[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 22, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S5230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HOMELESS WOMEN VETERANS AND HOMELESS VETERANS WITH CHILDREN ACT

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today in support of S. 1237, the 
Homeless Veterans and Other Veterans Health Care Authorities Act of 
2010.
  I just had the opportunity to meet with an amazing woman named 
Natalie and her two children who are actually here in Washington right 
now.
  Natalie is currently living in Issaquah in my home State of 
Washington--but she has been through some tough times over the past few 
years.
  She is a Navy veteran and a single mom. But she became homeless in 
2007 when she couldn't find work and had to move out of the house she 
was staying in.
  Like most moms, Natalie wanted nothing more than to provide her two 
children with the stable and loving home every family deserves--so she 
fought to secure transitional housing, and she was very fortunate to 
find a program called Hopelink in Washington State that gave her the 
support she needed to get back on her feet.
  Natalie is now back in stable housing, taking care of her children, 
and advancing in her nursing career--and she is here in Washington, DC, 
today to help make sure no other family has to face the challenges she 
overcame so bravely.
  Unfortunately, not every family gets the support that Natalie's did.
  Homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children are two 
terribly vulnerable groups that are growing by the day.
  Back in my home State of Washington, veterans service organizations 
and homeless providers have told me they are seeing more homeless 
veterans coming for help than ever before.
  And, unfortunately, more and more of these veterans are women, have 
young children, or both.
  In fact, female veterans are between two and four times as likely to 
be homeless than their civilian counterpart and they have unique needs 
and often require specialized services.
  That is why I introduced the Homeless Women Veterans and Homeless 
Veterans with Children Act with Senator Jack Reed and Senator Tim 
Johnson.
  This legislation would take three big steps forward toward tackling 
the serious problems facing this vulnerable group.
  First of all, it would make more front-line homeless service 
providers eligible to receive special needs grants.
  This would help organizations in Washington State and across the 
country help support families like Natalie's.
  It would also expand special needs grants to cover homeless male 
veterans with children, as well as the dependents of homeless veterans 
themselves.
  And it would extend the Department of Labor's Homeless Veterans 
Reintegration Program to provide workforce training, job counseling, 
child care services and placement services to homeless women veterans 
and homeless veterans with children.
  It is so important that we not just provide immediate support--but 
that we also make sure our veterans have the resources and support they 
need to get back on their feet.
  In addition to helping homeless veterans, S. 1237 also includes a 
number of other provisions aimed at supporting our nation's heroes.
  It extends eligibility to health care for certain veterans with 
disabilities who served in the Persian Gulf war.
  It would establish a medical center report card to allow veterans and 
their families access to transparent performance comparisons between VA 
facilities and between VA and non-VA sites.
  And it would direct the VA to enable State veterans' homes to admit 
parents who had a child die while serving in the Armed Forces.
  This is a very personal issue for me.
  Growing up, I saw firsthand the many ways military service can affect 
both veterans and their families.
  My dad served in World War II and was among the first soldiers to 
land on Okinawa. He came home as a disabled veteran and was awarded the 
Purple Heart.
  Like many soldiers of his generation, my father didn't talk about his 
experiences during the war. In fact, we only really learned about them 
by reading his journals after he passed away.
  And I think that experience offers a larger lesson about veterans in 
general. They are reluctant to call attention to their service, and 
they are reluctant to ask for help.
  That is why we have to publicly recognize their sacrifices and 
contributions.
  It is up to us to make sure that they get the recognition they have 
earned.
  And it is up to us to guarantee that they get the services and 
support they deserve.
  This bill passed through the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee with 
strong bipartisan support, and that is how it should be, because 
supporting our veterans shouldn't be about politics--it should be about 
what kind of country we want the United States to be and about what our 
priorities are as a nation.
  In his second inaugural address in 1865, President Lincoln said our 
Nation had an obligation to ``care for him who shall have borne the 
battle and for his widow, and his orphan.''
  Now, in 2010, I believe we not only need to care for him--we need to 
care for her and for his and her families and for every man and woman 
coming home after serving our country so bravely.
  That is why I am proud to stand here today for Natalie, her children, 
and families just like hers across the country--to urge my colleagues 
to support S. 1237, the Homeless Veterans and Other Veterans Health 
Care Authorities Act of 2010.
  I hope we can pass this expeditiously off the floor and get these 
services out to the men and women who have served us all so well.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning 
business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is in morning business.

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