[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.
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