[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S6159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. OBAMA:
  S. 1180. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to reauthorize 
various programs servicing the needs of homeless veterans for fiscal 
years 2007 through 2011, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, the Department of Veterans Affairs 
estimates that on any given day, as many as 200,000 veterans are 
homeless. That is 200,000 men and women who have fought for this 
country who will go without the comfort of knowing that they will have 
a roof over their head and a place to call home.
  If 200,000 of our Nation's veterans will go homeless tonight, the VA 
estimates that about twice as many veterans will experience 
homelessness this year. Again, that is 400,000 men and women who 
defended this great Nation, who will be left out on the streets at some 
point this year.
  I hope my colleagues are as distressed as I am by these numbers, and 
I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting the bill I introduce 
today--the Shelter All Veterans Everywhere or ``SAVE'' Reauthorization 
Act of 2005.
  This bill reauthorizes many of the soon-to-expire homeless veterans 
programs currently serving this needy population, including the 
Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program and the Homeless Veterans 
Reintegration Program. These programs work to provide much-needed 
services to homeless veterans so that they can find jobs and ultimately 
find a stable home. These programs deserve to be continued. The SAVE 
Reauthorization Act actually expands the reach of the Homeless Veterans 
Reintegration Program, which provides job placement and training 
assistance, to include those veterans at risk of homelessness as well 
as those actually homeless, so that we can work to prevent homelessness 
before it happens.
  At a time when so many of my colleagues are working to ensure that 
our Nation's veterans receive the benefits and services they have 
earned and deserve, we cannot forget the neediest of our veterans--the 
homeless veterans. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting 
these worthy programs.
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