Department of Veterans Affairs announced it has guaranteed 20 million home loans since its home loan program was established in 1944 as part of the original GI Bill of Rights for returning World War II Veterans. The 20 millionth loan was guaranteed for a home in Woodbridge, Va., purchased by the surviving spouse of an Iraq War Veteran who died in 2010. (www.va.gov) On June 22, 2019, the VA loan program celebrated its 75th anniversary since the passing of the original Servicemen's Readjustment Act, also knowns as the G.I. Bill. During the celebration, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced the program had guaranteed 24 million VA home loans since its inception. On June 25, 2019, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 was signed into law temporarily increasing the VA funding fee for active duty service members and veterans starting January 1, 2020. The law removed VA county loan limits for homebuyers with full VA loan entitlement and made Purple Heart recipients exempt from paying the VA funding fee. Several members of Congress were displeased after the passing of the act, writing an open letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy asking that future bills not be paid for by increasing VA loan fees. Funding fees A funding fee must be paid to VA unless the veteran is exempt from such a fee because he or she receives any VA disability compensation. It is a myth that the disability compensation must be some percentage, "such as minimum of 10%". The statute actually reads, "...38 U.S. Code § 3729.Loan fee - (1) A fee may not be collected under this section from a veteran who is receiving compensation (or who, but for the receipt of retirement pay or active service pay, would be entitled to receive compensation) or from a surviving spouse of any veteran (including a person who died in the active military, naval, or air service) who died from a service-connected disability..." If a veteran is awarded disability compensation after paying a funding fee, he/she can apply for a refund of this funding fee, so long as the beginning date of the disability is prior to the closing date of the home mortgage. In August 2012, Congress passed a bill that allows a Veteran to receive the benefits of having Veteran Disability while it is still pending. The amount paid for the funding