Look-back Elimination Act of 2009

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 403) to provide housing assistance for very low- income veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 403.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Capito. She is an active member of the Financial Services Committee, and I thank her for managing today.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank Representative Michaud--also known as Michaud, depending on where you're from--for his outstanding work in helping with this bill. He is a cosponsor. I thank the ranking member, Spencer Bachus. Of course I thank the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Mr. Barney Frank. I also would like to thank the Housing Subcommittee Chair who has worked closely with me on this project, Representative Maxine Waters.

Mr. Speaker, the question may be posed in the mind of someone as to why we should pass the Homes for Heroes Act. I would like to answer this question. We need to pass this bill because, while many of us are sleeping in the sweets of life, too many of our veterans are sleeping in the streets of life. We need to pass it because, while many of us have homes and good jobs, too many of our veterans are homeless, with no jobs at all. We must pass this piece of legislation because America can't continue to be the home of the free and the land of the brave if too many of our brave veterans continue to be homeless.

Mr. Speaker, the statistics are shocking; they literally shock the conscience. Veterans are 9 percent of the population and more than 25 percent of the homeless. On any given night, 131,000 veterans are homeless, and 300,000 veterans will experience homelessness at some point in the course of 1 year. One-half of the veterans who are homeless suffer from mental illness, two-thirds suffer from alcohol or substance abuse. About 47 percent of homeless veterans are Vietnam veterans.

In Texas, there are about 16,000 homeless veterans. In my city of Houston, Texas, we have about 2,500 homeless veterans. Per the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 467,000 veterans spend more than 50 percent of their income on rent; 1.5 million veterans have incomes below the poverty line; and 643,000 veterans have incomes below 50 percent of the poverty line. Mr. Speaker, America needs to pass Homes for the Heroes because our veterans need homes.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 403 would establish a Special Assistant for Veteran Affairs within HUD. It would give this person the authority to coordinate services for homeless veterans. And this would be with the States, with local authorities, and with nonprofit organizations as well.

This bill establishes a $200 million assistance program in HUD for veterans for supportive housing and services for low-income veterans. It expands the very popular and very successful HUD Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program, authorizing 20,000 vouchers annually when funded. It authorizes $1 million in HUD grants to assist housing providers to help them provide the supportive services and the planning necessary to fulfill the needs of our veterans.

This bill would require HUD to submit an annual comprehensive report to Congress on homelessness among the veteran population. And this bill will do what is necessary as a great first step to ending homelessness among our veterans population. This bill is supported by 12 anti- homelessness and veterans organizations.

Mr. Speaker, if America is to continue to be the land of the free, America must provide homes for the brave.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I thank the gentlelady for her generous comments and her appeal to colleagues to support this important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit for the Record a letter that has been signed by 16 organizations that are supporting this piece of legislation.

June 12, 2009.

Hon. Al Green,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Green: We are writing to express our

overwhelming support for H.R. 403, the Homes for Heroes Act

of 2009, legislation that would provide housing assistance

for very low-income veterans. We urge the House of

Representatives to pass this bill on Tuesday, June 16, 2009.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials recently

reported on any given night, 131,000 veterans are homeless.

Veterans are at a greater risk of becoming homeless due to

health problems (post traumatic stress disorder, substance

abuse issues, mental health disorders), economic issues

(extremely low or no livable income), and a shortage of

affordable housing.

While most currently homeless veterans served during prior

conflicts or in peacetime, the newest generation of combat

veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom

(OEF-OIF), both men and women, are returning home and

suffering from war related conditions that may put them at

risk for homelessness. A growing trend in homelessness among

these new veterans points to a need to develop a coordinated

approach to reduce and ultimately eliminate homelessness

among all veterans.

Your bill, H.R. 403, the ``Homes for Heroes Act of 2009,''

will provide shelter for homeless veteran families and help

prevent low-income families from falling into homelessness.

