[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 151 (Monday, October 28, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6780-H6782]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             VULNERABLE VETERANS HOUSING REFORM ACT OF 2013

  Mr. COTTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1742) to exclude from consideration as income under the 
United States Housing Act of 1937 payments of pension made under 
section 1521 of title 38, United States Code, to veterans who are in 
need of regular aid and attendance, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1742

       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 ``Vulnerable Veterans Housing 
     Reform Act of 2013''.

     SEC. 2. EXCLUSION FROM INCOME.

       Paragraph (4) of section 3(b) of the United States Housing 
     Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(4)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``and any amounts'' and inserting ``, any 
     amounts'';
       (2) by striking ``or any deferred'' and inserting ``, any 
     deferred''; and
       (3) by inserting after ``prospective monthly amounts'' the 
     following: ``, and any expenses related to aid and attendance 
     as detailed under section 1521 of title 38, United States 
     Code''.

     SEC. 3. UTILITY ALLOWANCES AND DATA.

       Section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
     U.S.C. 1437f(o)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following 
     new subparagraph:
       ``(D) Utility allowance.--

[[Page H6781]]

       ``(i) In general.--In determining the monthly assistance 
     payment for a family under subparagraphs (A) and (B), the 
     amount allowed for tenant-paid utilities shall not exceed the 
     appropriate utility allowance for the family unit size as 
     determined by the public housing agency regardless of the 
     size of the dwelling unit leased by the family.
       ``(ii) Exception for certain families.--Notwithstanding 
     subparagraph (A), upon request by a family that includes a 
     person with disabilities, an elderly family, or a family that 
     includes any person who is less than 18 years of age, the 
     public housing agency shall approve a utility allowance that 
     is higher than the applicable amount on the utility allowance 
     schedule, except that in the case of a family that includes a 
     person with disabilities, the agency shall approve such 
     higher amount only if a higher utility allowance is needed as 
     a reasonable accommodation to make the program accessible to 
     and usable by the family member with a disability.''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(21) Utility data.--
       ``(A) Publication.--The Secretary shall, to the extent that 
     data can be collected cost effectively, regularly publish 
     such data regarding utility consumption and costs in local 
     areas as the Secretary determines will be useful for the 
     establishment of allowances for tenant-paid utilities for 
     families assisted under this subsection.
       ``(B) Use of data.--The Secretary shall provide such data 
     in a manner that--
       ``(i) avoids unnecessary administrative burdens for public 
     housing agencies and owners; and
       ``(ii) protects families in various unit sizes and building 
     types, and using various utilities, from high rent and 
     utility cost burdens relative to income.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Cotton) and the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Carney) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. COTTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and submit extraneous material for the Record on H.R. 1742, currently 
under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arkansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. COTTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1742, the Vulnerable Veterans 
Housing Reform Act of 2013, bipartisan legislation that ensures 
fairness in the housing assistance made available to our veterans who 
have borne the physical costs of service to the country.
  First, H.R. 1742 amends current law to exempt expenses related to a 
veteran's in-home aid and attendance-care payments from qualifying as 
income when determining their eligibility and payments from HUD 
programs. The in-home aid and attendance-care benefit is an enhanced 
pension program provided by the VA to severely disabled wartime 
veterans who make less than $12,256 per year. These pensions are 
provided out of medical necessity and should not be considered 
disposable income. Including them in income calculations skews 
eligibility and wrongly reduces the housing assistance that would 
otherwise be available to thousands of disabled veterans.
  The Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act also improves the way 
utility allowances are calculated by instructing public housing 
authorities to base payments on family size--that is, the number of 
people benefiting from a payment--rather than the current standard of 
dwelling size. Using this approach ensures, for instance, a family of 
four living in a one-bedroom apartment will not receive less in utility 
allowance than a single individual living in a two-bedroom apartment. 
These housing reforms have broad support from State and local housing 
agencies, low-income housing advocates, and for-profit and nonprofit 
affordable housing providers.
  Mr. Speaker, many of our current veterans assistance programs are 
flawed--they spend too much and they help too few. Fortunately, the CBO 
estimates the reforms in this bill will save almost $50 million over 5 
years while helping thousands of veterans obtain the appropriate 
housing assistance.
  Sadly, homelessness affects over 60,000 veterans nationwide and 
approximately 1,000 in my home State of Arkansas. These numbers are 
unacceptable. As a combat veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, I 
understand not only the difficulties faced while serving in the 
military, but also the struggles that too many encounter upon returning 
to civilian life--especially with a life-altering disability. These men 
and women have put their lives on the line for our country; we should 
be doing all we can to support them--not making it harder for them to 
obtain assistance.
  I am grateful to my colleague and fellow veteran, Congressman Joe 
Heck, and the Financial Services Committee for their work on this 
legislation.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill and our disabled veterans.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  About a year ago, I talked to a young marine from Magnolia, Delaware, 
in my district. He had been wounded in Afghanistan and was home 
recovering. I had called him really just to wish him well and to see 
how he was doing. This marine was not focused on his injuries. All he 
could think about and talk to me about was getting back to his base.
  Mr. Speaker, as Members of Congress, we need to be worthy of this 
marine's sacrifice, his selflessness, and his dedication to fighting 
for his country. Our Nation's most sacred obligation is to care for our 
men and women in uniform, both when they are serving abroad and when 
they come back home.
  Unfortunately, today, we are falling short of this duty. Today, about 
60,000 veterans are homeless. Close to 13,000 of these are veterans 
from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While veterans represent only 7 
percent of the U.S. population, they represent 13 percent of homeless 
Americans.
  These numbers are just unacceptable. That is why I was pleased to 
join with my colleagues and friends, Mr. Heck and Mr. Renacci, in 
introducing the Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act of 2013. We are 
all part of a bipartisan working group that meets a couple of times a 
month. We have come up with a number of commonsense ideas just like 
this bill. Mr. Delaney and Mr. Renacci have another bill later on 
today.
  Simply put, the Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act ensures that 
veterans who need and deserve housing assistance get it. Right now, 
those veterans who are struggling the most--those who are severely 
disabled and have virtually no income--receive a benefit from the VA to 
cover the cost of their care. This benefit goes to caretakers who help 
our veterans with the daily tasks of living, bathing, eating, 
maintaining prosthetics, and the list goes on. However, when these same 
veterans go to apply for housing assistance from the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, this aid counts as income, making it 
harder for them to qualify for housing assistance. This policy just 
doesn't make sense, and it is hurting our veterans.
  H.R. 1742, the Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act, fixes this 
problem so that our severely disabled veterans aren't victims of 
homelessness as well. It excludes this aid--meant to address the health 
and daily living needs of severely disabled veterans--from the 
calculation of income in the housing assistance program.
  Mr. Speaker, often when Members come in through the doors of the 
House Chamber to vote, we are greeted by members of our military who 
have been wounded in service of our Nation. Most have lost limbs, and 
all their lives are irreparably changed. Despite all they have already 
given, these men and women come to our Nation's Capitol to continue 
giving back and to inspire and thank us. We should thank them.

