Rebuttal to Argument Against Proposition 32

The Cal-Vet Home Loan Program is California's means of keeping the promise to honor those who served. Veterans using the Program are not simply "lucky home buyers"; they are individuals who have made sacrifices for State and Country.

The Cal-Vet Home Loan Program has no direct cost to taxpayers. It is true that the program is funded by the sale of tax-exempt bonds, but the investors purchase these bonds as a part of their tax-exempt strategies. If they did not purchase these bonds, which are used to benefit veterans and in turn to bolster California's real estate industry, purchasers would find other tax-exempt investments that might not benefit California, or our veterans.

Contrary to the arguments against the Veterans Bond Act, the Program is fully justified:

1. The bonds in question are General Obligation Bonds. These bonds can be used only by veterans who have wartime service and are purchasing homes in California.

2. State and federal laws determine the use of tax-exempt bonds. Loans are underwritten, according to common industry practice, by the staff of the California Department of Veterans Affairs. More than 412,000 veterans have benefited from the Program since its inception in 1921.

HONORABLE GRAY DAVIS
Governor
ASSEMBLYMAN JOHN A. DUTRA, Chair
Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs
SENATOR K. MAURICE JOHANNESSEN, Chair
Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs