[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 561 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 561

    Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 
     Assistance Act and the impact it has made on homelessness and 
endeavoring to continue working to eliminate homelessness in the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 19, 2007

  Mr. Shays (for himself, Ms. Waters, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Mrs. 
Biggert, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Bachus, Ms. Carson, Mr. Davis 
  of Kentucky, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Ms. Pryce of Ohio, Ms. Moore of 
  Wisconsin, Mr. Hinojosa, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Mr. Sires, Mrs. 
  Maloney of New York, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Stark, Mr. Lynch, Ms. Corrine 
 Brown of Florida, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mrs. Tauscher, 
 Mr. Ellison, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Hodes, Mr. 
Wexler, Mr. Gary G. Miller of California, Mr. Cohen, and Mrs. Jones of 
  Ohio) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 
     Assistance Act and the impact it has made on homelessness and 
endeavoring to continue working to eliminate homelessness in the United 
                                States.

Whereas July 22, 2007, is the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Stewart 
        B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, which was renamed the McKinney-
        Vento Homeless Assistance Act in October 2000;
Whereas Representatives Stewart B. McKinney and Bruce Vento worked tirelessly in 
        the Congress to develop a Federal response to homelessness;
Whereas Representative Stewart B. McKinney was committed to exposing the depth 
        of the growing problem of homelessness in the 1980s;
Whereas Representative Stewart B. McKinney was a recognized expert on Federal 
        housing law and urban affairs who successfully amended the National 
        Housing Act and the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to 
        better target Federal aid to smaller cities, but became terminally ill 
        with pneumonia after sleeping on a grate outside a Federal building with 
        the homeless of Washington, DC;
Whereas in 1985, after personally viewing the circumstances of the homeless and 
        the need for crisis intervention in his congressional district in St. 
        Paul, Minnesota, Representative Bruce Vento introduced a resolution to 
        express the sense of the Congress that homelessness is a national 
        problem requiring a national solution;
Whereas throughout his career, Representative Vento remained dedicated to 
        securing a commitment of Federal resources to address homelessness;
Whereas the programs established by the McKinney-Vento Act have provided 
        housing, education, health care, and job training assistance, and 
        critical outreach, to thousands of homeless men, women, and children in 
        the United States;
Whereas the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program of the McKinney-
        Vento Act has resulted in a significant increase in the number of 
        homeless children and youth attending school on a regular basis;
Whereas the McKinney-Vento Act was intended to be only an emergency response and 
        not the sole Federal response to homelessness;
Whereas over the course of a year, as many as 3,500,000 persons are estimated to 
        experience homelessness in the United States;
Whereas approximately 400,000 veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States 
        experience homelessness at some point over the course of a year;
Whereas the homeless population includes vulnerable groups such as children, 
        unaccompanied youth, and persons with disabilities; and
Whereas there were at least 142 unprovoked assaults against homeless persons in 
        2006, including 20 that resulted in death: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the 20th anniversary of the McKinney-Vento 
        Homeless Assistance Act and the impact it has made on 
        homelessness in the United States;
            (2) recognizes the positive impact the McKinney-Vento Act 
        has had on hundreds of thousands of homeless men, women, 
        children, and youth in the United States;
            (3) recognizes the substantial contributions of 
        Representatives Stewart B. McKinney and Bruce Vento in 
        addressing homelessness;
            (4) recognizes that homelessness continues to be an urgent 
        problem in the United States;
            (5) commends the dedication and commitment of service 
        providers, including faith-based and nonprofit organizations, 
        who are working to end homelessness in their communities and 
        provide emergency food, shelter, and services to homeless 
        Americans;
            (6) recognizes that the lack of affordable housing 
        exacerbates homelessness in the United States;
            (7) supports the continued efforts of Federal, State, and 
        local governments and private non-profit organizations in their 
        efforts to prevent and end homelessness through the development 
        of affordable housing;
            (8) recognizes that the life expectancy of a homeless 
        person in the United States is 30 years shorter than that of 
        the average American and supports efforts to improve the health 
        of homeless Americans;
            (9) supports efforts to prevent and end homelessness among 
        veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States;
            (10) supports efforts to ensure accurate and timely 
        processing of applications for disability benefits as a means 
        of decreasing homelessness among disabled persons;
            (11) recognizes that the safety and well-being of homeless 
        persons is an urgent problem;
            (12) recognizes the critical role of education and public 
        schools in preventing and ending homelessness, and supports 
        efforts to improve stability, services, and access to school 
        for homeless children and youth; and
            (13) endeavors to work with the same courage, dignity, and 
        determination exemplified by Representatives McKinney and Vento 
        to eliminate homelessness in the United States.
                                 <all>