[House Hearing, 111 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
ADDRESSING THE HOUSING NEEDS
OF NATIVE AMERICAN VETERANS
WITH DISABILITIES
=======================================================================
FIELD HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
HOUSING AND COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
APRIL 10, 2010
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Financial Services
Serial No. 111-119
----------
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Washington, DC 20402-0001
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES
BARNEY FRANK, Massachusetts, Chairman
PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania SPENCER BACHUS, Alabama
MAXINE WATERS, California MICHAEL N. CASTLE, Delaware
CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York PETER T. KING, New York
LUIS V. GUTIERREZ, Illinois EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ, New York FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma
MELVIN L. WATT, North Carolina RON PAUL, Texas
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois
BRAD SHERMAN, California WALTER B. JONES, Jr., North
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York Carolina
DENNIS MOORE, Kansas JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois
MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts GARY G. MILLER, California
RUBEN HINOJOSA, Texas SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West
WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri Virginia
CAROLYN McCARTHY, New York JEB HENSARLING, Texas
JOE BACA, California SCOTT GARRETT, New Jersey
STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina
BRAD MILLER, North Carolina JIM GERLACH, Pennsylvania
DAVID SCOTT, Georgia RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas
AL GREEN, Texas TOM PRICE, Georgia
EMANUEL CLEAVER, Missouri PATRICK T. McHENRY, North Carolina
MELISSA L. BEAN, Illinois JOHN CAMPBELL, California
GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin ADAM PUTNAM, Florida
PAUL W. HODES, New Hampshire MICHELE BACHMANN, Minnesota
KEITH ELLISON, Minnesota KENNY MARCHANT, Texas
RON KLEIN, Florida THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan
CHARLES A. WILSON, Ohio KEVIN McCARTHY, California
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado BILL POSEY, Florida
JOE DONNELLY, Indiana LYNN JENKINS, Kansas
BILL FOSTER, Illinois CHRISTOPHER LEE, New York
ANDRE CARSON, Indiana ERIK PAULSEN, Minnesota
JACKIE SPEIER, California LEONARD LANCE, New Jersey
TRAVIS CHILDERS, Mississippi
WALT MINNICK, Idaho
JOHN ADLER, New Jersey
MARY JO KILROY, Ohio
STEVE DRIEHAUS, Ohio
SUZANNE KOSMAS, Florida
ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
JIM HIMES, Connecticut
GARY PETERS, Michigan
DAN MAFFEI, New York
Jeanne M. Roslanowick, Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity
MAXINE WATERS, California, Chairwoman
NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ, New York SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West
STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts Virginia
EMANUEL CLEAVER, Missouri THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan
AL GREEN, Texas JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois
WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri GARY G. MILLER, California
KEITH ELLISON, Minnesota RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas
JOE DONNELLY, Indiana WALTER B. JONES, Jr., North
MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts Carolina
PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania ADAM PUTNAM, Florida
LUIS V. GUTIERREZ, Illinois KENNY MARCHANT, Texas
STEVE DRIEHAUS, Ohio LYNN JENKINS, Kansas
MARY JO KILROY, Ohio CHRISTOPHER LEE, New York
JIM HIMES, Connecticut
DAN MAFFEI, New York
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Hearing held on:
April 10, 2010............................................... 1
Appendix:
April 10, 2010............................................... 31
WITNESSES
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Baha-Walker, Margaret, Vice Chairwoman, White Mountain Apache
Tribe.......................................................... 10
Begay, Jeff, Commander, Region 9, National American Indian
Veterans....................................................... 19
Begay, Richard K., disabled American veteran..................... 26
DiGirolamo, Robert, National Executive Committeeman, Disabled
American Veterans.............................................. 23
Karnas, Fred G., Senior Adviser to Secretary Shaun Donovan, U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development.................... 6
Nez, Angela Barney, Assistant to the President, the Navajo Nation 8
Nez, David P., Department Director, Navajo Department of Veterans
Affairs........................................................ 25
Shelly, Benjamin, Vice President, Navajo Nation.................. 1
Teller, Leonard, Chairman, Navajo Housing Authority.............. 27
Willie, Mellor C., Executive Director, National American Indian
Housing Council................................................ 21
Yazzie, Aneva J., Chief Executive Officer, Navajo Housing
Authority...................................................... 12
APPENDIX
Prepared statements:
Baha-Walker, Margaret........................................ 32
Begay, Richard K............................................. 35
DiGirolamo, Robert........................................... 37
Karnas, Fred G............................................... 41
Nez, Angela Barney........................................... 45
Nez, David P................................................. 48
Willie, Mellor C............................................. 49
Yazzie, Aneva J.............................................. 54
Additional Material Submitted for the Record
Waters, Hon. Maxine:
Written statement of Raymond P. Bell, Jr..................... 59
ADDRESSING THE HOUSING NEEDS
OF NATIVE AMERICAN VETERANS
WITH DISABILITIES
----------
Saturday, April 10, 2010
U.S. House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Housing and
Community Opportunity,
Committee on Financial Services,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 11:30 a.m., at
the Navajo Nation Museum, Highway 264 at Loop Road, Window
Rock, Arizona, Hon. Maxine Waters [chairwoman of the
subcommittee] presiding.
Members present: Representative Waters.
Also present: Representative Kirkpatrick.
Chairwoman Waters. Good afternoon. We will have at this
moment a presentation by the Vice President of the Navajo
Nation, Mr. Ben Shelly. Would you please come forward?
STATEMENT OF BENJAMIN SHELLY, VICE PRESIDENT, NAVAJO NATION
Mr. Shelly. Wow, it is always nice to be the first one to
talk, because if you are always the last one, everybody else
has already said what you want to say. So thank you very much,
Chairwoman Waters, for allowing me to go first.
I would like to say good morning to all the veterans, a
ni'shi'kay, my relatives, my mom and dad, my grandpa and
grandma, and my leaders, all of you, and the visitors, all of
you, welcome to the Navajo Nation. (Speaks in Navajo)--and my
fathers are Sagebrush, grandpas are South People, and my
cousins are Deer Water People.
I am here before you as the Vice President of the Navajo
Nation, and I have a statement to make on behalf of the Office
of the President and the Vice President. Ya'at'eeh. Good
morning, Chairwoman Waters, Representative Kirkpatrick, and
members of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community
Opportunity. Welcome to the Navajo Nation.
I am the Vice President of the Navajo Nation, Ben Shelly.
First of all, thank you for holding this hearing to discuss
housing issues facing our Native American and Navajo veterans.
I applaud your interest and desire to learn firsthand about the
real needs of our veterans, and that you are here to do that. I
understand you're going to visit some homes. I welcome that.
Since the early 1900's, many young Navajo men and women
have proudly served in the United States Armed Forces,
including the Navajo Code Talkers. It is well known that Navajo
men and women enlisted far in excess of other ethnic groups in
this country.
Some of the needs of our veterans include health care,
housing, veteran's cemeteries, and other basic benefits.
Studies show that the Navajo veterans have underutilized their
VA benefits, largely due to the vastness, the remoteness, and
the isolation of the Navajo Nation. Many of our veterans today
don't have homes, don't have running water, and don't have
electricity. Our veterans deserve better.
It is also unfortunate that existing income eligibility
requirements for housing can create real barriers for Native
American veterans with disabilities. However, due to the hard
work of Representative Kirkpatrick and the efficiency of
organizations such as the Navajo Housing Authority and the
National American Indian Housing Council, legislation has been
introduced to help meet this challenge.
Recently, Representative Kirkpatrick introduced H.R. 3553,
the Indian Veterans Housing Opportunity Act of 2010, to ensure
that disabled Native American veterans, their families, and
their survivors are not denied support through the Native
American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act because
they are receiving veterans disability and survivor benefits.
I applaud Congresswoman Kirkpatrick for sponsoring this
support bill. I also thank Congressmen Lujan, Heinrich, and
Teague for co-sponsoring the bill. The Navajo Nation fully
supports this bill.
Our Native American and Navajo veterans have served their
country with pride, with honor, and with dignity, and I applaud
efforts by this committee to explore issues facing our
veterans.
With me today is Ms. Angela Barney Nez, a veteran, and a
Tribal Leader of the Tohatchi Chapter. Ms. Barney Nez will be
providing the committee with more in-depth testimony. I would
also like to say that I met with the Congresswoman earlier: we
talked about housing; we talked about apartments; and we talked
about a lot of other things.
One thing I want to bring out and be on record is that the
Federal veteran count of Navajo veterans is lower than the
Navajo veteran count. I ask the committee and Chairwoman Waters
to help us so that the Federal count is the same as what we
have, the Navajo veteran count, because it is very important
that those counts are consistent. It brings clinics and other
help based on that.
We have a Census 2010 going on. Utilize some of those
counts, and make it so--I know it is going to be more. A lot of
our young kids are overseas right now and will be coming home,
and I would like to have those houses available for them using
the benefits, funding, a veterans benefits to house those
veterans who come home.
I do not want to see a veteran come home from overseas and
be homeless. I want them to have a place to come to. I know the
Navajo Housing Authority will be ready to do that. We ask for
more funding. We need help from HUD, from NAHASDA, to provide
that funding. If we are serious from the heart, if we really
want and are talking from the heart to the veterans, that we
love them, we want to help, let's do it by doing it. Let's not
talk anymore; let's get our heads together and be together and
do it and help them.
I would like to say that on behalf of our veterans, and I
just would like to say, again, thank you for traveling to the
Navajo Nation. It is a wonderful day today. Wonderful and nice
and sunny out there. Thank you very much.
Chairwoman Waters. Thank you very much. Thank you very
much, Vice President Shelly, for that opening statement. Ladies
and gentlemen, at this time, the Subcommittee on Housing and
Community Opportunity will come to order. Good morning, instead
of good afternoon. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the
Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity's Window Rock
field hearing entitled, ``Addressing the Housing Needs of
Native American Veterans With Disabilities.''
I would like to begin by thanking the Navajo Nation Museum
for graciously allowing us to use this beautiful space for
today's hearing, and the very helpful staff and members of the
Navajo Nation for their assistance. A big round of a applause,
please.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am here today because of the
leadership of Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick. Congresswoman
Kirkpatrick serves on the Veterans Affairs Committee, the
Homeland Security Committee, the Small Business Committee, and
she is a member of the Congressional Native American Caucus.
She has been a champion for Native Americans and American
Indians in both her district, as well as across the Nation.
As many of you know, she became the first new member of the
111th Congress to have her legislation signed into law. On May
8th, President Obama signed into law the Senate version of Mrs.
Kirkpatrick's bill, H.R. 1762, the repeal of the ``Bennett
Freeze'' which repealed a law that would have halted economic
growth on Western Navajo Nation and on Hopi Lands.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick has also been successful in her efforts to
advocate for the rights of disabled veterans and their
families. In March of 2009, Mrs. Kirkpatrick's bill, H.R. 1513,
passed out of the House of Representatives and is now in the
Senate awaiting final passage.
This bill would adjust the cost of living standard to help
service-disabled veterans and survivors keep pace with the cost
of basic needs, such as food and housing. Today's hearing will
focus on Mrs. Kirkpatrick's bill, H.R. 3553, the Indian
Veterans Housing Opportunity Act of 2009, and we will also
address the important and unique housing needs of Native
American veterans with disabilities.
According to the most recent U.S. Census data from 2003,
there are 561 federally-recognized Tribes, which include Native
American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native villages. More than
three-quarters of a million Native Americans live on
reservations and/or other tribal areas, and another 1.68
million live outside tribal areas.
Furthermore, a total of 34 percent of the Native population
resides in rural areas where many reservations are located. It
has become clear that many of the tribal areas lack adequate
housing, compared to the general U.S. population. According to
the 2000 Census Bureau report, 14.7 percent of homes in tribal
areas are overcrowded, compared to 5.7 percent of homes of the
general U.S. population.
On Native American lands, 11.7 percent of residents lack
plumbing facilities, compared to 1.2 percent of the general
U.S. population. Furthermore, according to a 2005 Government
Accountability Office report, 11 percent of residents lack
kitchen facilities, compared to merely 1 percent of the general
U.S. population.
The situation is even more dire for those in need of
housing on tribal lands. In total, approximately 90,000 Native
American families are homeless or underhoused, and an estimated
200,000 housing units are needed immediately in Indian Country,
according to a 2003 report from the U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights.
However, Native Americans have the highest rate of serving
in the military, making them more likely to serve than any
ethnic group. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs, 22 percent of Native Americans are currently serving
in the military. It is appalling that, although Native
Americans are the most likely to serve of any ethnic group,
little has been provided to ensure adequate and sufficient
housing for the brave veterans who have served our Nation.
Furthermore, with the total number of disabled veterans in
the United States currently at 24 million, 3.1 million veterans
receiving service-connected disability benefits, it is also
evident that many Native American veterans are also struggling
with disabilities.
The Native American Housing and Self Determination Act of
1996, or NAHASDA, was established through the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, that is HUD, to provide housing
services to Native Americans based on a needs-based formula.
Unfortunately, under the current calculation, Native
American veterans and their families and survivors are often
disqualified from qualifying for NAHASDA housing benefits.
Under current NAHASDA regulations, disability payments and
survivor benefits are calculated into the family's income,
which will result in the family's income exceeding the 80-
percent area median income, the retro that is required to
qualify for housing benefits. As a result, these families are
unable to qualify for NAHASDA housing services.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick's bill, H.R. 3553, will correct this
provision in NAHASDA by amending the definition of income in
NAHASDA to exclude payments for disability and service-related
injuries. By doing so, disabled Native American veterans, their
families, and their survivors will be able to qualify for
NAHASDA housing benefits. This bill will do much to help ensure
that all citizens are adequately served in government housing
programs, especially those who have served our Nation bravely.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about
both the housing needs of Native American veterans with
disabilities, and the ways in which we can better connect this
population with NAHASDA benefits.
Again, I want to thank you for welcoming me to the Navajo
Nation today.
I would now like to recognize the leader and the real
advocate of the Navajo Nation, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick, to
make an opening statement for as much time as she would desire.
Thank you very much, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick. I'm honored to be here today on the
Navajo Nation with so many leaders of the Native American
community, the veterans, and the Housing Authority. I want to
wish a warm welcome to you, Madam Chairwoman, for being here
today, and I thank you for bringing the Subcommittee on Housing
and Community Opportunity of the Financial Services Committee
out here to discuss Native American veterans housing
opportunities.
This is an issue that is personally very important to me,
and before we started the hearing, I was visiting with many of
you who are here today, telling me your stories and how you
can't qualify for housing. So the purpose of this hearing is
really to address those needs.
Growing up in Indian Country, I learned at an early age of
the long history of Native Americans sacrificing in service to
our country. This history includes Indian scouts assisting U.S.
units throughout the American West. It includes the best known
example, the brave and honorable service of the Navajo Code
Talkers who saved the lives of countless Americans in World War
II and the Korean War by using Dine' to transmit sensitive
military communications, and it continues to this very day as
Native Americans proudly and honorably serve in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and around the world.
Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 22
percent of Native Americans are veterans or are currently
serving. That is the most out of any ethnic group. I am a
member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, where we
have taken a number of steps to help keep our promise to all
veterans.
I helped pass the largest budget ever for veterans' health
care and benefits. I also helped to finally pass a law that
veterans service organizations have been pushing for, for
years, a law to require Congress to approve the VA health care
budget one year in advance so that veterans will not have to
pay the price when Washington cannot get its act together.
However, we can and must do more to ensure that our Native
American veterans are not allowed to slip through the cracks,
even as we make broad advances to better serve these veterans
and Native Americans in general.
The Native American Housing Assistance and Self
Determination Act of 1996 was a major step forward helping
Tribes provide adequate housing for thousands of families
across the country. Assistance is limited to families making
less than 80 percent of the median income of their area, which
exposes one important flaw; the Act treats compensation for
veterans with service-related disabilities or for the families
of those killed in service, as income. As a result, these
benefits can push veterans and survivor families above the
limit, making them ineligible and costing them assistance that
they had badly needed.
This flaw has caused disabled veterans, their families, and
their survivors to be denied help because that extra income has
pushed them over the allowable limits. My bill would fix this
flaw by changing the definition of ``income'' to explicitly
exclude veterans disability and survivor compensation, ending
this unfair practice and lifting the burden on Native American
veterans.
Native American veterans have sacrificed so much for this
country, and they should not be punished for receiving the
compensation they earned. It is long past time to right this
wrong and ensure that this Nation keeps its sacred promise to
its Native veterans.
Thank you again for coming, and I look forward to your
testimony. I yield back.
Chairwoman Waters. Thank you very much.
I am now pleased to welcome our distinguished first panel.
Our first witness will be Mr. Fred Karnas, Senior Advisor to
the Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
Our second witness will be Ms. Angela Barney Nez, assistant
to the president, Navajo Nation. Our third witness will be Ms.
Margaret Baha-Walker, vice chairwoman, White Mountain Apache
Tribe. And our fourth witness will be Ms. Aneva Yazzie, chief
executive officer, Navajo Housing Authority.
I thank you all for appearing before our subcommittee here
today, and without objection, your written statements will be
made a part of the record. You will now be recognized for a 5-
minute summary of your testimony, and we will start with Mr.
Karnas. Thank you.
STATEMENT OF FRED G. KARNAS, SENIOR ADVISER TO SECRETARY SHAUN
DONOVAN, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Mr. Karnas. Good morning, Madam Chairwoman and
Representative Kirkpatrick. I am honored to be here at the
Navajo Nation. I am pleased to be back in Arizona, which is my
home. Before joining the Obama Administration, I had the
privilege of serving with Former Governor Janet Napolitano as a
cabinet member as the housing director, and I see several
familiar faces of colleagues and friends here today.
I have two goals this morning in the short time that we
have. The first is to represent Secretary Donovan's strong
commitment to improving housing conditions for Native
Americans, both in the Navajo Nation and across the country,
especially those who have given so much for this Nation.
Second, on behalf of HUD, I want to learn from the Native
American veterans and leaders who will be providing testimony
so that we jointly--Congress, HUD, and tribal leadership--can
craft solutions to the housing challenges on tribal lands,
particularly those confronting disabled Native American
veterans.
Let me add that joining me from HUD is Carolyn O'Neil, the
administrator of our Southwest Office of Native American
Programs. I would like to take a few minutes to briefly
summarize the department's written testimony. I don't need to
go into great detail in terms of the need. Congresswoman Waters
certainly provided the data that we know is true.
The 2000 Census data suggested over a half a million Native
American and Native Alaskan households have severe housing
needs, which are defined as living conditions that are
overcrowded, substandard, or cost-burdensome. A 2002 Harvard
study suggested approximately 40 percent of on-reservation
housing is inadequate. That is compared to 6 percent
nationwide. It is generally accepted that there is a need for
200,000 new units of housing in Indian Country.
Despite the magnitude of this challenge, I have to say that
my experience here in Arizona is that many Tribes have made
significant efforts to take on this housing crisis and have
made major inroads in building capacity and offering creative
solutions for developing new housing stock. Certainly, Director
Yazzie is someone who has been very creative and active in that
area.
At HUD, we feel we have been a partner in supporting these
efforts, but as I said at the outset, we can do better, and we
look forward to learning more today about the ways we can build
a stronger collaboration, especially as it relates to housing
opportunities for veterans with disabilities.
The partnership begins by ensuring that existing Native
American programs at HUD are working well. Since its inception,
the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination
Act, NAHASDA, has been embraced by tribal leaders and Indian
housing entities because it provides flexibility to design and
run housing programs according to local needs.
The congressional findings and the Act state that Federal
assistance should be provided in a manner that recognizes the
right of Indian self-determination and tribal self-governance.
The Indian Housing Block Grant program is the biggest of
several NAHASDA programs. Each year, with average annual
funding of about $632 million, the IHBG program has assisted
approximately 7,500 families by providing the funds for a new
home or substantially rehabilitating an existing home.
Approximately 5,000 more families each year are provided
emergency housing assistance, and about 6,000 are provided some
type of rental voucher through IHBG.
IHBG funds are also used to maintain and manage existing
housing stock, develop housing infrastructure, and protect
residents of low-income housing with crime prevention and
safety activities slips of safety activities.
More specifically related to the needs of Native American
disabled veterans, HUD has been working closely with the
Department of Veterans Affairs and their stated goal of ending
veterans homelessness in 5 years. An element of that goal is to
use tools like the HUD-VASH program to better target veterans
with the greatest need, especially those who are disabled and
have been living on the street for some time, or are doubled-
up, or are at risk of homelessness.
In closing, let me talk briefly about H.R. 3553. First, let
me say that HUD is currently reviewing the bill and we look
forward to working with Congress to develop legislation that
promotes housing opportunities for Native Americans.
As was stated, this bill would exclude VA disability
compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation from the
calculation of income for determining eligibility for the
Indian Housing Block Grant program. It would amend the
definition of ``income'' for purposes of program eligibility.
As in most government-assisted housing programs, income is
used to determine eligibility for participation in the IHBG
program. Most families who receive IHBG assistance must be low-
income Indian families on a reservation or in an Indian area.
When determining income for admission, the Tribe or Tribally
Designated Housing Entity must include income from all sources
for each family member, with certain limited exceptions.
Currently, the payments referred to in H.R. 3553 are not
excluded.
It should be noted, however, that a mechanism exists in the
IHBG regulations whereby a Tribe or its housing entity may use
up to 10 percent of its IHBG funds to serve Native American
applicants whose incomes are between 80 and 100 percent of
median income, and with HUD approval, the Tribe may serve
families who earn more than 100 percent of median income.
However, under HUD regulations, these non-low-income residents
must be charged more than low-income families.
NAHASDA, however, was amended in 2008 to provide that a
Tribe may serve over-income Indian families if such action is
determined to be essential to the well-being of the community.
These families can be served by the program if their need for
housing cannot reasonably be met without such assistance.
Tribal leaders are currently meeting to negotiate regulations
to implement this revised provision.
This concludes my prepared statement. Thank you for the
opportunity to be here today. Thank you for the opportunity to
hear from the tribal leaders so we can craft solutions together
in the future. I would be happy to answer any questions you may
have. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Karnas can be found on page
41 of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Waters. Thank you very much.
Next, we will hear from Ms. Angela Barney Nez.
STATEMENT OF ANGELA BARNEY NEZ, ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT, THE
NAVAJO NATION
Ms. Barney Nez. Good afternoon, Congresswoman Waters, and
Representative Kirkpatrick. Thank you very much for being here.
I would like to acknowledge the tribal leadership here also
from Apache Nation, White Mountain Apache, and other Tribes
that might be here. I have brief introductory that I would like
to do.
We have members of the Navajo Nation Council who are in the
building--in the room here. Leonard Teller is here, and also
Mr. Ervin Keeswood, and other members of the Navajo Nation
Council to be acknowledged here in this hearing. Thank you for
being here, as well.
We would like to say thank you to the veterans who have
traveled long distances from the vast Navajo remote areas, who
are here from Chinle, from the different areas in Western
Agency and Shiprock who are here today.
I would also like to invite any written testimony that
could be joined from the tribal leadership at the local level
from the Chapters, and some of them are here, Travis John and
some of the district leadership from the local communities.
I would like to say thank you to all the veterans who are
Vietnam veterans, the Korean War veterans, our World War II
veterans, because I can see you from here, and I can see that
we really want to address these needs properly and
appropriately.
Thank you for holding this important field hearing in
Window Rock to highlight the needs of the Navajo Nation
veterans and to discuss H.R. 3553, the Indian Veterans Housing
Opportunity Act of 2010.
My name is Angela Barney Nez, and I work with the Navajo
Nation President, Dr. Joe Shirley, Jr., and I am here on his
behalf. I am also a woman veteran who proudly served in the
U.S. Army. As I am sure you saw during your travels to Window
Rock through our beautiful homeland, the Navajo Nation is vast.
Across our nearly 17 million acres live more than 205,000
Navajos, many of whom live in remote and isolated areas without
water or electricity.
Amongst our population live more than 12,433 former service
members. Our Navajo veterans represent the largest population
of Native Americans to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Historically, a greater proportion of Native Americans serve in
the Armed Forces of the United States than any other ethnic
group across the United States.
As a people, Navajos have a high respect for our veterans.
Traditionally, Navajo culture and society identifies veterans
with the Navajo concept of ``protector'' and ``defenders'' of
the Navajo homeland and the Navajo way of life.
Our Navajo warriors have voluntarily served in all of our
Nation's major 20th and 21st Century conflicts. This includes
serving in World War I even before Navajos were recognized as
citizens and had the opportunity to vote.
The most visible group of Navajo veterans are the Navajo
Code Talkers, who were able to create over 800 codes that were
never deciphered by the Japanese during the Asian-Pacific
campaigns in World War II. We are also exceedingly proud of the
significant number of our female veterans serving in uniform.
The Navajo people have long sacrificed in service to our
country. Unfortunately, these sacrifices have given rise to
many unique challenges when our veterans return home. The
Navajo Nation is rural and isolated with an unemployment rate
exceeding 50 percent and a per capita income of $6,800.
We lack basic water, power, and transportation resources
for economic development, and our health care system is
insufficient to meet the needs of our people. For our veterans,
too many of whom are disabled, this means they return from
service without employment prospects and housing, and are
unable to reach health care facilities.
The Navajo Nation supports H.R. 3553, the Indian Veterans
Housing Opportunity Act of 2010, sponsored by Representative
Ann Kirkpatrick, because it honors the sacrifice of our Navajo
Nation veterans. By excluding the Navajo Nation veterans from
the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination
Act of 1996 (NAHASDA) income reporting requirements, our
veterans will no longer be punished for receiving compensation
for the injuries and disabilities they suffered throughout
their service.
Many of our veterans live in isolated areas, miles from the
nearest paved roads and available utilities such as water and
power. In many cases, these veterans live in substandard and
unsafe housing conditions without running water, electricity,
or sewer or septic systems.
When our Navajo veterans who receive compensation under
Title 38 United States Code Chapter 11 for a service-related
injury, then apply for shelter from NAHASDA-funded homes, they
are denied eligibility because of this compensation. More than
one-third of veterans who apply for NAHASDA housing funds are
rejected because of these income requirements.
Our veterans have already served, face the trauma of their
service-related injury, but then just take their own way in our
isolated lands, plus limited infrastructure availability. The
Navajo Nation supports H.R. 3553 and its official exemption
from income eligibility determination for service-related
injuries. Passing this legislation will immediately change the
housing situation on the Navajo Nation for our veterans.
We thank Congresswoman Kirkpatrick and Congresswoman Waters
for working to ease the burdens of Navajo veterans, and
sincerely hope this legislation will pass the Congress and
signed into law by the President. While this bill makes its way
through the legislative process, we would also request
assistance from the members of the committee in seeking an
administrative solution to our housing problems.
Having Navajo veterans classified as essential to the
community will allow HUD to set reasonable caps on income and
assist these veterans to acquire safe, comfortable, affordable
housing.
Congresswoman Waters, Honorable members of the
subcommittee, and Congresswoman Kirkpatrick, on behalf of the
Navajo Nation President, Dr. Joe Shirley, Jr., I express my
complete appreciation for the opportunity to provide testimony
to the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.
Your commitment exhibits America's commitment to a grateful
Nation for our veterans. The Navajo Nation looks forward to
working with the subcommittee on the government-to-government
relationship as we move forward with this important legislation
concerning the future of H.R. 3553, the Indian Veterans Housing
and Assistance Act of 2010, and I thank you for this
opportunity.
As a final note, I would like to dedicate this testimony to
my grandfather, the former Vice President of the Navajo Nation,
a World War II veteran, Edward T. Begay. He's right here
sitting in the second row. Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Barney Nez can be found on
page 45 of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Waters. Our next witness will be Ms. Margaret
Baha-Walker.
STATEMENT OF MARGARET BAHA-WALKER, VICE CHAIRWOMAN, WHITE
MOUNTAIN APACHE TRIBE
Ms. Baha-Walker. (Speaks in Apache).
Good morning, Honorable Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick,
Honorable Chairwoman Maxine Waters, and other esteemed members
of the panel. I bring greetings from the White Mountain Apache
Tribe. I am Margaret Baha-Walker from the Eagle Clan and born
to the Bear Clan. I serve the White Mountain Apache Tribe as
its first chairwoman and I am here today to present testimony
on their behalf.
As always, I appreciate the support and leadership of
Congresswoman Kirkpatrick and her willingness to work with our
Tribe to address the important issues such as housing and
veterans affairs.
Currently, there are over 300 members of the White Mountain
Apache Tribe who are veterans. Of those 300, it is estimated
that 200 to 250 of them have a disability. The type of
disabilities vary in degree. Recently, we have begun to see an
increase in the health complications in our veterans that could
result in disability. Those who served in Desert Storm, Iraq,
and Afghanistan are developing new health problems. Some of
them are slower to heal from illness because of a possible new
blood disorder. It is believed that somehow their immune system
has been weakened and they are not able to fight off diseases
as easily.
Disabled veterans living on the Fort Apache Indian
Reservation have very few housing options. Because of our
general housing shortages, many of these veterans live with
their families or extended relatives in overcrowded or
substandard housing. The older homes are in desperate need of
rehabilitation. Many veterans do not have their own homes to
fit their personal needs. Some of these veterans are homeless,
a sad but true reality.
While we are grateful for the funding received under
NAHASDA, it has not even begun to make a dent in our housing
and community development needs. The White Mountain Apache
Tribe receives two major sources of funding authorized by
NAHASDA: the Indian Housing Block Grant; and the Indian
Community Development Block Grant.
Currently, we have 1,000-plus housing stock, but also face
a waiting list of over 1,000 families needing homes, including
veterans. The average waiting period for a rental unit is
approximately 2\1/2\ years.
The current membership of the White Mountain Apache Tribe
is 15,000 with a 3 percent annual growth rate. With many new
and young families on the way, the number of them needing homes
is sure to increase.
The Indian Veterans Housing Opportunity Act of 2010 would
ensure that our honored veterans receive much deserved housing
assistance under NAHASDA. The disability and survivor benefits
they receive should not be counted as income. I would like to
emphasize how important the veterans are to, not only to my
Tribe, but to the State of Arizona and to the United States.
They served to protect our freedom and security, and the
least we can do for them is make sure they have reasonable
housing opportunities without penalizing them for receiving
other benefits, survivors disability. We need to focus our
efforts more on providing assistance to those in need, rather
than weighing arbitrary income variables to deny people who
need it the most.
The White Mountain Apache Tribe, like the rest of the
country, is enduring a severe economic recession. In the last
decade, we have also had to deal with the Rodeo-Chediski Fire
and its aftermath. More recently, we have experienced severe
storms that have devastated our lands. We suffer from
unemployment rates that would be unthinkable anywhere else in
the United States. The people have suffered greatly and our
veterans need fewer hurdles to recover, not more.
I stand before you today filled with a genuine pride in our
men and women in uniform who bravely defend our country today
and also in those who proudly served in the past. We owe our
veterans a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. They
sacrificed their lives and safety so that we may enjoy the
freedoms that we do today.
On our behalf, they faced bullets and looked into the face
of death so that we may call this land ours, so that we may
speak our native tongue, so that we may practice our
traditions, and so that we may keep the promise of a brighter
tomorrow for our children and theirs.
On behalf of my people, the White Mountain Apache Tribe,
Chairman Ronnie Lupe, and members of the Tribal Council, thank
you for listening to the concerns of my Tribe.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Baha-Walker can be found on
page 32 of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Waters. Our next witness will be Ms. Aneva
Yazzie.
STATEMENT OF ANEVA J. YAZZIE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NAVAJO
HOUSING AUTHORITY
Ms. Yazzie. Good afternoon, Honorable Chairwoman Waters,
and Honorable Representative Kirkpatrick. Thank you for this
opportunity to address you on the pressing issues facing
veterans in Indian Country. Your dedication to the cause of
Indian sovereignty and your support for Native families across
the country are an inspiration to me, and it is an honor to
testify before you today.
I also want to thank the veterans who are joining us today.
For those who could not join us, I know that they're with us,
as well. I also want to acknowledge my NHA Board of
Commissioners that are here in full support of the bill and our
testimony.
I am Aneva Yazzie, Chief Executive Officer of the Navajo
Housing Authority. I am of the Black Street Wood People Clan,
born of the Bitter Water Clan. My paternal grandparents are
near the Water Clan and my maternal grandparents are the Meadow
People Clan.
(Speaks in Navajo).
I am in charge of operating the largest tribal housing
organization in the country. The Navajo Housing Authority
manages approximately 8,552 housing units. Approximately 3,800
are rental units and 4,500 are homeownership units. We are the
largest developer of housing in this vast area of our
reservation.
There are roughly a quarter million members of our Tribe
who reside near or on the reservation. The Indian Veterans
Housing Opportunity Act of 2010, the bill that we are here to
discuss today, would provide very specific and very real help
to veterans across Indian Country.
The leadership you have shown, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick,
along with the bill's co-sponsors, Representatives Lujan,
Heinrich, Teague, Hare, and Richardson, gives comfort to the
thousands of veterans who have served so honorably and suffered
hardships in the line of duty.
Native Americans respond to the call to serve their country
at a higher rate than any other group in America. From the
Revolutionary War to the Civil War to the Navajo Code Talkers
in World War II, Native Americans have worked, defended, and
championed the ideals of freedom, independence, self-
determination, and liberty, even when those very rights were
denied to them at each and every turn. This bill would be a
small step in repaying those veterans by removing one more
barrier to their ability to gain housing.
Under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self
Determination Act, NAHASDA, Tribes were given greater leeway in
designing and implementing programs to assist tribal members.
One of the ways in which Tribes can exercise that authority is
by setting rents, so long as they do not pass the maximum
allowable amount of 3 percent of a tenant's adjusted income.
This is different from other programs at HUD that typically
set a hard percentage of 30 percent, what we have come to refer
to as the Brooke Amendment for the author of the concept, the
distinguished and I would say far-sighted Senator Edward Brooke
of Massachusetts. Tribes can charge less and in many cases will
make exceptions to rent payments for veterans who, like those
identified in the bill, are receiving service-related
disability payments.
What we do not have the flexibility for, however, is in
determining whether a disabled veteran is qualified for the
housing program in the first place. Imagine, if you will,
Congresswoman, that a veteran who has served his or country is
returning from their overseas service, and during the course of
that service, he or she has suffered a wound. That soldier,
sailor, or airman receives payments from the VA, but while
those payments are not counted for purposes of income tax, they
do count for determining whether the individual can live in
NAHASDA-assisted housing; the law that states that a tenant
must be at or below 80 percent of area median income.
As you will notice, there few housing options available in
Indian Country in general, and here at Navajo in particular.
Private housing stock for the most part simply does not exist
for reasons that this subcommittee is quite familiar with and
has likewise sought to alleviate.
Many veterans return home to live with family, but in some
instances, the combined income of the veteran from service-
related disability payments, because they are living in an
overcrowded home, could put that family over 80 percent of area
median income.
Now, you have left this veteran with a choice: Try to find
housing elsewhere in a scarce environment without the support
of your family, or lie to the government so you can stay with
your family and get the support you need to readjust to life
back home. What a horrible choice. No veteran should ever have
to make such a choice. They have served and suffered and they
deserve our support.
This is why I am such a strong supporter of this bill. Not
only would it prevent veterans from having to make such
difficult choices, it would provide the same benefit to those
whose loved ones have given, as Lincoln said, the last full
measure of their devotion.
Reliable estimates place the number of homeless veterans in
this country at 107,000 on any given night. As many as 67
percent of these veterans, two-thirds, served 3 years or more,
and a third of them served in war zones. While some detractors
have opposed providing exceptions to income rules for any group
and seek to soften the proposal from this bill, I must take
strong exception to their arguments.
This is a small change with limited impact on total rental
income, and if we are not willing to make small changes to
rules for those who have served our Nation for extended periods
and in the line of fire, then for whom are we willing to adjust
them?
I realize that many of you may not have had the opportunity
to visit our beautiful country, so let me take a moment to give
you a perspective on Navajo and our challenges. The Navajo
Nation spreads across three States: Arizona; New Mexico; and
Utah. The Nation covers nearly 27,000 square miles or 17
million acres, making it larger than the State of West
Virginia.
Working in concert with other agencies of the Navajo
Nation, the Navajo Housing Authority has made great strides in
improving the lives of tribal members. I am lucky to have the
support of a tremendous staff, both in our headquarters in
Window Rock, and throughout the Navajo Nation. I am also
blessed by the support of our strong Board and Tribal
Government, including President Shirley and his staff, and the
Navajo Nation Council.
The Navajo Nation is the largest reservation in the United
States, both in terms of population and area coverage. As you
can imagine, this creates tremendous challenges in creating
housing communities and offices and staff that are accessible
to all those we serve.
We also face the issues of building housing that is
temperate to the many environments across the reservation, from
forests to plateaus to deserts and a range from 5,000 feet to
over 10,500 feet.
