[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 10, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S4310]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID (for Mr. Obama (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. 
        Menendez, Mr. Brown, and Ms. Cantwell)):
  S. 1084. A bill to provide housing assistance for very low-income 
veterans; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Homes for 
Heroes Act of 2007. I am pleased to be joined by Senators Schumer, 
Menendez, Brown and Cantwell in offering this legislation.
  As we respond to the moral question of how we honor our sacred trust 
to care for our returning servicemembers and veterans, I am reminded of 
my grandfather, who signed up for duty in World War II the day after 
Pearl Harbor. He marched across Europe in Patton's army, and when he 
came home to Kansas, he could have very easily faced some tough times.
  He could've had trouble paying for college, or finding a job, or even 
finding a home. But at the time, he lived in a country that recognized 
the value of his service--a country that kept its promise to defend 
those who have defended freedom. And so he was able to afford college 
through the GI Bill, and he was able to buy a house through the Federal 
Housing Administration, and he was able to work hard and raise a family 
and build his own American Dream.
  And after I think about my grandfather, and the opportunities he had 
as a veteran, I then think about a veteran I met named Bill Allen, who 
told me that on a trip he took to Chicago, he actually saw homeless 
veterans fighting over access to the dumpsters. Think about that. 
Fighting over access to the dumpsters.
  Each and every night in this country, more than 200,000 of our 
Nation's veterans are homeless. And nearly twice as many will 
experience homelessness over the course of a year. There is no single 
cause for this.
  Homeless vets are men and women, single and married. Many suffer from 
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; others were physically and mentally 
battered in combat. A large number left the military without job skills 
that could be easily used in the private sector.
  All have risked their lives for their country. All deserve--at the 
very least--the basic dignity of going to sleep at night with a roof 
over their head. And every day we allow them to go without, it brings 
shame to every single one of us.
  This is wrong. It's wrong because we're quick to offer words of 
praise for our troops when they're abroad, but quick to forget about 
their needs when they come home. It's wrong because we have the 
resources and the programs in place to help solve this problem. And 
it's wrong on a fundamentally moral level--the idea that we would allow 
such brave and selfless citizens to suffer in such biting poverty. And 
so it is now our responsibility--it is now our duty--to make this 
right.
  These heroes often have not connected to vital housing and supportive 
services that could make all of the difference. Many more low income 
veterans and veteran families live at the margins and are at risk of 
becoming homeless in the absence of permanent housing solutions and 
supportive services. While it's one thing to get veterans off the 
streets temporarily, it's another to keep them off--to place veterans 
in real, permanent homes. In fact, the VA has consistently identified 
permanent housing as one of the top three unmet needs in the fight 
against veteran homelessness. And despite the tremendous demand for 
homeless services, the federal government serves only a tiny fraction 
of those who are in need.
  That's why I'm introducing a bill today called the Homes for Heroes 
Act. This is a bill that would help expand access to long-term, 
affordable housing by creating a fund so that the community and 
nonprofit organizations could purchase, build, or rehabilitate homes 
and apartments for veterans.
  So that we don't just leave them to face their personal challenges on 
their own, the organizations would also provide services like 
counseling, employment training, and child care to the veterans who 
live in this housing. And the Homes for Heroes Act would expand the 
number of permanent housing vouchers for veterans from the current 
number of less than 2,000 to 20,000, and make this authorization 
permanent. These are vouchers that have been highly successful in 
giving veterans the chance to afford a place to live.
  Every day in America, there are men and women on street corners with 
handwritten signs that say ``Homeless Veteran--Will Work For Food.'' 
Sometimes we give a dollar, sometimes we just keep walking. These are 
soldiers who fought in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. They 
made a commitment to their country when they chose to serve and now we 
must keep our commitment to them. Because when we make the decision to 
send our troops to war, we also make the decision to care for them, to 
speak for them, and to think of them--always--when they come home.
  This kind of America--an America of opportunity, of collective 
responsibility for each other--is the kind that so many of our parents 
and grandparents came home to after the Second World War. Now it's time 
for us to build this America for those sons and daughters who come home 
today.
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