[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 149 (Tuesday, November 27, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H6440-H6441]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CLOTHE A HOMELESS HERO ACT

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6328) to amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the 
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security 
Administration) to transfer unclaimed clothing recovered at airport 
security checkpoints to local veterans organizations and other local 
charitable organizations, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6328

       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 ``Clothe a Homeless Hero 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. DISPOSITION OF UNCLAIMED CLOTHING RECOVERED AT 
                   AIRPORT SECURITY CHECKPOINTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 44945 of title 49, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in the section heading, by inserting ``and clothing'' 
     after ``money'';
       (2) by inserting before the text the following: ``(a) 
     Disposition of Unclaimed Money.--''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) Disposition of Unclaimed Clothing.--
       ``(1) In general.--In disposing of unclaimed clothing 
     recovered at any airport security checkpoint, the Assistant 
     Secretary shall make every reasonable effort, in consultation 
     with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to transfer the 
     clothing to local veterans organizations or other local 
     charitable organizations for distribution to homeless or 
     needy veterans and veteran families.
       ``(2) Agreements.--In implementing paragraph (1), the 
     Assistant Secretary may enter into agreements with airport 
     authorities.
       ``(3) Other charitable arrangements.--Nothing in this 
     subsection shall prevent an airport or the Transportation 
     Security Administration from donating unclaimed clothing to a 
     charitable organization of their choosing.
       ``(4) Limitation.--Nothing in this subsection shall create 
     a cost to the Government.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 449 of such title is amended by striking 
     the item relating to such section and inserting the 
     following:

``44945. Disposition of unclaimed money and clothing.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Hochul) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as vice chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and 
a senior member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I rise in 
support of H.R. 6328, again, a bipartisan bill, a bill sponsored by my 
colleague, Ms. Hochul, the Clothe a Homeless Hero Act.
  According to estimates from the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, in 2011 approximately 14 percent of all homeless adults 
were veterans, with more than 67,000 veterans homeless on any given 
night--unacceptable.
  We must do all that we can to ensure that the veterans who have 
courageously served our country are not forgotten and are receiving the 
care and services they deserve. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has set a 
laudable goal of

[[Page H6441]]

ending veterans' homelessness by 2015 and has established partnerships 
with other Federal agencies, such as HUD, to accomplish it.
  The bill before us today will forge another important partnership in 
our efforts to serve homeless veterans, one with the Transportation 
Security Administration. Each day, as Americans travel through 
screening checkpoints operated by TSA at our Nation's airports, many 
articles of clothing are left behind. In fact, TSA reports that they 
collect between 500 and 1,000 garments per day.
  H.R. 6328 directs the TSA Administrator to make every reasonable 
effort to donate this unclaimed clothing to local organizations that 
serve homeless or needy veterans.
  I urge Members to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Ms. HOCHUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6328, the 
Clothe a Homeless Hero Act, and yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I just flew in from the Buffalo airport, and there was a 
dusting of snow on the ground. I'm sure my colleague from Florida did 
not have a similar experience, but it bodes poorly for the veterans who 
are going to be spending the nights on the streets of Buffalo and other 
cold places. As the weather starts to change, it's something that's 
very hurtful to see, as an American, and to know that there are 
veterans who put on their uniform and went overseas to fight and 
protect all of us, and to know that 20,000 recently returning veterans 
from Iraq and Afghanistan will find themselves homeless tonight.

                              {time}  1720

  That is a national disgrace. As all of us rush through airports every 
week along with many thousands of Americans, it's not uncommon for 
scarves and hats and other articles of clothing to be inadvertently 
left behind at TSA checkpoints. In fact, I, myself, left a scarf 
behind, which prompted my thoughts of how we could handle this surplus 
clothing. It adds up to thousands of pounds of abandoned clothes 
annually. There can be no better purpose than for this unclaimed 
clothing to help America's homeless veterans.
  Homelessness has gone on the rise among our veterans. This is 
absolutely an unconscionable, untenable situation. As a country, we 
have a moral obligation to do so much more to eradicate this untenable 
situation. And I know that in a bipartisan way this is one step toward 
that effort. Even if one of our veterans stays warm this winter because 
of the clothing provided through this legislation, it would have been 
well worth the effort.
  The Clothe a Homeless Hero Act directs the TSA to make every 
reasonable effort to transfer unclaimed clothing to local veterans 
organizations or other local charitable organizations for distribution 
to homeless veterans and their dependents. Nothing in this bill 
prevents airports or the TSA from donating these items to charities of 
their choosing if they already have relationships in place. And most 
importantly, this legislation would not create a cost to the 
government.
  When I offered this proposal in the Committee on Homeland Security, I 
was so grateful that it received unanimous, bipartisan support from all 
my colleagues. I thank the overall committee chairman, Mr. Peter King, 
Ranking Member Thompson, members of the Committee on Homeland Security, 
and Subcommittee Chairman Mr. Bilirakis for all their support.
  I urge all of our colleagues to join us in advancing this simple, 
deficit-neutral bill to assist the heroes who once wore the uniform and 
have fallen on hard times and need this clothing.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. If 
the gentlewoman from New York has no further speakers, I am prepared to 
close.
  Ms. HOCHUL. Mr. Speaker, as you've heard, H.R. 6328 enjoys bipartisan 
support of the members of the Committee on Homeland Security and 
deserves the full support of the House today. I think this is an 
important step we take, particularly with the holiday season 
approaching, cold weather approaching, and it's a small step that we 
can take to help these veterans who were heroes at one time and now 
need the help of all of us as American citizens.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this 
legislation and, in turn, support homeless veterans.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 6328, the ``Clothe a Homeless Hero Act.''
  At the outset, I would like to commend Representative Hochul, the 
author of H.R. 6328, for her tireless work on behalf of her 
constituents, our veterans and for her service on the Committee on 
Homeland Security.
  Since she joined the Committee, I have watched as Representative 
Hochul worked to identify bipartisan solutions to our Nation's 
problems.
  H.R. 6328 is the byproduct of her collaborative and thoughtful 
approach.
  This measure requires TSA to make every reasonable effort to transfer 
unclaimed clothing recovered at airport security checkpoints so that it 
can get to needy veterans and their families.
  One of the unfortunate realities we face following times of war is 
that some of those who fought for our freedoms face challenges in 
transitioning to civilian life.
  We owe it to our veterans to do all that we can to ensure they get 
the helping hand needed to get back on their feet when they return from 
the battlefield.
  Thanks to Representative Hochul's leadership, the House has an 
opportunity today to take a small, but important, step in support of 
our veterans by supporting this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, as you have heard, H.R. 6328 enjoys the bipartisan 
support of the Members of the Committee on Homeland Security and 
deserves the support of the Full House today.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6328.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________