Native Vetsuccess At Tribal Colleges and Universities Pilot Program Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. MANN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to highlight veterans bills before the House floor.

I appreciate the opportunity to first highlight legislation that Representative Pappas and I introduced, aimed at helping veteran homelessness.

H.R. 2878 and the Affordable Housing for Homeless Veterans Act of 2021 would increase the number of affordable housing options to help reduce the recent uptick in veteran homelessness due to the ongoing pandemic.

Our job on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee is to ensure that we are taking care of and doing right by our veterans. This legislation works to do just that. Curbing veterans' homelessness and ensuring our Nation's heroes are not without shelter for themselves and their families is a top priority for me. There are over 37,000 veterans experiencing homelessness in America. This is not acceptable for our veterans, and we must be part of the solution.

I was pleased to see the Department of VA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development align efforts to join forces to find ways to end veteran homelessness. One of the priorities mentioned by VA and HUD is increasing the supply and access to affordable housing.

My legislation reauthorizes and amends the program that allows the Secretary of VA to sell, lease, rent or donate a home which was acquired by VA because a veteran defaulted on their VA-guaranteed home loan to a public housing authority, grant and per diem provider, or a Supportive Services for Veterans Families service provider.

The public housing authority or providers could then use these homes to shelter other veterans and their families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

By reauthorizing this program and removing some burdensome regulations from the old program, the number of affordable housing options in higher cost areas will increase and provide relief to veterans who have limited affordable housing options.

I was pleased this legislation received bipartisan support from my colleagues on the committee, as well as many members not on the committee. This broad support shows a willingness by this House of Representatives to implement these impactful changes for our veterans across the country.

I also had the opportunity to speak with VA Secretary McDonough when he visited VA facilities in Kansas. I spoke to him about the Affordable Housing for Homeless Veterans Act, and he was encouraged about the work we were doing in the committee to help veterans. I look forward to my continued partnership with Secretary McDonough and the VA.

I also want to quickly highlight another piece of legislation I introduced along with Representative Lamb, the VA Equal Employment Counseling Modernization Act.

This legislation removes burdensome regulations by simply removing the cap on the number of full-time employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs who provide equal opportunity employment counseling. It is a small, incremental change, but changes like this help the VA get our veterans into jobs quickly and ensure we are giving them the best care and guidance possible.

I thank Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Bost for allowing me to speak on behalf of the Affordable Housing for Veterans Act. I look forward to passing these pieces of legislation and continuing to work with everyone to help veterans.

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