[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 31, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E829-E830]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HOMELESS VETERANS REINTEGRATION PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 30, 2009

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 
1171, ``Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization Act of 
2009.'' I want to thank my colleague Congressman John Boozman of 
Arkansas for introducing this legislation.
  I firmly believe that we should celebrate our veterans after every 
conflict, and I remain committed, as a Member of Congress, to both

[[Page E830]]

meeting the needs of veterans of previous wars, and to providing a 
fitting welcome home to those who are now serving. All too many of our 
veterans are left without the help and support they need to transition 
from the horrors they bravely face on the front lines of battle to 
successful civilian life.
  H.R. 1171, ``Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization 
Act of 2009,'' reauthorizes, through FY2014, the Department of Veterans 
Affairs homeless veterans reintegration programs such as job training, 
counseling, and placement services to expedite the reintegration of 
homeless veterans into the labor force. Furthermore, this bill directs 
the Secretary of Labor to make grants to programs and facilities that 
provide dedicated services for homeless women veterans and homeless 
veterans with children, and requires grant funds to be used to provide 
job training, counseling, placement services, and child care services 
to expedite the reintegration of such veterans into the labor force.
  Veterans are some of America's most valued members of society. These 
are people who served our Nation in a time of need, people who risked 
their lives to protect our own. Yet, many of these same veterans who 
fought so bravely and risked so much in lands far abroad have come back 
to their Nation and are now homeless. The problem of homeless veterans 
is far more prevalent than we would like to believe. About one-third of 
the entire adult homeless population has served their country in the 
Armed Services. On any given day, as many as 250,000 veterans, both 
male and female, are living on the streets or in shelters, and perhaps 
twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course 
of a year. There are approximately 16,000 homeless veterans spread 
across the state of Texas.
  Many other veterans are considered near homeless or at risk because 
of their poverty, lack of support from family and friends, and dismal 
living conditions in cheap hotels or in overcrowded or substandard 
housing.
  This legislation is necessary not only because this problem is so 
devastating and prevalent, but also because homeless veterans have 
special needs that are unique from those faced by the rest of the 
homeless population. Almost all homeless veterans are male, with three 
percent being female, the vast majority are single, and most come from 
poor, disadvantaged backgrounds. Homeless veterans tend to be older and 
more educated than homeless non-veterans. But similar to the general 
population of homeless adult males, about 45% of homeless veterans 
suffer from mental illness and slightly more than 70% suffer from 
alcohol or other drug abuse problems. Roughly 56% are African American 
or Hispanic.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 1171 helps to address the homeless veteran 
population by increasing and extending through FY 2014 the 
authorization of appropriations for homeless assistance to veterans 
furnished through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Homeless 
Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 gives 
authority to the Department of Veterans Affairs through FY 2014 to make 
grants to furnish assistance to homeless veterans through: outreach; 
rehabilitative services; vocational counseling and training; and 
transitional housing. I hope we will all take the time to show 
appreciation to those who have answered the call to duty. As Winston 
Churchill famously stated, ``Never in the field of human conflict was 
so much owed by so many to so few.''
  I urge my colleagues to support the Homeless Veterans Reintegration 
Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 because this comprehensive program 
is needed if we are to fight this scourge that is a blight upon our 
Nation. Our Nation's veterans did not risk their lives abroad so that 
they could come home and feel a cold shoulder. We must all have outrage 
that so many of our Nation's veterans live this way, only then can we 
find a way to correct this injustice.

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