As we have grown in size and population, we have struggled
to ensure adequate housing is available and accessible to all
the people of the Navajo Nation. We have taken full advantage
of NAHASDA funds and have seen a serious increase in the amount
of homes that have gone up and the number of people who are
housed in safe, secure, and affordable housing.
As is all too often the case in Indian Country, we suffer
from chronic unemployment, insufficient infrastructure, a lack
of available housing, and the associated challenges, including
poor health and substance abuse, particularly among our youth.
This only exacerbates the need for affordable housing, as
well as the need for technical jobs that the Navajo Housing
Authority provides. Whether it is office jobs, construction or
maintenance, we keep people employed across the reservation.
In the last decade, the Native American Housing Assistance
and Self Determination Act, NAHASDA, has been a useful tool in
our Nation's work. The hallmarks of the law, self-determination
and tribal decision-making, are what make it successful. Not
only just for Navajo, but for Tribes across the Nation, it has
provided a framework that allowed for successful advancement
and pride of homeownership.
The law is not without its challenges, and for the past
decade, Tribes have worked with HUD to implement the law in the
most effective and efficient manner possible. The Navajo
Housing Authority enjoys a good working relationship both with
our local HUD Office and with the National ONAP Office.
We thank both Deputy Assistant Rodger Boyd and Assistant
Secretary Sandra Henriquez for their support and guidance.
I have stated in previous testimonies that the major
failing of NAHASDA has not been caused by the law itself, but
by the lack of sufficient funding. This affects our ability to
serve all families and that certainly includes those who are
targeted by H.R. 3553, as well.
Unfortunately, the President's requested funding level for
Fiscal Year 2011 is of serious concern. As costs increase
without an increase in Federal funding, a higher share of
NAHASDA funds go to support the existing housing stock.
I would like to close my testimony by remembering President
Lincoln's beautiful words with which he closed his second
inaugural address: ``With malice toward none, with charity for
all, with firmness in the right of God as God gives us to see
the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to
bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have
borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all
which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among
ourselves and with all nations.''
I thank you for the opportunity to discuss these vital
needs and to share some of the work that Navajo is doing to put
people into homes and back to work. I look forward to working
with you as this important legislation moves forward, and I am
happy to answer any questions that you and members of the
committee may have.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Yazzie can be found on page
54 of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Waters. Thank you very much. I will now
recognize myself for a few minutes to raise a few questions
before I turn over the questions to Representative Kirkpatrick.
My first question would be to Senior Advisor to Secretary
Donovan Fred Karnas. I would like to thank you for being here.
I work very closely with Secretary Donovan, and we're very
appreciative for his leadership with HUD. We are looking
forward to advancing the cause of housing in this Nation, and
certainly we are pleased about your interest in Indian housing.
I would like to refer you to your comments about Indian
Housing Block Grant funds where you mention that these funds
could be used to make up for monies that are needed,
particularly when the applicant does not qualify because of
income that has been received from other sources.
I'm sure that the leadership here at the Navajo Nation are
aware of that, but you heard the housing needs that were
documented here today. They are extensive. So if money is taken
from the Block Grant funds, that only diminishes the
opportunity to provide housing assistance where you have great
need.
So what we don't want to do is we don't want to rob Peter
to pay Paul. We want to expand the amount of funds that are
available to accommodate those that we believe by way of this
legislation should not be discounted because of a certain kind
of income.
So while you have indicated that you are supportive, and we
certainly need your support of this legislation, would you also
conclude that perhaps it would not be the best way of dealing
with this problem by taking money from the Block Grant funds?
Mr. Karnas. I certainly understand, Madam Chairwoman, the
comment. I think that all of my fellow panelists have made it
very clear that there is a tremendous need, and my own
experience in Arizona and elsewhere has shown that to be the
case.
I think Ms. Barney Nez mentioned that this may be a short-
term administrative effort while we're working on the bill to
address this. I think at HUD we're trying to take a look at the
best way to work with you all to find a solution that meets the
needs that have been laid out here, and I think that we
recognize that the dollars don't go as far as we need them to
go in tribal lands, and we will work closely with you to see if
we can solve that problem.
Chairwoman Waters. Thank you, and, further, Mr. Karnas, let
me just ask, if this hearing can be helpful in explaining to
all of those who are concerned in HUD about the tremendous
need, and while there are some opportunities to try and get
some resources from other sources, that perhaps there is a need
to expand the sources of revenue that could come for the
housing needs here, perhaps, do you think this hearing could be
helpful in helping to address that?
Mr. Karnas. It has already been helpful with this panel,
and I look forward to the second panel, certainly in terms of
some of the questions that have been raised and some of the
comments we have had. Secretary Donovan, as you know, has made
it very clear he's not an individual who believes that
individual programs should be in little boxes and serving only
one population if you happen to be Native American, or you
happen to be a person with disabilities, or you happen to be
elderly, that you only get money from that program.
He's working very hard within the Department to make all of
our programs serve across the country the folks who need them,
and he has--at this very hour, he has a senior person looking
across our programs to serve special populations, which can be
persons who have disabilities, to say, how can our mainstream
programs better serve folks?
So I think you're absolutely right. We have to find ways to
expand the resources that we have beyond the small boxes that
they sometimes tend to be in.
Chairwoman Waters. Thank you very much. I will now yield to
Congresswoman Kirkpatrick.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick. Thank you. I want to thank all the panel.
The first question is for Vice Chairwoman Baha-Walker and
Angela Barney Nez.
I share the pride that you both speak of regarding the
honorable service of members of your Tribe, serving throughout
history and serving today in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all over
the world.
Can you go into further detail about the homecoming they
receive when they complete their service and return to tribal
lands, and what more can we do to ensure that we keep our
promises to these young heroes? And I'll start first with the
Vice Chairman.
Ms. Baha-Walker. Thank you. In the Apache way, we stand
strong in our tradition and our culture, and when these
veterans return home, they do not just become citizens, members
of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, immediately. There are
ceremonies that have to be done for them. You have to brush
them off, spiritually, emotionally, and physically, because we
do not know what they faced over there that might have affected
them in these areas, and what they went through. Washington
will never know the truth of what they experienced.
Once that is done, the holy people of the spirits of the
air, the mountain, the animals--these holy beings, they take
them back into their lands, reintroduce them from Mother Earth
to Father Sky, that this is the child who left this land.
Not many of them do that. Not many of them believe in that
way, and I see the suffering that is going on where they start
dealing with alcohol and drugs, and what we need at White
Mountain is a very strong support for our veterans, that one
day we may able to see a veteran's office, and when they come
home, they--the only housing opportunity that they have is with
the housing authority, that the Tribal Council allowed and
authorized our housing authority to be the entity for our
programs. That is the only housing opportunity they have, and
we have at Indian Health Service Hospital, which we have
outgrown, and a little clinic in Cibecue, and with the diseases
that keep coming to our lands, the increase for--to visit a
doctor, has grown, and the veterans have to compete with that,
also. It is a competition.
And from your office--from the government, not just my
Tribe, but every Native American, if we are the first to be so
obedient to the government and defend our country, their
fundings and their requests that we make for our veterans
should be made a high priority.
At White Mountain, we need any service that our veterans
can benefit from, and I hope that answers your question, and if
not, you can give me a more specific question.
Ms. Barney Nez. Thank you for the question, Honorable
Representative Kirkpatrick. Our homecoming for our Navajo
veterans is very similar to that described by the Honorable
Baha-Walker of White Mountain Apache. The Dine' way, the Dine'
cultural ways have the holistic concept of wholeness quality,
wholesomeness, and complete as a person in terms of health,
wellness, emotions, all the different aspects of wellness in
physical and mental health that pertains to the whole
individual.
So when they leave to go to--even just to boot camp or to
their next level of service of assignments, deployments, there
is a series of traditional cultural treatments that go with
them regarding their family, their motherland, their home base,
their fire base, their water base.
There are many different kinds of holistic concepts in our
traditional ways that go with our veterans, our warriors,
because they're carrying a sacred name and they're carrying a
sacred clan, and they're carrying the identity of the Dine'
people.
So in that concept, we raise our children with a lot of the
traditional strengths, and this traditional mainstay of the
culture as they grow. So when they reach that level, whether
they're a man or a woman who goes into a uniform, then that
becomes a two-tier layer of warrior role that they would have.
They're already a warrior when they're young in our Navajo
society. Most of the girls will have winter names. In fact,
that's the tradition. And so will the men. So will the young
boys.
So when they go, they carry these identities with them, and
when they experience the trauma of war, we have to do the
cleansing ceremony, and we have to do all of those reinvention
laboratory types of rehabilitation to restore this
wholesomeness for our culture and for them to enter back into
their homes and back to the arms of their mothers and their
families, and into their hogans, and into their prayer circles.
So thinking along that concept, we are grateful for some of
the partnerships that we have with the health care aspect of
treating the mental, and also the physical aspect of our
veterans. In this sense we're--I'm talking about the agreement
that the Navajo Nation has with the Carl Hayden VA Hospital,
which serves as a supplement.
Not the only one, but it supplements the service or the
resource that is available to our veterans to get a wholesome
treatment with the western health care system, as well as the
traditional Navajo concept with the medicine people and our
ways.
In terms of looking at the whole person, I would introduce
the idea here about having housing, having employment, having
gainful employment, having training and education, and then
having health care as a holistic readjustment program for our
veterans.
