Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman that less than three weeks after being sworn in, Democrat Pat Ryan passed his first bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 29. Ryan's bill would give access to VA home loans to those National Guard and reserve forces conducting active duty for training or in training pipelines for specialized areas. The “Expanding Home Loans for Guard and Reservists Act” passed 296-127, a rare bipartisan vote, and now heads to the U.S. Senate. The Veterans Health Care Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 left out National Guard service members and reservists conducting active duty for training or entering into a longer training pipeline, and this bill would close that loophole. “There’s some guardsmen and women who were and weren’t eligible even though they were serving in the same battalion, in the same unit, in the same place. It shouldn’t matter,” said Ryan, who was elected in a special election for New York's 19th Congressional District after Democrat Antonio Delgado resigned to become lieutenant governor. “This is really addressing that and righting that wrong.” Ryan was sworn in Sept. 13, and faces another election this fall, but he is running in the 18th Congressional District, after the lines were redrawn. “I feel tremendous pride I’m able to help the veterans on something so important,” Ryan said. “This is really important, especially given the intersection of rising home prices and veterans’ homelessness.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.