Date: 2007-05-07
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. while I do not oppose H.R. 1642. the Homeless Housing at Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center Promotion Act. I do have some concerns about the bill. This legislation would r6quire that the enhanceduse lease for a homeless veterans housing project at the Sepulveda VA Outpatient Clinic provide soberliving housing exclusively for veterans. The bill also mandates that the housing project be adequately staffed and provide for not fewer than 150. nor more than 250. residents. At first glance. this sounds like a reasonable requirement. In fact. it is my understanding that the original lease proposal by New Directions. which received the support of the local community leaders. contained a veteransonly facility with a soberliving campus. However. when New Directions sought additional funding through the Housing and Urban Development Agendy. HUD. due to Federal H.UDs governance requirements. they could no longer stipulate in the contract that the facility would be a veteransonly "with no alcohol on the premises" facility. New Directions is a residential substance abuse and mental health treatment program created by a Vietnam veteran and former homeless veteran John Keaveney. Since 1991. New Directions has been working in conjunction with other service providers and the Department of Veterans Affairs to help assist homeless veterans. In 1994. New Directions became the first social services agency in the country to provide temporary housing and services to homeless female veterans as well as family members of veterans. To address these issues. Secretary of Veterans Affairs. James Nicholson. on March 8. 2007. sent a letter to the New Directions administration that would operate the housing under a dryhousing model whereby the residents would agree not to use alcohol or intoxicating drugs. With more than 20.000 homeless veterans in that area. it was anticipated that all of the beds could be filled entirely with veterans. Mr. Speaker. here is my concern: the Congressional Budget Office in their April 30. 2007 cost estimate for this bill stated: "VA is currently in the process of finalizing an enhanceduse lease for the Sepulveda facility with a nonprofit organization. New Directions. However. New Directions cannot reach the specified conditions in this bill. Based on information from VA. CBO expects that under the bill. the Department would be required to break off arrangements with New Directions and search for qualified organizations. a process that could take a few years." New Directions has agreed to operate under a dryhousing model. and -there is certainly a sufficiently large veterans homeless population in the area to virtually guarantee that the facility will be occupied entirely with veterans. -Yet my colleagues wish to impose this legislation which would significantly delay the project. Mr. Speaker. I understand why the local community would want this legislation. However. H.R. 1642 does not address what happens to the hundreds of homeless veterans in the north Los Angeles area who would have been helped by this facility while they wait several years for the VA to begin this process to enter into a new lease. With the passage of this legislation. are these homeless veterans still on the street waiting for a lease with better terms? Thats the question that the * American public deserves an answer to. I would hope that this body can be offered some assurances that temporary provision will be made for the many homeless veterans during this hopefully brief period of delay while a new lease is negotiated. Then. Mr. Speaker. I would be more comfortable in supporting this bill. " Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.