[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 142 (Friday, October 11, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO UNITED STATES VETERANS INITIATIVE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 11, 2013

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the United States 
Veterans Initiative upon its 20th anniversary.
   U.S. Vets is the nation's largest nonprofit provider of 
comprehensive services such as housing, counseling, and career 
development to homeless and at-risk veterans. Since its founding, U.S. 
Vets has established 11 facilities across the nation dedicated to 
providing vital services to over 20,000 veterans and their families.
   In 1992, the West Los Angeles Veteran Affairs Medical Center 
discovered that 25% of its veterans were being discharged into 
homelessness. As a result, ``The Genesis Committee'' was formed under 
the guidance of Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Harry Pregerson, a 
Marine veteran of World War II, to address the dire need for veteran 
housing. ``The Genesis Committee'' later became the first U.S. Vets 
Board of Directors.
   U.S. Vets opened its inaugural site, the Westside Residence Hall in 
Inglewood, California, in 1993 with five veterans. Since then, U.S. 
Vets has risen to national prominence with locations in Houston, Texas; 
Las Vegas, Nevada; Phoenix, Arizona; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Washington, 
D.C. In 2000, U.S. Vets opened the largest transitional housing 
facility for homeless veterans in the nation, Villages at Cabrillo, a 
26-acre project in Long Beach, California that houses over 550 
veterans.
   To address the continually evolving needs of veterans, U.S. Vets has 
expanded their efforts into specialized programming to provide services 
to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, female veterans, and the 
chronically mentally ill.
   The time, energy and care the United States Veterans Initiative has 
given to our veterans in need is truly extraordinary, and the nation as 
a whole has greatly benefitted from their dedicated efforts. At this 
time, I ask all Members to join me in congratulating the United States 
Veterans Initiative upon its 20th anniversary.

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