The undersigned organizations are pleased the following

legislative actions are contained in this bill:

1. Establish the position of Special Assistant for Veterans

Affairs within the Department of Housing and Urban

Development (HUD).

2. Establish permanent supportive housing and services for

very low-income veterans and their families through a $200

million assistance program.

3. Authorize HUD to provide housing assistance to private

nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives to expand

the supply of permanent affordable housing.

4. Require HUD to coordinate with the VA to provide

supportive services tailored to the needs of the very low-

income veteran families occupying supportive housing.

5. Expand the highly successful HUD-VA Supportive Housing

(HUD-VASH) Program, authorizing 20,000 vouchers annually and

making the program permanent.

6. Place additional priority on veterans and require all

local public housing agencies to develop plans to address the

needs of homeless veterans.

7. Authorize $1 million in HUD grants to assist housing and

service providers to execute their housing projects for very

low-income veteran families.

8. Require HUD to submit a comprehensive annual report to

Congress on the housing needs of homeless veterans.

To meet the current and future needs of our Nation's most

vulnerable veterans, we ask the House of Representatives to

pass H.R. 403, the Homes for Heroes Act of 2009. Supporting

this historic veteran homelessness prevention initiative will

be a giant step forward towards ending veteran homelessness

in America.

Corporation for Supportive Housing

Goodwill Industries International

Local Initiatives Support Corporation

Military Officers Association of America

National Alliance to End Homelessness

National Association for Black Veterans

National Coalition for Homeless Veterans

National Coalition for the Homeless

National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty

National Leased Housing Association

National Low Income Housing Coalition

National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness

Vietnam Veterans of America

American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging

Services For the Aging

National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders

National Equity Fund

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I close by urging my colleagues to support this piece of legislation and to please consider the fact that our veterans have been there for us; this is an opportunity for us to be there for them.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support for the veterans' bills considered on the floor this week. I am very pleased that we have reached a point where we can begin to address the many institutional problems our returning soldiers endure under the Department of Veteran Affairs. While some of these issues can be attributed to administrative deficiencies, many of the department's problems can be helped by increased federal support. These brave men and women deserve our support as they risk their lives in combat. This support should be reflected in appropriate legislative action to ease the burdens they confront upon returning home. While many of us in Congress may disagree on our military strategy and presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, we can all agree that our returning veterans deserve far more than what they have received upon returning home from combat.

Although the Bush Administration initiated the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it failed to provide for critical veterans' health care benefits and programs that would have helped to reorient our returning troops into society. However, under a new administration and as evidenced by the bills considered this week, Congress is working diligently to introduce and pass critical legislation that will provide our veterans with long overdue support and efficient access to medical resources. Therefore, I am pleased to support all of the veterans' bills on the floor this week, and I commend my colleagues in Congress for their commitment to our nation's troops.

A New York Times report published last fall reported that the nation's newest veterans, particularly the wounded, are paying an exceptionally high price for their service to our country. According to various veterans' advocacy groups, the combination of injury and unemployment coupled with the long VA disability claims process has forced many veterans into foreclosure and other financial hardships. Thus, the legislation on the floor this week will provide for beneficial assistance through federal appropriations, employment and housing resources, and improved veterans' medical insurance programs.

H.R. 3219, the Veterans' Insurance and Health Care Improvements Act of 2009 will expand veterans' insurance and provide much needed healthcare improvements. Additionally, this measure establishes permanent VA authority to provide hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to Vietnam-era herbicide-exposed veterans and Persian Gulf War veterans who have insufficient medical

evidence to establish a service-connected disability. Undoubtedly, many of our current veterans from past and our present international conflicts stand to benefit a great deal from this bill.

