Date: 2009-06-16
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentlelady for her generous- comments and her appeal to colleagues to support this important piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker. I would like to submit for the RECORD a letter that has been signed by 16 organizations that are supporting this piece of legislation. Hon. AL GREEN. House of Representatives. Washington. DC. DEAR REPRESENTATIVE GREEN: We are writing to express our overwhelming support for H.R. 403. the Homes for Heroes Act of 2009. legislation that would provide housing assistahce for very lowincome veterans. We urge the House of Representatives to pass this bill on Tuesday. June 16. 2009. " The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials recently reported on any given night. 131.000 veterans are homeless. Veterans are at a greater risk of becoming homeless due to health problems (post traumatic stress disorder. substance abuse issues. mental health disorders). economic issues (extremely lowor no livable income). and a shortage of affordable housing. While most currently homeless veterans served during prior coiflicts or in peacetime. the newest generation of combat veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEFOIF). both men and women. are returning home and suffering from war related conditions that may put them at risk for homelessness. A growing trend in homelessness among these new veterans points to a need to develop a coordinated approach to reduce and ultimately eliminate homelessness among all veterans. Your bill. H.R. 403. the "Homes for Heroes Act of 2009." will provide shelter for homeless veteran families and help prevent lowincome families from falling into homelessness. The undersigned organizations are pleased the following legislative actions are contained in this bill: 1. Establish the position of Slecial Assistant forVeterafi Affairgwithin the Department of Housing and. Urban Development (HUD). 2. Establish permanent supportive housing and services for very lowincome veterans and their families through a $200 million assistance program. 3. Authorize HUD to provide housing assistance to private nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives to" expand the supply of permanent affordable housing. 4. Require HUD to coordinate with the VA to provide supportive services tailored to the needs of the very lowincome veteran families occupying supportive housing. 5. Expand the highly successful HUDVA Supportive Housing (HUDVASH) Program. authorizing 20.000 vouchers annually and making the program permanent. 6. Place additional priority on veterans and require all local public housing agencies to develop plans to address the needs of homeless veterans. 7. Authorize $1 million in IIUD grants to assist housing and service providers to execute their housing projects for very lowincome veteran families. 8. Require HUD to submit a comprehensive annual report to Congress on the housing needs of homeless veterans. To meet the current and future needs of our Nations most vulnerable veterans. we ask the House of Representatives to pass H.R. 403. the Homes for Heroes Act of 2009. Supporting this historic veteran homelessness preventiofi initiative will be a giant step forward towards ending veteran homelessness in America. Corporation for Supportive Housing Goodwill Industries International Local Initiatives Support Corporation Military Officers Association of America National Alliance to End Homelessness National Association for Black Veterans National Coalition for Homeless Veterans National Coalition for the Homeless National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty National Leased Housing Association National Low Income Housing Coalition National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness Vietnam Veterans of America American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging Services For the Aging National Association of Affordable Housing. Lenders National Equity Fund Mr. S1peaker. I reserve the balance of my time.