National Affairs: Untidy Housing

Since the close of World War II, the U.S. has put up $17 billion in loans under the G.I. Bill of Rights to help veterans buy their own homes. In the lending process, millions of dollars were siphoned off through bribery, favoritism and lax administration, a special House veterans’ committee reported last week.

Committee Chairman Olin Teague placed much of the blame for the trouble on the Veterans Administration, but it was clear that there was enough blame left over for unscrupulous home builders in major U.S. cities. Some builders have plied V.A. housing agents with gifts, thereby winning special consideration, unwarranted price increases or shortcuts on housing specifications. In the Washington, D.C. district, stated the committee, building costs have been inflated a fat 15% by the failure of housing officials to check on the real values of homes bought by veterans.

The committee’s general recommendations: 1) a housecleaning in the G.I. loan program itself; 2) strengthening of laws to give the V.A. authority to supervise contracts between builders and G.I. buyers, and to enforce minimum planning standards before granting loans.