[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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