Military home assistance program expanded

SAN DIEGO, May 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Defense Department will expand temporarily its Homeowners Assistance Program with $555 million in stimulus funds, Vice President Joe Biden said.

"The sacrifices military families make for our country -- in terms of deployments, but also moving several times in their career -- are immense," Biden said Thursday in remarks aboard the USS Ronald Reagan in San Diego. "They often don't get to choose when they move and may be forced to sell their homes when they don't want to."

The expanded program will assist families forced to relocate due to base closures or normal assignment rotations, Biden said. It also will give priority access to funds for survivors of service personnel killed during deployment, as well as troops who were wounded, ill or injured during deployment.