OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Homes for Heros Act of 2015

Floor Speech

Date: July 14, 2015
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Veterans Housing and Property

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would like to thank my colleague and friend, Mr. Green, for introducing this important bill, the Homes for Heroes Act of 2015.

This bill aims to help prevent low-income veteran families from falling into homelessness, while also providing relief for those who are currently homeless. This bill achieves these aims by elevating a position at HUD aimed specifically at coordinating efforts to ensure that all Federal agencies working to house our homeless veterans are working together at maximum capacity. This position will work closely with the HUD Secretary to achieve these outcomes.

The Homes for Heroes Act will also ensure the long-term coordination of services for homeless veterans by requiring HUD to submit a comprehensive annual report to Congress on the housing needs of homeless veterans.

This bill will help ensure that we continue to make progress on the goal of ending veteran homelessness so that we can ensure that every veteran has a roof over their head. Recent efforts to house our homeless veterans have seen bipartisan support in both the House and Senate in the form of supporting robust funding for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, also known as HUD-VASH. This bill should be no different.

Our veterans have been at the forefront of protecting this country, and we have an obligation here in Congress to protect and provide for those who are most vulnerable. No person in the country should be deprived of a safe, decent, and affordable place to call home. No person should be deprived of a roof over their head. This bill would help to ensure that we are taking care of those who have taken care of this country.

In addition, this bill is supported by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a national advocacy organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States.

An identical bill passed the House last Congress. I urge my colleagues to again pass this important piece of legislation.

I want to thank Mr. Green for his persistence in bringing forth this legislation. It is another wonderful moment for him.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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