[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 49 (Monday, March 26, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H1553-H1555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1540
                      HOMES FOR HEROES ACT OF 2011

  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3298) to establish the position of Special Assistant for 
Veterans Affairs in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3298

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Homes for Heroes Act of 
     2011''.

     SEC. 2. SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS IN THE 
                   DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.

       Section 4 of the Department of Housing and Urban 
     Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533) is amended by adding at the 
     end the following new subsection:
       ``(g) Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs.--
       ``(1) Establishment.--There shall be in the Department a 
     Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs, who shall be a 
     special assistant to the Secretary and shall report directly 
     to the Secretary.
       ``(2) Appointment.--The Special Assistant for Veterans 
     Affairs shall be appointed based solely on merit and shall be 
     covered under the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 
     governing appointments in the competitive service.
       ``(3) Responsibilities.--The Special Assistant for Veterans 
     Affairs shall be responsible for--
       ``(A) ensuring veterans have fair access to housing and 
     homeless assistance under each program of the Department 
     providing either such assistance;
       ``(B) coordinating all programs and activities of the 
     Department relating to veterans;
       ``(C) serving as a liaison for the Department with the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs, including establishing and 
     maintaining relationships with the Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs;
       ``(D) serving as a liaison for the Department, and 
     establishing and maintaining relationships with the United 
     States Interagency

[[Page H1554]]

     Council on Homelessness and officials of State, local, 
     regional, and nongovernmental organizations concerned with 
     veterans;
       ``(E) providing information and advice regarding--
       ``(i) sponsoring housing projects for veterans assisted 
     under programs administered by the Department; or
       ``(ii) assisting veterans in obtaining housing or homeless 
     assistance under programs administered by the Department;
       ``(F) coordinating with the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in carrying 
     out section 3 of the Homes for Heroes Act of 2011; and
       ``(G) carrying out such other duties as may be assigned to 
     the Special Assistant by the Secretary or by law.''.

     SEC. 3. ANNUAL SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON VETERANS HOMELESSNESS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in 
     coordination with the United States Interagency Council on 
     Homelessness, shall submit annually to the Committees of the 
     Congress specified in subsection (b), together with the 
     annual reports required by such Secretaries under section 
     203(c)(1) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 11313(c)(1)), a supplemental report that includes the 
     following information with respect to the preceding year:
       (1) The same information, for such preceding year, that was 
     included with respect to 2010 in the report by the Secretary 
     of Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs entitled ``Veterans Homelessness: A 
     Supplemental Report to the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment 
     Report to Congress''.
       (2) Information regarding the activities of the Department 
     of Housing and Urban Development relating to veterans during 
     such preceding year, as follows:
       (A) The number of veterans provided assistance under the 
     housing choice voucher program for Veterans Affairs supported 
     housing (VASH) under section 8(o)(19) of the United States 
     Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)), the 
     socioeconomic characteristics of such homeless veterans, and 
     the number, types, and locations of entities contracted under 
     such section to administer the vouchers.
       (B) A summary description of the special considerations 
     made for veterans under public housing agency plans submitted 
     pursuant to section 5A of the United States Housing Act of 
     1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c 1) and under comprehensive housing 
     affordability strategies submitted pursuant to section 105 of 
     the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 
     U.S.C. 12705).
       (C) A description of the activities of the Special 
     Assistant for Veterans Affairs of the Department of Housing 
     and Urban Development.
       (D) A description of the efforts of the Department of 
     Housing and Urban Development and the other members of the 
     United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to 
     coordinate the delivery of housing and services to veterans.
       (E) The cost to the Department of Housing and Urban 
     Development of administering the programs and activities 
     relating to veterans.
       (F) Any other information that the Secretary of Housing and 
     Urban Development and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
     consider relevant in assessing the programs and activities of 
     the Department of Housing and Urban Development relating to 
     veterans.
       (b) Committees.--The Committees of the Congress specified 
     in this subsection are as follows:
       (1) The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of 
     the Senate.
       (2) The Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate.
       (3) The Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
       (4) The Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (5) The Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (6) The Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Grimm). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) and the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Al Green) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to add extraneous material on this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Today I rise in support of H.R. 3298, the Homes for Heroes Act of 
2011.
  Sadly, approximately one-fifth of our country's homeless population 
consists of veterans. In part, that's because readapting to civilian 
life is not always easy even for some of our country's true heroes. But 
research shows that with a stable living situation, our veterans are 
far more likely to overcome other challenges. These are men and women 
who braved bullets and basic training to protect our country and our 
freedom. They have the will and the strength to overcome any obstacle, 
but it is our job to give them the tools.
  That is why it's essential that HUD and the VA work hand in hand to 
help our veterans get the housing assistance they have earned.
  The Homes for Heroes Act of 2011, of which I'm a cosponsor and which 
was introduced by my colleague from Texas (Mr. Al Green) and my 
colleague from New York (Mr. Grimm), establishes the position of 
Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs within HUD to effectively 
coordinate services among veterans and to serve as HUD's liaison to the 
Department of Veterans Affairs' U.S. Interagency Council on 
Homelessness, State and local officials, and nonprofit service 
organizations.
  The bill also requires HUD to submit a comprehensive annual report to 
Congress on the housing needs of homeless veterans and the steps 
undertaken by HUD to meet those needs, and H.R. 3298 takes these steps 
within existing budgetary constraints at no additional cost to 
taxpayers.
  Similar to H.R. 403 and H.R. 3329, which are the Homes for Heroes 
Acts of 2008 and 2009, both of which passed this House, H.R. 3298 has 
strong bipartisan support. Once enacted, this legislation will help us 
better understand the needs of homeless veterans while fostering a 
better working relationship between HUD and the VA. The result will be 
better services for our heroes; and while we can never repay our 
veterans for the selfless sacrifices they've made, we can work to 
ensure that they have a place to call home when they come home.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I thank my colleague, Mrs. Biggert, for her support of this 
legislation as well as many other pieces of legislation that we've had 
the privilege of working together on.
  Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank you, as well, for your cosponsorship 
of the legislation. It means a lot to have bipartisan support for our 
warriors, those who are willing to go to distant places and risk their 
lives such that we may have better lives.
  Many of them do not return home as they left. Many of them find 
themselves living on the streets of life. As a result, we believe it's 
necessary for us to do all that we can to help them secure the kind of 
homes, the kind of housing, the kinds of services that they need so 
that they can reintegrate themselves into American life. This bill, the 
Homes for Heroes bill, will help to some degree with our goals and 
ambitions of helping them to have a place to call home.
  The bill does place a person in HUD whose sole responsibility it will 
be to monitor homelessness among our veterans. This person is to file 
an annual report with Congress on the status of homelessness among the 
veterans in this country and to give us some insight as to how we are 
progressing in eliminating and abolishing homelessness among our 
veterans. It's not going to do everything that we need to do, but it is 
a step in the right direction.
  If I may say so, I would like to commend HUD for what has been done 
thus far, because there is a person who does this sort of thing with 
HUD currently. But what we're trying to do now is institutionalize the 
position such that administrations may come and go, but the position 
will still be there, and our veterans will receive the kind of help 
that they merit and deserve.
  Mr. Speaker, in our country in 2009, approximately 136,334 people who 
self-identified themselves as veterans spent at least one night in an 
emergency shelter or a transitional-housing program. That speaks 
volumes about the amount of work that we have to do.
  While 136,000 may not seem like a lot to some people, I contend, if 
we have but one veteran who is finding himself or herself in 
transitional housing or sleeping in a shelter or sleeping on the 
streets of life, I think we have work to do. This bill will help us 
with our veterans who are doing this, who are sleeping in this 
transitional housing.