  As we approach Veterans Day, I hope the House will honor their 
sacrifice by passing legislation that will make life just a little 
easier for those who have given so much to protect ours.
  I know my colleagues on both sides of the aisle recognize this as a 
critical issue. A similar version of this bill passed the House by 
voice vote in the last Congress. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill 
once again for the sake of our Nation's most vulnerable veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COTTON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the 
gentleman from Nevada, Dr. Heck, the sponsor of this legislation, a 
colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and soon to be brigadier general.

[[Page H6782]]

  Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my brother veteran, 
the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Cotton), and my friend from the State 
of Delaware (Mr. Carney) for joining me in support of H.R. 1742, this 
bipartisan bill, the Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act of 2013.
  As has been stated, this bill would remove an unnecessary barrier 
that prevents our wartime veterans from receiving the housing 
assistance they so critically need. This body recognized the importance 
of this issue when it unanimously passed a substantially similar bill, 
H.R. 6361, the Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act of 2012, which I 
introduced last year. Unfortunately, that legislation was not 
considered by the Senate prior to the conclusion of the 112th Congress.
  Quite simply, H.R. 1742 prevents the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development from considering a veteran's ``aid and attendance 
benefits'' as income when calculating their need and eligibility for 
housing assistance.
  The aid and attendance benefit is an enhanced pension provided by the 
Department of Veterans Affairs to our Nation's wartime veterans who are 
severely disabled and have little or no income. Veterans eligible for 
this benefit are those requiring the aid of another person in order to 
perform their activities of daily living.
  In order to receive this benefit, a veteran must first establish his 
or her eligibility for a low-income pension, which requires an annual 
adjusted gross income of less than $12,256 for a single veteran with no 
dependents.
  Once eligibility is determined, low-income disabled veterans can 
receive, roughly, an additional $8,000 in aid and attendance benefits 
annually to help defray the cost of their medical care. This is an 
important point: the aid and attendance benefit is for medical care; it 
is not discretionary income; it cannot be used for groceries, 
utilities, or transportation.
  As you can imagine, these low-income veterans struggle daily to keep 
the lights on, put food on the table, and to keep a roof over their 
heads. Add to that the costs of paying for a personal care attendant 
and it becomes increasingly difficult for them to stay in their homes.
  The Department of Housing and Urban Development operates a number of 
programs to assist these veterans. However, current regulations require 
that the aid and attendance benefit be counted as income when 
determining eligibility for housing assistance.
  Mr. Speaker, this makes no sense. The VA provides this benefit to 
ensure that our low-income disabled wartime vets have the necessary 
resources to receive the medical care they need and that they have 
earned. While $8,000 per year may seem like a substantial amount of 
money, it doesn't fully cover the cost of a full-time aide, but it is 
much more cost effective than placing the veteran in a nursing home or 
assisted living facility.
  Continuing to count the aid and attendance benefit as income does 
nothing more than to reduce the housing assistance available to our 
low-income disabled vets and jeopardizes their ability to live 
independently.
  Mr. Speaker, it is its stated goal of both this House and this 
administration to reduce homelessness in our veteran population. The 
need for this legislative fix is just as strong today as it was last 
year. Most recent statistics estimate that approximately 63,000 
veterans across America are homeless. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1742 will go a 
long way toward preventing homelessness for our Nation's veterans.
  I urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation.
  Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I just 
would like to thank the sponsors, Mr. Heck, Mr. Renacci, and other 
veterans, Mr. Cotton, the Members from the Democratic side who 
cosponsored this, and all the Members of the House who supported this 
the last time.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. COTTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Delaware, 
as well as the gentleman from Nevada, and everybody in this institution 
that helps serve our veterans every single day.
  I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Cotton) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1742.
  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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