[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 83 (Monday, May 21, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H4263-H4265]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HOMELESS VETERANS' REINTEGRATION PROGRAMS REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 4451) to amend title 38, United States Code, to 
provide for a five-year extension to the homeless veterans 
reintegration programs and to provide clarification regarding 
eligibility for services under such programs, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4451

       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 ``Homeless Veterans' 
     Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act of 2018''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF HOMELESS VETERANS REINTEGRATION 
                   PROGRAMS.

       (a) Five-Year Extension of Homeless Veterans Reintegration 
     Programs.--Section 2021(e)(1)(F) of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended by striking ``2018'' and inserting ``2022''.
       (b) Five-Year Extension of Homeless Women Veterans and 
     Homeless Veterans With Children Reintegration Grant 
     Program.--Section 2021A(f)(1) of such title is amended by 
     striking ``2018'' and inserting ``2022''.
       (c) Clarification of Eligibility for Services Under 
     Homeless Veterans Reintegration Programs.--Section 2021(a) of 
     such title is amended by striking ``reintegration of homeless 
     veterans into the labor force.'' and inserting the following: 
     ``reintegration into the labor force of--
       ``(1) homeless veterans (including veterans who were 
     homeless but found housing during the 60-day period preceding 
     the date on which the veteran begins to participate in a 
     program under this section);
       ``(2) veterans participating in the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs supported housing program for which rental assistance 
     is provided pursuant to section 8(o)(19) of the United States 
     Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)) or the Tribal 
     HUD-VA Supportive Housing (Tribal HUD-VASH) program;
       ``(3) Indians who are veterans and receiving assistance 
     under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self 
     Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.);
       ``(4) veterans described in section 2023(e) of this title 
     or any other veterans who are transitioning from being 
     incarcerated; and
       ``(5) veterans participating in the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs rapid rehousing and prevention program authorized in 
     section 2044 of this title.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Roe) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record on H.R. 4451, as 
amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?

[[Page H4264]]

  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4451, as amended. This 
bill would reauthorize the Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program, 
known as HVRP, and Homeless Women Veterans and Homeless Veterans With 
Children Reintegration Grant Program, through fiscal year 2022.
  These are grant programs managed by the U.S. Department of Labor's 
Veterans Employment and Training Service. Grants are made generally to 
nonprofit, community-based organizations to fund efforts to train and 
place homeless veterans in jobs.
  This has been a highly successful program that puts homeless veterans 
back on the path to self-reliance and sustainability and is worthy of 
Congress' continued support and funding.
  This bill would also clarify that homeless veterans who are eligible 
for other federally funded homeless veteran programs are also eligible 
to receive training and employment services provided by grantees 
through HVRP and HVRP-W.
  I believe that expanding eligibility for HVRP and HVRP-W will provide 
participants in these programs better access to job training programs 
that can help homeless veterans on their path to sustainable employment 
and positive outcomes. This expansion would also occur without 
impacting current authorization levels for this program.
  I want to thank Congressman Wenstrup and Congresswoman Brownley for 
introducing this must-pass bill, which has my full support.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4451, as amended, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4451, and thank the gentleman 
and everyone involved in this piece of legislation. Veteran 
homelessness, combating it and reducing it to zero, has been a focus of 
this committee for many years.
  Direct services provided by HVRP include placement, skills training, 
job development, career counseling, and resume writing. It is the only 
nationwide program focused on assisting homeless veterans in 
reintegrating into the workforce. This is incredibly important because 
reintegrating homeless veterans into the workforce is the best way to 
ensure that they do not reenter homelessness again.
  This would reauthorize the program for 5 years. Reducing veteran 
homelessness remains our priority. I believe this piece of legislation 
will get us there.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup), who is my Health Subcommittee chair.
  Mr. WENSTRUP. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague and 
Chairman Roe for yielding.
  In November of last year, I joined my colleague and the ranking 
member of the Health Subcommittee, Representative Brownley, in 
reintroducing H.R. 4451, the Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Programs 
Reauthorization Act.
  This bill would provide much-needed services to our veterans 
transitioning out of homelessness and ensure no veteran falls through 
unintended legislative gaps in programs. We do this by reauthorizing 
through fiscal year 2022 the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, 
along with programs designed for female homeless veterans and homeless 
veterans with children. Additionally, the bill would clarify that those 
eligible for housing assistance from either a Federal or non-Federal 
entity are also eligible for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration 
Program.
  Currently, a gap arises because the Department of Labor considers 
veterans participating in these housing assistance programs to no 
longer be defined as homeless. As such, they are unable to participate 
in the Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program, a program that 
provides vital employment assistance and training.
  By prioritizing the reintegration of homeless and recently homeless 
veterans, we will empower our veterans to reenter the workforce and 
help them regain self-sufficiency.

