardize their ability to apply for or renew a security clearance.”

The Defense Department has an initiative, the Homeowners Assistance Program, that could help military and civilian personnel avoid foreclosure when the value of their homes fall as a result of base closures or realignments, but the program has a $400 million shortfall that DoD officials have said will not be addressed until the 2013 budget.

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