Congresswoman Waters Applauds Passage of Veterans' Housing Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Homes for Heroes Act (H.R. 3329), legislation which will expand the supply of permanent housing for our country's veterans.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-35), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity and a cosponsor of the legislation, said "No man or woman who has served this country honorably, whether in a time of war or peace, should ever have to live in a homeless shelter or on the streets of our nation. I thank my colleague Congressman Al Green for authoring this much-needed bill."
H.R. 3329 will strengthen housing assistance for homeless veterans and their families by providing a yearly $200 million to fund a federal assistance program. This program will provide for the production of permanent supportive housing and allocate an additional 2,000 rental housing vouchers a year to be used by veterans and their families.
"Veterans are already severely overrepresented among the homeless, and I am very concerned that many of the men and women now fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan will return to America in need of housing and social services. This additional demand poses challenges for communities across the country," Congresswoman Waters said.
H.R. 3329 fills a tremendous void in the current federal response to veterans' homelessness as there is currently no other program in place to develop permanent housing for veterans and their families.
"Tonight at least 200,000 veterans will be forced to sleep on the streets or in a shelter. Throughout the year, a total of 400,000 veterans will experience the plight of homelessness. It is simply unacceptable that so many Americans, including so many who have served our country honorably, do not have housing. Homes for Heroes is an important step in reducing the numbers of homeless veterans," Congresswoman Waters said.
Veterans are just one-tenth of the general population, but they comprise nearly one fourth of America's homeless.
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