In addition, H.R. 1293, the Disabled Veterans Home Improvement and Structural Alteration Grant Increase Act of 2009, will increase the amount of authorized grants the Department of Veterans Affairs can pay for improvements and structural alterations for homes of veterans with service-connected disabilities of 50 percent or more. Accordingly, this bill will provide much needed assistance for veterans to make any necessary improvements they are otherwise unable to fix on their own. As many may suffer from service-connected physical disabilities impeding their normal life activities, this bill would authorize the VA to increase their financial assistance to veterans. This measure will greatly supplement the bill we passed last Congress, the Homes for Heroes Act, H.R. 3329. Where that bill expanded the supply of permanent housing for veterans, H.R. 1293 will provide the grants to make improvements for veterans' current homes.

Moreover, H.R. 2270, the Veterans Nonprofit Research and Education Corporations (NREC) Enhancement Act of 2009 will amend federal provisions regarding the establishment at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities of nonprofit and research and education corporations (NRECs) to allow an NREC to facilitate the conduct of research or education, or both, at more than one VA medical center. This will greatly benefit the VA so that they can have readily available resources to help them confront challenges facing our veterans.

And H.R. 3155, the Caregiver Assistance and Resource Enhancement Act will provide federal assistance to individuals providing non- institutional extended care to disabled veterans. These valuable services include educational and teaching caring techniques; strategies and skills; nursing care, and mental and health services.

And finally, H.R. 1803, the Veterans Business Center Act of 2009 will amend the Small Business Act to direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish within the SBA a Veterans Business Center program to provide entrepreneurial training and counseling to veterans. This will create yet another resource to benefit our returning veterans who may have trouble finding employment.

Madam Speaker, these are incredibly important bills, providing our veterans with the federal resources so they may have efficient access to much needed medical assistance, job, and housing support. As a strong advocate for veterans' rights, I am pleased to add my voice of support for all of these measures. Moreover, I will be working with my colleagues to make sure we continue to provide the necessary resources towards protecting our veterans' rights and ensuring fair and just access to their rightful benefits.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Green, for his passion and his devotion to this bill, Homes for Heroes Act, as he has been shepherding this now for several Congresses. I appreciate his support, and I want to lend my support as well.

As we know, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have placed new pressures on veterans services and housing. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that it has served approximately 916 returning veterans in its homeless programs and has identified over 2,900 more as being at risk of homelessness. The Congressional Research Service, in its report entitled ``Veterans and Homelessness,'' explains why both male and female veterans are overrepresented in the homeless population.

This country simply must do a better job of providing for our veterans. For this reason, I rise in strong support of H.R. 403, the Homes for Heroes Act of 2009.

As my colleague explained, this legislation will help to expand the supply of housing for very low-income veterans and increase the number of vouchers for homeless veterans. It establishes a Special Assistant for Veteran Affairs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to ensure veterans receive proper access to HUD's housing assistance programs, coordinate all HUD programs and activities pertaining to veterans, and would act as a liaison between HUD and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In an effort to expand the supply of veterans housing, the bill authorizes appropriations for housing assistance for very low-income and homeless veterans. A very low-income veteran family has an income not exceeding 50 percent of an area's median income. A $200 million authorization would provide capital advances and planning grants to private nonprofits and consumer cooperatives for the construction and rehabilitation of permanent supportive

housing for very low-income veterans. The $200 million authorization may also be used for project rental assistance.

The bill also authorizes appropriations necessary to provide 20,000 additional housing choice vouchers for homeless veterans for fiscal year 2009 and each year thereafter.

Other provisions in the bill include the exclusion of veterans benefits amounts from rental subsidy calculations for all federally funded housing programs and an authorization of $1 million in technical assistance grants to nonprofits who provide veterans housing or provide assistance to veterans seeking housing.

All in all this bill, I believe, will help to address an area or an issue of homelessness in our veterans population, one that we must not allow to continue. H.R. 403 is similar to H.R. 3329, which passed the House in the 110th Congress by a vote of 412-9.

I urge my colleagues' support.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to now yield 2 minutes to Ms. Brown-Waite from Florida, an advocate for veterans all across the board and certainly housing for our veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to introduce the Look-Back Elimination Act of 2009.