[[Page H1555]]

  I would also add that our veterans compose about 16 percent of the 
homeless adults while they are 8 percent of the American population. 
They are 8 percent of the population, but of those who are homeless, 
they are 16 percent.
  This, of course, is something that we cannot continue to tolerate. So 
I'm going to beg all of my colleagues: please, give serious 
consideration to this piece of legislation. It will not break the bank. 
It may not do all that we'd like to have done, but it's a step in the 
right direction, and somebody will be helped as a result of what we do 
today. I beg to my colleagues, please support this legislation.
  I thank Mrs. Biggert for the outstanding work that she has done. I 
again especially thank staffers who worked with us on this piece of 
legislation. And I can say candidly, Mr. Speaker, that but for the 
assistance of our staffers, we might not be standing here today. They 
do make a difference. And I would have the veterans know that behind 
every Member, we have staffers who are working to help them return to 
our homeland and reintegrate them into our society.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. We have no further speakers on this side of the aisle 
if the gentleman would like to close.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I would simply close by saying this: Mr. 
Speaker, thank you again for your support of this legislation. I would 
hope that my colleagues will give it the kind of consideration that our 
warriors are giving us when they decide that they're willing to go to 
distant places and make great sacrifices for us. Please give it 
consideration.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Al Green) for all of his hard work on this issue.
  It is really nice to have these bills that are bipartisan in nature, 
and certainly homelessness is something that we all hear about and 
would like to find a way to end. There are different categories in 
that, and I think the veterans certainly are very important.
  With that, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIMM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of H.R. 
3298, ``The Homes for Heroes Act of 2011.''
  As a Marine combat veteran, I am strongly committed to assisting our 
young men and women as they return home from protecting our freedom 
overseas.
  I am honored to have been able to work with my colleague and friend 
Mr. Green of Texas on this legislation. Our veterans have no greater 
friend in Congress than Mr. Green and I am honored to have had this 
opportunity to join him in fighting for our heroes.
  Veteran's homelessness is a serious issue and, sadly, one that gets 
overlooked far too often. Currently veterans make up approximately 8 
percent of the U.S. population, however they are 17 percent of the 
homeless population.
  Clearly something is wrong with our ability to transition these brave 
men and women from military service to civilian life.
  Recent circumstances have only served to exacerbate these problems. 
Our new veterans are returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan to find 
an economy with very limited employment opportunities. While these 
economic problems are affecting all Americans, veterans looking to move 
from military service to civilian life are finding themselves competing 
with an already over-supplied labor market.
  Furthermore, the extraordinarily long deployments that our service 
members have been facing place an enormous mental strain on our new 
veterans. This burden has made it difficult for many to easily 
transition back into normal civilian life.
  In order to combat veteran's homelessness this bill would create a 
Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs within the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development to co-ordinate homeless veteran's benefits with 
the VA. In addition, this bill will require HUD to prepare a report to 
Congress on the progress that has been made in ending homelessness 
amongst our veterans.
  Again, it has been an honor to work on such an important piece of 
legislation and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting its 
passage.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3298.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________