One of those ways that you can look at, and it is my great
hope that in the recent President Obama's declaration of the
Executive Order where all cabinet level of services, Federal
agencies, entities that serve Native people, that at that
cabinet level, that you look at housing, employment, and health
care, to meet the goals of tribal governments in servicing
veterans.
Doing seamless transitions between the Department of
Defense Services and to the VA, the U.S. VA Services, doing
Helmets to Hard Hats, supporting education and employment and
opportunities where veterans, while in service and uniform,
they can be met dollar-for-dollar for education, and when they
separate, they can use these monies to advance themselves in
colleges and universities, and use that to build their career.
The same thing could be introduced for housing. Housing
could be a matter of dollar-for-dollar, if you can make that
kind of an arrangement. I know it is nonexistent at this time.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick. Thank you. I think I have used up my
time, Madam Chairwoman.
Chairwoman Waters. Thank you very much. I would like to
thank the witnesses who have come here today with valuable
testimony. The Chair notes that we may have members with
additional questions for you that they may wish to submit in
writing. So without objection, the hearing record will remain
open for 30 days for members to submit written questions to
these witnesses and to place their responses in the record.
This panel is now dismissed, and I would like to welcome
our second panel. Thank you very much.
Our first witness will be Mr. Jeff Begay, commander, Region
9, National American Indian Veterans. Our second witness will
be Mr. Mellor Willie, executive director, National American
Indian Housing Council. Our third witness will be Mr. John
Adkins, commander, Disabled American Veterans Department of
Arizona. Our fourth witness will be Mr. Robert DiGiro--I think
that name is pronounced a little bit differently--let me try it
again.
Mr. DiGirolamo. ``DiGirolamo,'' but that's close enough.
Chairwoman Waters. --DiGirolamo, policy advisor, Disabled
American Veterans. Our fifth witness will be Mr. David Nez,
director, Navajo Nation Division of Veterans Affairs. Our sixth
witness will be Mr. Wayne Saltwater, Navajo Nation Native
American Veteran, and we have a seventh witness for this
panel--I think this is a second Begay--Mr. Richard Begay,
constituent and Navajo Native American veteran.
Do we have seats for everyone? We're not going to hear from
Mr. Adkins. Anyone else? Remove Mr. Adkins. Anyone else? We
have five, and I have noted seven. Is there someone missing?
Mr. Saltwater is not here. So we are going to take Mr.
Saltwater off the list, and we will get started with our second
panel.
And the first person on our second panel, Mr. Begay, would
you please start? Thank you. That is the first Mr. Begay.
STATEMENT OF JEFF BEGAY, COMMANDER, REGION 9, NATIONAL AMERICAN
INDIAN VETERANS
Mr. Jeff Begay. Thank you, Chairwoman Waters, and
Representative Kirkpatrick. I appreciate the honor to be here
today to speak on behalf of my comrades, and myself, as well,
as a Vietnam veteran. I would like to introduce myself to my
Native people by explaining my clan, which is customary.
(Speaks in Navajo).
I am a Vietnam veteran, as I said before. I am very proud
to have served my country and my Navajo people, and I'm
currently the Regional Commander for the National American
Indian Veterans organization. Don Loudner is our Commander, and
Coronal Joey Strickland is also our Chief of Staff, and I'm in
charge of advocacy and also helping American Indians with their
legislative issues in Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. I am also
Vice Commander of American Legion Post 114, the Bushmasters out
of Salt River Pima, Maricopa Indian community.
And I'll make that introduction, and go on with a story
about a typical--probably a typical native family, which is
where I come from, and I'll begin with a story about my
grandfather, my grandparents, my great grandfather.
My grandfather's father and mother were in the mountains
south of--west of here near--north of Steamboat around the
Black Mesa area, and they were being chased by Kit Carsen and
his calvary troops back in the mid 1800's, and they were
running so they wouldn't be captured.
And the story is told by my grandparents that they had a
shelter made out of tree branches which was cedar branches and
they were cooking cedar berries because they had no food to
eat, and as that bowl of cedar berry was cooking, a U.S. Army
soldier shot through the brush arbor and broke the pot, and
steam and ash flew into the air, and my great grandfather
reached for his bow and arrow, and was shot immediately by the
U.S. soldier.
And my grandfather ran and my great grandmother ran, and my
grandmother was captured and taken down to the bottom of the
mesa where many of our people were tied and were hostages and
were being taken to Fort Sumner to be prisoners of war for a 4-
year period.
My grandfather was left in the mountains. They weren't able
to capture him, but he had a serious choice, a critical choice
to make, and that was should he remain in the hills and be
free, or should he join his mother, and being that family is
very strong in any human family relationship, as well as the
Navajo and Native people, he chose to be with his mother and
spent 4 years in captivity in New Mexico at the age of 10 years
old.
He learned how to speak English, and he came back with a
Navajo name of Ya'cri' yesser (phonetic), and something about
his 4-year experience, although the U.S. Army shot and killed
his father, he was fascinated with the military way of life.
And when he returned after 4 years--during the time he was
in captivity, he spent a lot of times watching the soldiers and
was their runner and helper, and when he returned, he joined
the U.S. Army as a U.S. Army scout, and was in the campaign
against the Hopis in 1891 when they took up arms against the
U.S. Government when they refused to send their children to
school.
So he became the very first U.S. military person in our
family. My mother's uncles, two of them, were World War I
veterans, and they suffered from chlorine gas inhalation, and
one of them died in the Veterans Hospital in Denver, and this
was probably 1920, or somewhere in that period of time.
The second uncle lived for until he was about 90 years old
with one lung. The one lung was damaged by chlorine gas. So
from that point on, World War II occurred, and my namesake or
the person I'm named for, Jeffrey Bahe, served in Italy as a
U.S. Army veteran. His cousins--we have many, many uncles who
served in World War II, and one of them, a clan uncle, is Joe
Vandever who is a renowned Code Talker, and my uncle served in
the Korean War and served twice in Vietnam.
I am a Vietnam veteran. Afghanistan, we have relatives,
cousins that serve there. Desert Storm, my sister retired from
the U.S. Army in December of last year, and is a staff sergeant
in the army and currently going to school.
So you can see that we are a very proud warrior family, as
many of my comrades here who are present also are about to say
that they are, too. I am proud to have served, and we bring
back a lot of pain. We bring back a lot of memories.
And, fortunately, for some, we have taken on the healing
processes early in life. When we returned, we were able to
participate in Native healing ceremonies that our sister from
the White Mountain Apache Nation described, and also my sister,
Angela Barney Nez, described.
Myself, I did not. I thought I was invincible. I thought I
was a warrior, and I suffered consequences as a result of it
with alcohol, which had me for many years until 15 years ago
when I finally, through the grace of God, became a productive
human being again.
And to this day, I work for a construction company as a
business development manager, and I would like to advocate for
our veterans who are disabled, and I appreciate your compassion
and effort to sponsor a bill that will help my comrades when
they return and are denied these services.
These are the veterans and soldiers that we shared foxholes
with who were in the rain and the jungles of Vietnam and the
hot deserts of Arabia and Iraq, and I hear stories from my
uncle about how they suffered when they were in World War II,
and shivering in a foxhole, shivering so hard that their teeth
were clattering. Up against one another, and they were shaking
so hard that they couldn't stop, and he said that the reason
for that was because it was fear, it was not weather-related.
So these kind of sufferings have been endured by our
veterans and our family members, and when they come back and
are denied services, it is very heartbreaking. I asked them
what he thought about when he was there--
Chairwoman Waters. Mr. Begay, I hate to stop you because
your testimony is just absolutely so riveting and important,
but we're going to have to hear from the other witnesses, and
then have our question period so we can meet our airplane
reservations for today.
Mr. Jeff Begay. I apologize. Yes, ma'am. Thank you.
Chairwoman Waters. Thank you. We're going to move to Mr.
Mellor Willie. Thank you very much. Give him a big round of
applause.
STATEMENT OF MELLOR C. WILLIE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL
AMERICAN INDIAN HOUSING COUNCIL
Mr. Willie. Good afternoon, Chairwoman Waters,
Representative Kirkpatrick, and distinguished members of the
House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. My
name is Mellor Willie. I am the executive director of the
National American Indian Housing Council, the premier national
tribal nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing housing,
physical infrastructure, and economic development in tribal
communities in the United States.
In addition to being the executive director of the NAIHC, I
am an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, born and raised
here in Window Rock, Arizona, and appearing before you today is
a special honor.
And I would like to introduce myself appropriately.
(Speaks in Navajo).
First, I want to thank Representative Kirkpatrick, and
Chairwoman Waters for holding this critical hearing on the
Navajo Reservation in order to listen firsthand to the unique
concerns that American Indian veterans face regarding housing
in their homelands after being discharged by the United States
Armed Forces. These men and women, some of whom have made the
ultimate sacrifice to protect this country, deserve our support
when they return home after active duty.
Second, I would like to thank Representative Kirkpatrick
for introducing the Indian Veterans Housing Opportunity Act of
2009, in recognition of and to address such unique concerns. As
members of the subcommittee know, Native Americans represent a
small percentage of the United States population. Throughout
history, however, a high percentage of tribal members have
volunteered to serve in all branches of the United States
military.
Many Tribal members are traditional warrior societies, and
this tradition has translated into an extraordinarily high
level of patriotism in Native America, of dedication to and
willingness to serve in the Armed Forces.
