[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 68 (Wednesday, May 15, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H2629-H2631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HOMES FOR HEROES ACT OF 2013

  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 384) to establish the position of Special Assistant for 
Veterans Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development by transferring the Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs 
to the Office of the Secretary of HUD, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 384

       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 
     2013''.

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

       (a) Transfer of Position to Office of the Secretary.--
     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:
       ``(h) Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs.--
       ``(1) Position.--There shall be in the Office of the 
     Secretary a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs, who 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 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 2013; and
       ``(G) carrying out such other duties as may be assigned to 
     the Special Assistant by the Secretary or by law.''.
       (b) Transfer of Position in Office of Deputy Assistant 
     Secretary for Special Needs.--On the date that the initial 
     Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs is appointed pursuant 
     to section 4(h)(2) of the Department of Housing and Urban 
     Development Act, as added by subsection (a) of this section, 
     the position of Special Assistant for Veterans Programs in 
     the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special 
     Needs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
     shall be terminated.

     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

[[Page H2630]]

     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. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. McHenry) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al 
Green) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and submit extraneous materials for the record on H.R. 384, as amended, 
currently under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Today I rise in support of H.R. 384, the Homes for Heroes Act of 
2013.
  This bill was introduced by my colleague from Texas, Congressman Al 
Green, who I had the pleasure of having serve alongside of me as the 
ranking member of the Oversight Investigation Subcommittee on the 
Financial Services Committee.
  This bill would establish the position of Special Assistant for 
Veterans Affairs within Housing and Urban Development to coordinate 
services provided to homeless veterans and to serve as HUD's liaison to 
the Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Interagency Council on 
Homelessness, State and local officials, and nonprofit service 
organizations. The position is currently in the Office of the Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Special Needs. This transfer highlights the 
importance of addressing the housing needs of our veterans.
  H.R. 384 would also require 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.

                              {time}  1300

  H.R. 384 is a version, in part, of the Homes for Heroes Act of 2011, 
2009, and 2008, all of which passed this House with well over 400 votes 
each.
  As our service men and women continue to serve our country both here 
and abroad, the least we can do is ensure they have proper access to 
the services that are offered to them when they return.
  This bill represents a step in that direction, and I urge my 
colleagues to support this worthy endeavor.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking Mr. Hensarling, the 
chairperson of the committee. He gave me his word. He said this bill 
would come to the floor, and he has kept his word. I would like to 
thank the ranking member, Ms. Waters. She committed to help with this 
bill. In fact, the genesis of this was a conversation I had with her, 
and she kept her word. I'd like to thank Mr. McHenry. Indeed, he and I 
do serve on Oversight and Investigations, and I appreciate very much 
his being here today to help us by managing this piece of legislation. 
I believe he and I will accomplish additional things on a bipartisan 
basis. This is a bipartisan piece of legislation.
  I'd also like to thank the staff. While I will stand here and 
hopefully rise to the occasion, it really takes greater people to make 
the occasion. These people are the staffers that work long into the 
night on many occasions to try to reach a consensus on legislation. The 
staff really put a lot of time into this legislation, Mr. Speaker, and 
I think they should be complimented.
  I especially would recognize one staffer in particular, Ms. Harmeet 
Kaur. This is her last week in our congressional office. She's a 
fellow, and I'm honored to say she worked with us on this piece of 
legislation.
  Finally, I'd like to thank our veterans. Mr. Speaker, we stand here 
in the well of the House and enjoy many of the freedoms that we have 
because there are people who are willing to go to distant places, 
willing to risk their lives. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, many of them do not 
return the way they left. I just believe, Mr. Speaker, that the least a 
grateful Nation can do is make sure that when they return home, they 
return home to good jobs, the best health care, and good housing. I 
believe that it's almost sinful to see a veteran standing on the corner 
with a sign that reads, ``Homeless, hungry.'' I believe that we ought 
to do everything within our power to help people who are willing to 
risk their lives for us.
  I had the good fortune or misfortune, I'm not sure which, to pass by 
a VA hospital with a sign out front that read, ``Come in and see the 
price of freedom.''
  Something that bears repeating: ``Come in and see the price of 
freedom.''
  The price of freedom is quite high, Mr. Speaker. The price of freedom 
will cost some in the prime of their lives things that you and I can 
never replace, money can't buy. And when money can't buy and you and I 
can't replace, the least we can do is all that we can. This is why 
we're asking that this Special Assistant be placed in the Office of the 
Secretary of HUD, that this be codified into the law; that it is not 
going to be easy now for this person to be replaced or this position to 
be removed.
  And, Mr. Speaker, I must say also that HUD has been quite helpful. 
HUD has established a similar position in another part of the 
Department, but this would place a person in the office with the 
Secretary. And this person in the Office of the Secretary would try to 
help us with some of the statistics that we find abhorrent.
  We find that there are approximately 76,000 to 144,000 veterans who 
are homeless. This is unacceptable. We find that on any night in 2012 
about 62,000 veterans were homeless. This is unacceptable. And what 
this assistant will do is work with the homeless veterans 
organizations, serve as a liaison person to the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, and with State 
and local officials, and not-for-profit organizations. This assistant 
will coordinate services with these various entities.
  Mr. Speaker, this is not enough, but it is a start. It is a 
continuation, if you will, of what we've been trying to accomplish. Mr. 
Speaker, I beg that my colleagues--I would besiege them and implore 
them to please support this legislation because you're really 
supporting our veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I will remind us that the greatness of 
America is not going to be measured by how we treat people who live in 
the sweets of life. The greatness of America is often going to be 
judged by how we treat people who live in the streets of life. Too 
often, we have people who have served their country living in the 
streets of life. They literally live on the streets. It is time for us, 
the richest country in the world, where one out of every 100 persons is 
a millionaire, to acknowledge what our veterans have done to make it 
possible for us to enjoy these great and noble American ideals as 
extolled in the Pledge of Allegiance, liberty and justice for all, and 
in the Constitution, wherein we would have all people be created and 
treated equally.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I just beg in closing that we, Members, take 
advantage of this opportunity to support our veterans. It is not 
something that is going to break the bank. In fact, it has a minimal 
impact on the deficit, but it can have a huge impact on our veterans.
  I thank you, Mr. McHenry, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McHENRY. Wishing to close, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my colleagues to this bill. I would 
like to

[[Page H2631]]

congratulate my colleague, Mr. Green, on putting forward such a worthy 
proposal that is both sensible and at the same time deeply honors our 
most-treasured resource in this country, our returning veterans, to 
ensure they're well cared for. So I ask my colleagues to support this 
measure.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the 
Homes for Heroes Act of 2013 (H.R. 384).
  This bill would establish within HUD a Special Assistant for Veterans 
Affairs to ensure veterans receive fair access to housing and homeless 
assistance programs and serve as a HUD liaison to the VA.
  I am fully committed to strengthening the benefits and fulfilling the 
obligations a grateful nation owes to its veterans.
  The men and women of our Armed Forces unselfishly answer the call of 
duty to defend our freedom. Congress has a moral obligation to support 
their returns with housing and other necessities.
  I am proud to live in a country that has such brave men and women, 
and a country where citizens recognize and appreciate the sacrifices 
our military makes to defend us. I urge my colleagues to stand with our 
Veterans and support this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 384, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________