Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, today, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I am pleased to introduce the Homeless Veterans Assistance Improvement Act of 2012. No one who has made sacrifices to serve our Nation should ever be homeless, and this problem should never be ignored. The bill I am introducing today would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, to continue the important work of ending veteran homelessness.

The administration reported that on any given night in January 2011, an estimated 67,500 veterans were homeless. I want to commend the VA for its efforts to reduce the number of veterans sleeping in the streets. Between 2010 and 2011 the number of homeless veterans decreased by 12 percent, but the number of homeless women veterans has continued to increase. We are making great progress, in large part due to interagency collaborations, but there is still more work to be done.

In light of recent reports from VA's Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office, VA must do more to make its homeless veterans programs more welcoming to women and veterans with families. The reports highlighted limitations in available housing options for women veterans with children. Additionally, infrastructure needs such as private and secure rooms and showering facilities are often lacking placing women veterans in uncomfortable and potentially unsafe situations. We can and should do better.

The Homeless Veterans Assistance Improvement Act of 2012 helps achieve this goal by allowing VA to provide transitional housing services to the children of homeless veterans, where it is appropriate to do so. It also requires grantees who receive funding for transitional housing to meet the privacy, safety, and security needs of women veterans and veterans with families. No veteran should have to choose between housing and their safety or between housing and remaining with their family.

Other provisions in this legislation help VA to meet the self-identified, unmet needs of homeless veterans. VA conducts an annual assessment of homeless veterans, homeless programs staff, and grantees that ranks the top ten unmet needs of homeless veterans. The most recent report, which was from fiscal year 2010, highlights the fact that many homeless veterans ranked legal assistance among their top ten unmet needs for the last several years. Among the top-ranked needs for the last several years have been legal services and dental care. My legislation makes veterans in the HUD-VASH program eligible to participate in the Homeless Veterans Dental Program. It also ensures that a percentage of the funding available for homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing will be used for legal services to remove some of the barriers to obtaining or maintaining stable housing for homeless veterans.

This is not a full summary of all the provisions within this legislation. However, I hope that I have provided an appropriate overview of the major benefits this legislation would provide.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

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