In fact, some Native Americans were serving in the armed
forces before they were even granted citizenship. In times of
national need, Native Americans have been the first to answer
the call to step up and protect this great country that we all
call home. Yet, sadly, they all return to their homelands to
face extraordinary challenges that other veterans do not face
in obtaining safe, quality, and affordable housing.
The Native American Housing Assistance and Self
Determination Act, NAHASDA, is the cornerstone for providing
housing assistance to low-income Native American families in
Indian Country. NAHASDA, which is administered by the United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development, specifies
which activities are eligible for funding, including
downpayment assistance, property acquisition, new construction,
and housing rehabilitation.
The provision of NAHASDA for the purpose of this hearing is
that NAHASDA assistance is limited to low-income Native
American families, defined as those with incomes of 80 percent
or less of the median income for a given area.
The NAHASDA statute does not contain an income exception
for service-disabled veterans or families of soldiers killed in
action. Tribes have no flexibility in determining economic
eligibility. Due to this lack of flexibility, the issues that
present a challenge for housing in tribal communities are
compounded when it comes to Indian veterans.
Under the current statutory language of NAHASDA, it is
problematic that some veterans and their families face the
possibility of being ineligible for housing assistance because
of income earned as a result of service-related disabilities or
death.
The Internal Revenue Service already excludes such amounts
from definition of income, but HUD does consider the payments
as income, as they are bound under the statutory language in
NAHASDA.
The Indian Veterans Housing Opportunity Act of 2009
proposed by Representative Kirkpatrick will remedy this
situation and level the playing field for all Indian veterans
by revising the definition of ``income'' for NAHASDA for
purposes to exclude payments for service-related disability,
dependence, and indemnity.
I just want to be allowed to provide a real-life example.
If a family of four living on the Indian reservation has an
income of $50,000, this is less than the income limit and the
family is eligible for NAHASDA services. However, if a brother,
sister, son, daughter, father, or mother returns to the family
from serving in the Armed Forces with a permanent disability
and receives a monthly disability payment from the Department
of Veterans Affairs of about a thousand dollars, that amount is
added to the family income, and as a result, the family would
be ineligible for NAHASDA assistance.
There is already consensus among HUD, tribal leaders, and
tribal organizations that there is a severe housing shortage in
Indian communities, and that many homes are, as a result,
overcrowded, and that many of the existing homes are in need of
repairs, some of them substantial.
I think you will see a lot of that today when you go
through your tour of the houses that you will see across the
Navajo Nation. We know that a lot of them are missing a full
kitchen and plumbing, and that there are almost 200,000 new
houses needed just to meet the needs in Indian Country.
A survey conducted by HUD shows that of 11,500 households
on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, showed that those homes
have 31,213 families. Of those, 2,726 households included at
least one veteran. Of those, 86 received disability
compensation. Severe overcrowding, coupled with veterans
returning home to family caretakers, has resulted in the Indian
families becoming ineligible for housing assistance.
NAHASDA was enacted to provide Indian Tribes and Native
American communities with new and creative tools necessary to
develop culturally relevant, safe, decent, affordable housing.
Native American soldiers who have put themselves in harms
way protecting our Nation should not be penalized for their
service to this great country. The amendment proposed by
Representative Kirkpatrick's bill, H.R. 3553, will enable
Tribes to more fully serve some of the neediest of families,
those caring for disabled veterans returning from home or their
survivors they have left behind.
I want to thank Representative Kirkpatrick, Chairwoman
Waters, and the subcommittee for your time and consideration
regarding this issue of critical importance to Indian
communities throughout the United States.
I would be happy to answer any questions you might have,
and I further would like to thank Chairwoman Waters. I know of
your assistance on behalf of Indian housing and on behalf of
the 360 members of the National American Indian Housing Council
who provide housing services to 470 Tribes, approximately 90
percent of the population, we thank you for your support on
behalf of the Tribes.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Willie can be found on page
49 of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Waters. You're certainly welcome. You're
welcome. Thank you.
Our next witness will be Mr. Robert DiGirolamo.
STATEMENT OF ROBERT DiGIROLAMO, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEEMAN, DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS
Mr. DiGirolamo. Since my written testimony has already been
entered into the record, at this time, I will attempt to offer
a brief summary.
Madam Chairwoman, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, members of the
subcommittee, members of the Navajo Nation, and fellow
veterans, on behalf of the 1.2 million members of the Disabled
American Veterans, I am honored to present testimony to the
subcommittee today and to its guest members, Mrs. Kirkpatrick
from the Committee on Veterans Affairs, and express our views
on legislation before the subcommittee.
DAV is dedicated to one single purpose, building better
lives for all our Nation's disabled veterans in the
communities. As national executive committeeman and a past
Arizona State commander of DAV, I am proud to speak on behalf
more than 24,000 State members, as well as our nationwide
members. I am pleased to be here before this subcommittee, and
grateful for the opportunity to do so.
While the Native American Housing Assistance and Self
Determination Act of 1996 did much to address the need of low-
income housing for Native Americans, I believe it is seriously
devoid in that it often excludes a segment of the population
that it is meant to serve: our Native American disabled
veterans who so honorably served our country. Many of these
veterans receiving compensation for injuries sustained during
their services, are being denied low-income housing because
their compensation puts them over the income criteria threshold
of less than 80 percent of median income in their area.
This often places them between the rock and the hard place
of more household income than qualifies, but not enough to
actually purchase a home in the marketplace. I believe the
intent of the 1996 NAHASDA Act should have been to include, not
exclude, as many low-income tribal members as possible in
gaining access to housing in rural areas.
The honorably deserved military injury compensation is
quite difficult to acquire from the government and is intended
to offset costs of the disabilities. Disability compensation
should never be considered as normal household income criteria
to create a barrier to affordable housing in a limited
marketplace.
Madam Chairwoman, in your invitation--we'll leave that one.
As to your specific question, as you know, Congress enacted
Public Law 109-233, the Veterans Housing Opportunity and
Benefits Improvement Act of 2006, to improve the benefits
available to veterans and service members by addressing the
specialized housing needs of the thousands of service members
and veterans wounded in OEF/OIF.
The Act also provided a permanent authority in law for VA's
direct home loan program to Native American Veterans. DAV
supported these measures, but thus far they are aiding only a
very small proportion of the disabled veteran population.
Arranging appropriate housing from temporary transition to
permanent for severely wounded OEF/OIF veterans remains a
significant challenge.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick's bill, H.R. 3553, is intended to exclude
from consideration as income in the Native American Housing
Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996, amounts received
by a family from the Department of Veterans Affairs for
service-connected disabilities of a member of the family,
including dependency and indemnity compensation. VA members
approved a national resolution number 222, a resolution that
calls for legislation to exclude VA disability compensation
from income counted in means-tested benefit programs offered by
other government agencies.
This resolution is consistent with the purposes of Mrs.
Kirkpatrick's legislation, a bill that would exempt Native
American veterans in receipt of VA compensation from income
limitations associated with the Native American Housing
Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996.
Therefore, DAV strongly supports its enactment into law. To
obtain affordable housing on Indian Trust Lands and for Native
Americans, Alaska Natives, and Pacific Islander veterans in
general, is highly problematic and challenging. Any measure
that eases these requirements to promote permanent housing for
Native American veterans, and in particular, service-disabled
veterans, carries our strongest support.
Finally, Madam Chairwoman, we do want to highlight that the
purposes of this bill are limited to benefit only Native
American disabled veterans and their survivors. Consistent with
our adopted national resolution, we ask the subcommittee also
to consider advancing new legislation that would apply the
intentions of this bill to all Federal housing programs that
provide subsidies, so that disabled veterans in need might be
able to take advantage of them, rather than be disadvantaged by
their receipt of service-connected disability compensation.
[The prepared statement of Mr. DiGirolamo can be found on
page 37 of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Waters. Thank you very much, and we will
consider that. Thank you.
Mr. David Nez.
STATEMENT OF DAVID P. NEZ, DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR, NAVAJO
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Mr. Nez. Good afternoon, Honorable Representative
Kirkpatrick, and Chairwoman Waters, distinguished veterans,
visitors, and relatives. I am born into the Coyote Pass Clan,
born for Bitter Water. My paternal grandfathers are
Kiyaa'aanii, and maternals are Tl'izi lani.
I served for 22 years in the military, both active duty and
reserve duty combined. During this period of service, I did a
tour of duty during the Persian Gulf War. I am also a Vietnam
Era Veteran. Fortunately or unfortunately, I was too young to
have served in country back in 1974.
Having served with a military occupational specialty of 11
Bravo Infantry and 13 Bravo Artillery, it has been determined
that I have lost at least 5 percent of my hearing upon
separation from active duty.
Therefore, I am 5 percent disabled. However, I am not
receiving disability pension by personal choice. I am keenly
aware of the problems my comrades, my fellow veterans, face in
regards to housing.
I have worked with the Navajo Housing Authority for 9-plus
years as a housing management director after February 2010. I
am currently employed by the Navajo Nation as a department
manager for the Navajo Department of Veterans Affairs, a
position that is counterpart to the State Directors of Veterans
Affairs.
My service and work experience has brought me into a unique
position to advocate that, indeed, the Navajo veterans would
greatly benefit from the exclusion of the disability pension in
the NAHASDA regulations and the qualifying criteria for
veterans housing on the Navajo Nation.
Service-connected disability compensation should not be
deemed as income earned. Your good work in the U.S. Congress to
strike this requirement is notable and worthy. In collaboration
with the Navajo Housing Authority, Navajo Veterans Affairs is
in the initial phase of developing 11 housing units for
veterans across the Navajo Nation.