I am proud to serve on the Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support led by Chairman McDermott. I would like to thank Chairman McDermott, my good friend, the Gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley), and all of my colleagues on the Subcommittee for their hard work in the areas of child welfare and foster care.

Today, American families are struggling in ways not seen since the Great Depression. Rising unemployment, health care costs, and a struggling economy are all taking their toll, and children in the foster care system must not be forgotten during these very difficult times.

When Congress passed welfare reform legislation in 1996, they eliminated the existing Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, which was a cornerstone of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, and replaced it with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or TANF. At the same time, Congress locked the income eligibility requirement for federal foster care and adoption assistance benefits at the various existing 1996 income thresholds established by States under the now nonexistent AFDC program. This is known as the look-back standard.

Since that time, the federal law has not been changed, and despite changing economic realities like inflation and wage growth, states cannot update their income eligibility requirements. As a result thousands of children in foster care and adoption assistance programs are ineligible to receive federal benefits.

Last year Congress passed and the President signed legislation to phase out the look-back standard for children in the adoption assistance program. The bill I am introducing today would assist the other children affected by the look-back standard--those in the foster care system. We need to help these children, and we need to help them now.

The look-back standard sets the income limit for eligibility at thirty-one percent of the federal poverty level--a level so low that even a parent's part-time job at minimum wage could render a family ineligible. As a result, states are prohibited from using federal funds to assist those most in need. In my home state of Georgia almost sixty percent of children in the child welfare system cannot receive federal IV-E assistance. Thousands more foster care children across the country are ineligible to receive benefits. This is wrong; it is just plain wrong.

Foster care children need this support, and states are struggling to juggle services to try and prevent children from falling through the cracks. You just cannot put a price on helping a child. We must have this oversight corrected. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense legislation.

Madam Speaker, I wish to honor our fallen veterans this Memorial Day on May 25, 2009. Our veterans, as well as our troops, risked their lives and their livelihoods for their country and for our freedom. They deserve our utmost respect and appreciation.

Memorial Day was initially called Decoration Day. After the Civil War, Americans honored fallen soldiers in the Union and Confederacy by decorating the soldiers' graves. After World War I, Memorial Day became a day to honor all American soldiers who died in war. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day as a national holiday celebrated on the last Monday in May. Today, the national celebration of Memorial Day is held at Arlington National Cemetery. It is a ceremony of sincere solemnity, as well as one of great pride because it pays tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice while defending the American flag.

While we pay tribute to our fallen heroes, it is important that we also recognize those veterans who fought valiantly and returned home to their loved ones. Our nation's heroes who fought so bravely to defend the American Dream also deserve the opportunity to achieve it. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), on any given night in this country, between 150,000 and 200,000 adult veterans live on the streets, in shelters or in community-based organizations. Unfortunately, approximately 150,000 homeless heroes do not have access to the vital permanent housing and supportive services they need each year.

Last year, I introduced H.R. 3329: The Homes for Heroes Act to address this problem. My bill will provide shelter for homeless veterans and their families and help prevent low-income veteran families from falling into homelessness. On July 9, 2008, the Homes for Heroes Act passed the House by a vote of 412-9, but did not make it through both chambers. Fortunately, the author of the Senate companion bill, former Senator Barack Obama, is now the President of the United States. Therefore, I look forward to working with this Congress and our current President to pass this very important legislation in the 111th Congress. The Homes for Heroes Act will truly honor those who have sacrificed for our country by providing them with the assistance they deserve and have so deeply earned.

I ask all of my colleagues and fellow Americans to pause and observe the great sacrifice that our fallen heroes and veterans made for our beloved country. Our military men and women were there to answer their nation's call to duty and now our government must prove that we will be there for them. In words, deeds and actions, our nation's heroes have earned it. This is the least a grateful nation can do.