                              {time}  1645

  Our veterans have sacrificed so much for our country, and we must 
ensure that they have the tools to succeed in civilian life.
  I am proud of Chairman Roe's and the House Veterans' Affairs 
Committee's commitment to reducing veteran homelessness, and I believe 
that this legislation only further supports this committee's goals.
  I urge all my colleagues to support this important legislation.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Brownley), my good friend. She is a true champion of 
veterans and is the conscience on this issue in our committee of 
alleviating veterans' homelessness.
  Ms. BROWNLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Minnesota for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4451, the Homeless 
Veterans' Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act.
  I thank the gentleman from Ohio, the chair of the House Veterans' 
Affairs Health Subcommittee, for partnering with me to introduce this 
important legislation.
  Our Nation's servicemembers undertake enormous sacrifices every day 
to keep us safe, and we must ensure they can smoothly transition back 
into civilian life when they come home. Unfortunately, however, too 
many of our returning servicemembers are struggling with homelessness.
  In 2017, HUD's annual survey found that veteran homelessness 
increased by 1.5 percent after years of declining percentages. Los 
Angeles County, which I represent a part of, saw a 57 percent increase 
in the number of homeless veterans just in the past year.
  While our local partners are committed to working together with the 
VA and other Federal agencies to ensure all veterans have access to 
safe and affordable housing, clearly, we need to be using every tool in 
our toolbox to end veteran homelessness completely. That means 
supporting both the housing programs and wraparound services necessary 
to heal and to house our veterans.
  Today's legislation will allow veterans who have struggled with 
homelessness to remain eligible for job services while utilizing VA 
housing programs. This will help more veterans break the cycle of 
homelessness, support themselves and their families, and get back on 
their feet.
  Again, I thank the chairman for championing this issue together, and 
the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans for highlighting this 
problem in testimony before the committee, and for their support of the 
bill.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio 
and the gentlewoman from California for addressing this. It is a smart 
move to do this, continuing to keep our focus. While our numbers are 
improving in areas, we know this is a zero-sum proposition. Any veteran 
on the street is one too many. So I appreciate any effort that is made. 
This is a good piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this piece of 
legislation.
  When I came to Congress in 2009, there were over 100,0000 homeless 
veterans in the United States. General Shinseki, our Secretary at that 
time, set out to eliminate veteran homelessness in the next 6 or 7 
years. It was a very ambitious task. Great progress has been made.
  I have visited the West L.A. campus and seen what they are doing in 
Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. As my good friend, Tim Walz, said, 
one homeless veteran is one too many.
  For people who may be watching this today, we as a country are 
providing HUD-VASH vouchers for veterans who can use these, along with 
a case manager. But that is only part of it. Many of these veterans 
have many other issues and there are other programs that need to be 
available for these men

[[Page H4265]]

and women who find themselves in this situation. This is one of them 
where you can access job training so you can get a meaningful job and 
take care of yourself. Actually, I think this program and the other one 
end up paying for themselves over time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to encourage my colleagues to support this, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4451, 
Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act of 2017.
  H.R. 4451 proposes an amendment to Title 38 of the United States Code 
to provide for a five-year extension to homeless veterans reintegration 
programs and to provide clarification regarding eligibility for 
services under such programs.
  This bill includes the reauthorization of reintegration programs 
among those for whom job training, counseling, and placement services 
are to be provided to expedite their reintegration into the labor 
force.
  These services provided to homeless veterans include the VA supported 
housing program, assistance under the Native American Housing 
Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996, transitioning from being 
incarcerated, and participating in the VA's rapid re-housing and 
homelessness prevention program.
  Mr. Speaker, our United States veterans bravely put their lives on 
the line to defend our freedoms and to keep our nation safe.
  Without the brave efforts of all the soldiers, sailors, airmen, 
marines and Coast Guardsmen and women and their families, our country 
would not live so freely.
  Homelessness among the American veteran population is on the rise in 
the United States and we must be proactive in giving back to those who 
have given so much to us.
  We as a nation have a responsibility to our veterans to provide 
programs that aid in their reintegration back into the labor force.
  Nearly 230,000 veterans and their families have been able to come 
back from homeless and find permanent homes since 2010.
  By passing H.R. 4451, homeless veterans will receive assistance to 
enhance their quality of life and community integration.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for H.R. 4451.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 4451, 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. ROE of Tennessee. 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.

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