[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 57 (Monday, April 26, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E765-E766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HELP FOR HOMELESS VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 26, 1999

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, following is the testimony I gave on April 
22, 1999 to the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and 
Education of the Committee on Appropriations:

       Thank you for the opportunity to testify this morning on 
     behalf of the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.
       There is virtually no disagreement that one-third of the 
     homeless men in this country are veterans--and that 
     approximately 58 percent of those individuals are veterans of 
     the Vietnam era. In my home town of San Diego, it is 
     estimated that 40-50% of the homeless served in our Armed 
     Forces. This means, Mr. Chairman, that tonight in this great 
     country of ours, more than 275,000 veterans who served their 
     country with honor will sleep in doorways--in boxes--in 
     alleys--and on grates in our cities--and in barns--and lean-
     tos--and on the ground in rural America. This is a troubling 
     and shameful image and a troubling and shameful reality.
       Since 1987, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program 
     (HVRP), a modest, cost-effective program designed to help 
     homeless veterans reenter and succeed in the job market, has 
     proven its worth. More than 46,000 homeless veterans have 
     received help and support from the community-based 
     organizations funded under HVRP, and many were placed in jobs 
     at a cost of less than $1,500 per veteran. Few government 
     programs can claim to have achieved so much with so little.
       At its fully authorized level of $10 million, HVRP is 
     profoundly underfunded--and the $5 million funding level 
     included in the Administration budget, although a welcome 
     increase over past years, is woefully inadequate. The 
     Department of Labor estimates that $5 million will enable 
     HVRP grantees to assist more than 6,000 veterans and actually 
     place 3,500 homeless veterans in jobs. I ask that you provide 
     the maximum authorization of $10 million for this program so 
     that more than 7,000 veterans may return to economic self-
     sufficiency and independence.
       Mr. Chairman, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans 
     estimates that 550,000 veterans are homeless over the course 
     of a year. This, to me, is an absolutely staggering and 
     tragic statistic--and to limit funding to $10 million for the 
     only program that focuses on employment of veterans who are 
     homeless makes no sense. Consequently, I introduced 
     legislation on Tuesday that would authorize $50 million for 
     HVRP for each fiscal year through 2004. The need is 
     enormous--and the need is real.
       I know there are those who ask why we can't simply serve 
     veterans along with other homeless populations. They want to 
     know why we need veteran-specific programs. The answer is 
     rooted in the uniqueness of the shared active-duty military 
     experience--in the discipline, sacrifice, and camaraderie 
     associated with military service. When they go through basic 
     training, young recruits quickly learn that their lives could 
     some day depend on the guy in the next bunk--and that they 
     themselves may be responsible for the lives of their 
     comrades. They learn that they must work together if they are 
     to succeed in their mission--and they will succeed as a group 
     only if each servicemember exercises the self-discipline 
     required to perform responsibly. As a result of this 
     training, homeless veterans respond to, and trust other 
     veterans, and they succeed in programs that replicate the 
     military structure. I expect that the non-veteran homeless 
     population might not benefit from the organization and 
     discipline of veteran-specific homeless programs, but 
     veterans do thrive in this environment.
       One of the key factors in the success of HVRP is the 
     outreach to homeless veterans that is most often done by 
     formerly homeless veterans. They are best able to reach out 
     to and convince homeless vets to seek services and 
     assistance. They are best able to recognize the symptoms of 
     post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and arrange for the 
     necessary treatment. They are best able to determine when 
     their fellow veterans are ready to get a job--and to keep a 
     job. And, perhaps most importantly, they are the best 
     possible role models for success. In a recent conversation 
     about the importance of veteran-specific homeless programs, 
     someone said to me--``If one-third of the homeless men in 
     this country spoke only Latin, would it make any sense for 
     homeless providers to speak to them only in English?'' And 
     the answer is--of course not! Veterans speak the

[[Page E766]]

     same unique language, and they share the same unique 
     experiences. The programs that are based on the principle of 
     ``vets helping vets'' are most likely to succeed with 
     homeless veterans. The Department of Labor is currently 
     funding HVRP programs ion New York, Kentucky, Wisconsin, 
     Texas, and California--and I hope that the members of this 
     Subcommittee who represent those states will make a point of 
     visiting their HVRP grantees and seeing their good work first 
     hand.
       Mr. Chairman, I listened closely to the impressive 
     testimony I heard from the veterans' service organizations 
     who testified before the House Veterans Affairs Committee 
     over the past few months--and I sense an urgently and 
     frustration that I've not heard before. America's veterans 
     are telling us that they have done more than their fair 
     share--and now they expect us to be their advocates. They are 
     reminding us that America is safe and free only because of 
     the generations of men and women who willingly endured the 
     hardships and sacrifices required to preserve our liberty. I 
     urge you to demonstrate your commitment to America's veterans 
     and provide full funding for the Homeless Veterans 
     Reintegration Program and help bring homeless veterans home.

     

                          ____________________