[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 183 (Thursday, December 1, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2149-E2150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             SENIOR VETERANS HOUSING ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2011

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                        HON. MICHAEL R. TURNER-

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 1, 2011

  Mr. TURNER of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, we must ensure that the men and 
women who bravely served our country have access to affordable housing. 
My bill, the Senior Veterans Housing Assistance Act, seeks to make sure 
that government regulations do not pose an impediment to achieving this 
important goal.
  This issue came to light because of conflicting rules and regulations 
between the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the 
Department of Veterans Affairs. In Dayton, Ohio, the St. Mary's 
Neighborhood

[[Page E2150]]

Development Corporation has been attempting for several years to 
construct senior housing on the campus of the Dayton VA Medical Center. 
St. Mary's was able to obtain an enhanced-use lease from the VA to 
construct the housing and also obtained HUD Section 202 funding to 
allow for the financing of the construction for low-income senior 
housing. So we had VA providing the land and HUD providing funding, and 
both VA and HUD agreeing that this would be an excellent project to 
help homeless veterans, provide low-income housing for veterans, and 
respond to the needs of seniors in the community.
  However, HUD asserted that St. Mary's was unable to use these 
critical dollars if the VA lease required a specific preference for 
veterans to occupy the proposed facility on the VA grounds. The VA 
rules and regulations require that the VA assert and request a 
preference for veterans for housing to be built on its campus.
  In the 111th Congress, this body unanimously approved and the 
President enacted into law a provision I authored to solve this issue. 
Specifically, the Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations measure included a 
prohibition on enforcement of HUD's restriction against a veterans 
preference. However, this solution was only temporary.
  To ensure that these conflicting regulations do not present further, 
long-term obstacles for our veterans and seniors, I have introduced the 
Senior Veterans Housing Assistance Act. My bill will permanently ensure 
that organizations that seek to provide our senior veterans with 
affordable housing with HUD funds on VA property are able to overcome 
the HUD and VA conflicting rules and regulations. Specifically, the 
bill will allow HUD funds to be used for supportive housing for the 
elderly that provide preference to veterans if the property is or would 
be located on VA land, or is subject to an enhanced-use lease with the 
VA.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this important 
measure.

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