This is based on various applications that have been
determined eligible under NAHASDA regulations. As least 2 of
these applicants will be 100-percent disabled veterans with the
possibility of another. This is a very conservative estimate.
The Navajo Department of Veterans Affairs will be reviewing
further into other avenues to increase the availability of
affordable housing for veterans. The provisions under the VA
Direct Home Loan Program is one stop-source that has limitation
with regards to the Navajo lands being held in trust status.
On behalf of all veterans, I thank you and appreciate the
opportunity to have spoken with you on these issues. Thank you
very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Nez can be found on page 48
of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Waters. Thank you. Thank you.
Next, we will hear from Mr. Richard Begay, constituent.
STATEMENT OF RICHARD K. BEGAY, DISABLED AMERICAN VETERAN
Mr. Richard Begay. Thank you. Good afternoon, and also
welcome to the Navajo Nation. My name is Richard Begay. I am a
disabled veteran from the Vietnam War where I served two tours
of duty in Southeast Asia.
The assignment--the mission that we were assigned gave us
permanent physical and mental disabilities. To this day, we
continue to live with the pains that we brought home, and some
of us are fortunate to be receiving compensation.
I wanted to bring up one other item. In 1970, when I was
discharged from the military, I applied for the VA Home Loan
Guarantee Program. When I submitted all my paperwork in the
housing design, I was told that I was not qualified to get a
home loan because the house that I was going to construct was
going to be built on the reservation trust land, and the denial
of that request was really a frustration after serving and
coming home with a physical and mental disability.
Then, finally, in 1992, with the help of so many other
veterans organizations, Congress finally changed the law, the
VA Home Loan Guarantee, by passing Public Law 102-547, the
Native American Veteran Direct Home Loan Program, which
authorized VA to made make direct home loans to Native American
veterans living on trust land.
And then the bill that we're discussing, H.R. 3553, in a
way it is similar, because back in the 1970's, I was denied a
home loan because I live on trust land, and with the NAHASDA
rules and regulations that occur, disabled veterans are being
penalized because they received compensation for their injuries
or disability.
On behalf of disabled Navajo veterans, I support
wholeheartedly the legislation, H.R. 3553, and we urge full
support and passage of this bill so more disabled Navajo
veterans and surviving spouses can be eligible for this housing
assistance. Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Richard Begay can be found
on page 35 of the appendix.]
Chairwoman Waters. Thank you very much.
Without objection, we are adding to the panel Mr. Leonard
Teller, chairman of the Navajo Housing Authority. Mr. Teller,
thank you.
STATEMENT OF LEONARD TELLER, CHAIRMAN, NAVAJO HOUSING AUTHORITY
Mr. Teller. Good afternoon, Congresswoman Waters, and Mrs.
Kirkpatrick, as well. It is nice to see the two of you here
again on Navajo land, Dine' land, and good afternoon, as well,
to the previous panel, as well, distinguished individuals from
HUD, White Mountain Apaches, and veterans office, as well, and
the panel here. Good afternoon.
My name is Leonard Teller. I'm the current chairperson of
the Board of Commissioners of the Navajo Housing Authority, and
also am a member of the Navajo Nation Council, as well. It is
good to see this bill, which was the effort of the Navajo
Housing Authority Board of Commissioners a few years back,
coming to fruition for some fruitful discussion, and so forth,
and we hope this does become law, as well.
It makes all perfect sense to strike this language, because
nowhere in any Federal regulation is there a recognition of
income on any service-related disability payment. Only NAHASDA
has that. The IRS doesn't even count this as income.
So I think it makes perfect sense to strike--make this
amendment that has been so far vastly needed on Native American
land. Not just Navajo, but as you can see, across all America
that is being served by NAHASDA, as well. So with that effort,
I think it will eventually happen.
As you have heard today, Congresswoman Waters and Mrs.
Kirkpatrick, Native Americans hold their veterans in high
esteem. They hold them in high esteem, and you heard them go
through an elaborate process of re-indoctrinating them in
society today.
And these are areas that were not addressed by veterans.
However, because of the value we place on veterans and the
esteem that we hold them to, we honor them and cherish them,
and go through the elaborate process of cleansing them, as
well.
So, to that end, the Veterans Affairs Administration, many
of them benefits that they are being--that they are to be
recipients of Veterans Affairs Programs, stop with the
reservation lands. There is a whole host of effort that needs
to be identified to move towards the area identifying
additional barriers that are essential to loosening the
restriction and amending the legislation to bring these
benefits to Native American veterans.
But a year or two ago, we also put forth an effort in
bringing a model program for specifically a Native Veteran
Housing Program. It almost gained traction in the halls of
Congress, but we're going to try again.
We believe this is vastly needed on under all Native
American programs, on all Native lands. Many Native
governments--or, I should say all Native governments is
fulfilling the role that we believe Congress and Washington has
enacted upon our veterans, and Native veterans.
They have guaranteed various benefits to veterans and they
stop at the reservation lines. Native governments today try
their best with the resources they have to step in and try to
fill those shoes, which are really the Federal Government
shoes, towards bringing benefits to veterans on Indian Country.
So that has to be addressed.
NAHASDA has only a small fraction, a fraction of what could
be possible to Native veterans, and this effort we speak to
today brings that to bear. But there is also another issue we
have been working on, which is the matter of prohibition of
collaboration between Federal agencies, and what I speak to the
prohibition of collaboration between the Indian Health Service
and NAHASDA.
Today, within the annual appropriations budget process,
there is language that specifically prohibits collaboration
between IHS money and NAHASDA monies. That shouldn't be so.
That does not make sense at all.
We serve the same clientele, the clientele being those at
risk, those most underserved or not served, very low, low-
income. We have the same agenda. Yet, we are prohibited from
collaborating. This is another area that we will be bringing
forth, as well.
That undermet area of NAHASDA, the new amendments, allow us
to bring forth innovative programs, and I believe, as I agree
with the previous panel, that there is an opportunity to
instill some model Native veterans programs--housing programs
within that realm, as well, but still subject to lot of
interpretation under NAHASDA.
Today, we have an issue, the Navajo Housing Authority has
an issue with the regional office and may be coming to
Washington for some mediations or interpretation. If we have to
go that far, we'll come to ask for your assistance, Ms. Waters
and Mrs. Kirkpatrick.
I believe that we are all on the same song sheet here, and
that an amendment is necessary. Thank you.
Chairwoman Waters. Thank you very much. Thank you.
I will now go to Representative Kirkpatrick for questions.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and thank
you to all of our panels for that excellent testimony. My
question is for Mr. Nez, David Nez. The disability compensation
that some veterans receive is used to treat and live with the
service-connected injuries. However, I know that certain
services of living on tribal lands, make caring for these
veterans even more expensive than those living in less rural
areas.
For example, veterans in Indian Country must often, at
their own expense, travel great distances to receive care from
the VA. Disabled veterans who use prosthetics and wheelchairs
find that these tools don't last nearly as long when used in
the often unimproved terrain of Indian Country.
In your experience working with veterans on tribal lands,
what are some of the other unique factors that make this
disability compensation disappear even quicker than it would in
less rural areas?
Mr. Nez. I see that in this Navajo Nation, on this Navajo
Nation, that on the geographic--geographic area, it is--it is a
barrier in itself. The economic conditions on the Nation are a
barrier in itself, and that services that are available here on
the Navajo--for instance, the Indian Health Service which
serves the population at large, and versus the tenants and
hostels for veterans in outpatient situations, these are very
removed from where we are, and--and these are barriers that I
see, that the veterans are continuing to struggle with.
And some of the service that--some of the tools or the
services that we can bring forth to try to have them access
these services, is sometimes very, very hard to realize, and it
takes--it takes funding and it takes feasibility.
Infrastructure, it is sometimes not there, and that--and as
best as we could, we are looking at--looking at homeless
shelters. We are looking at employment and training programs.
We are looking at housing for indigent veterans and veterans
who cannot afford to buy a home under the NAHASDA program, or
those who can't qualify for Direct Home Loan Programs.
So there is a group there who are underserved, and these
are--these are where grant money is needed, and I would like to
see that. I'm looking at housing as a priority for veterans,
and I want to do a low-income to moderate-income to high-
income.
The high-income is also a problem area where a veteran is
very--they have high-paying jobs, but they cannot be served
under NAHASDA. Therefore, they have to fend on their own, and
in this case we would like to invite a loan program that would
be beneficial to them, as best as I could in a nutshell. Thank
you.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick. Thank you again, to all of our panelists
and all of the people in the audience for being here today, and
I especially thank Chairwoman Waters for conducting this
hearing. I know she has to go to Albuquerque to catch a plane,
but before she does that, we would like to have all the
veterans come up on the stage for a picture--and police
officers. So all veterans and all police officers come up on
the stage. We would like to get a picture of you with
Chairwoman Waters before she leaves.
Chairwoman Waters. Okay. Thank you very much. The Chair
notes that some members may have additional questions for this
panel which they may wish to submit in writing. Without
objection, the hearing record will remain open for 30 days for
members to submit written questions to these witnesses and to
place their responses in the record.
This panel is now dismissed, and before we adjourn, the
written statements of the following organizations and
individuals will be made part of the record of this hearing: a
statement from Mr. Raymond P. Bell, Jr.
[Whereupon, the hearing was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
April 10, 2010
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