[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 162 (Tuesday, October 15, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8135-H8137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HOMELESS VETERAN FAMILIES ACT

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 95) to amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that 
children of homeless veterans are included in the calculation of the 
amounts of certain per diem grants.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 95

       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 Veteran Families 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF CALCULATION OF AMOUNTS OF PER DIEM 
                   GRANTS.

       Section 2012(a)(2)(B) of title 38, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in clause (i), by inserting ``or (iii)'' after ``clause 
     (ii)''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new clause:
       ``(iii) With respect to a homeless veteran who has care of 
     a minor dependent while receiving services from the grant 
     recipient or eligible entity, the daily cost of care shall be 
     the sum of the daily cost of care determined under 
     subparagraph (A) plus, for each such minor dependent, an 
     amount that equals 50 percent of such daily cost of care.''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to insert extraneous material on H.R. 95.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 95, the Homeless Veteran 
Families Act.
  H.R. 95 was introduced by Representative Julia Brownley, chair of the 
Subcommittee on Health and a tireless advocate for women veterans and 
their children.
  This bill would ensure that children of homeless veterans are 
included in the calculation of per diem grants to organizations 
supporting homeless veterans and their families. By including children 
in this calculation, homeless veterans and their children will receive 
much-needed housing and supportive services, which will reduce the rate 
of homelessness among the veteran population.
  Mr. Speaker, since 1994, VA's homeless grant and per diem program has 
provided homeless veterans with community-based transitional housing 
and supportive services. The grant per diem program annually offers 
funding to community agencies that provide supportive services to 
homeless veterans. It promotes the development and provision of 
supportive housing and supportive services, with the goal of helping 
homeless veterans achieve residential stability, increase their skill 
levels and income, and obtain greater self-determination.
  However, many homeless veterans with children are unable to obtain 
transitional housing and support assistance through the program because 
providers only receive payments from VA for the veteran, not their 
dependent children. Many housing providers have been unable to house 
homeless veterans who are accompanied by their dependent children 
without additional financial support.
  Mr. Speaker, current law limits VA's authority to reimburse the 
additional costs associated with sheltering the dependent children of 
homeless veterans, which has resulted in many grant per diem service 
providers not accepting homeless veterans with dependent children.
  This has resulted in a lack of access to supportive housing and 
services for veterans with children, as these veterans are forced to 
choose between receipt of housing assistance and supportive services 
and caring for their children. This is especially true for many women 
veterans who have children and who are also homeless.
  This legislation would authorize VA to pay a partial per diem to 
grant per diem service providers supporting our Nation's homeless 
veterans with children. For each child accompanying a homeless veteran, 
the service provider would receive per diem at a 50 percent rate for 
each child.
  This committee is committed to addressing and ending homelessness, 
and this legislation is one step toward this end.
  Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, Economic Opportunity Subcommittee 
Chairman Levin and Ranking Member Bilirakis held two field hearings in 
San Diego, California, and Tampa, Florida, to learn more about how VA 
can better coordinate with local organizations to end veteran 
homelessness. This bill is the first of many solutions, some of which 
have been identified from these bipartisan hearings of the Economic 
Opportunity Subcommittee.
  The full committee will continue to work together to find bipartisan 
solutions to end veteran homelessness. H.R. 95 has 301 cosponsors, 
which demonstrates this Chamber's commitment to ending veteran 
homelessness and to working together to improve the lives of the 
veterans we represent.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 95, the Homeless Veteran 
Families Act. This bill would amend the Department of Veterans Affairs 
Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program to provide payments to 
GPD providers for the services they provide to the children of homeless 
veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, while VA and other partners have been very successful in 
decreasing the number of homeless veterans in the country by almost 50 
percent since 2010, we still have an unacceptable number of veterans on 
the streets every night.
  The GPD program is a tool in VA's arsenal to help community 
organizations provide services to homeless veterans by reimbursing them 
for providing temporary housing and supportive services that promote 
health and self-sufficiency among homeless veterans.
  However, under current rules, community partners are not authorized 
funding for providing services and shelter to the dependents of the 
homeless veterans who they serve. This forces these organizations to 
make a difficult choice of turning away homeless veterans with children 
or finding another source of funding to provide services for them.
  H.R. 95 would address this issue by amending current law to authorize 
grant and per diem payments for the children of homeless veterans at 
half the amount paid for each homeless veteran.
  While I have some concerns about using medical care dollars to 
provide these services, as they may detract from the already limited 
resources available for providing services for homeless veterans 
themselves, I am not going to oppose this approach today. I want what 
is best for our veterans, and if this change helps community partners 
provide the services they need to homeless veteran families, then it is 
worthy of our support.
  I thank the gentlewoman from California, my friend, Congresswoman 
Julia Brownley, for sponsoring this bill, which has my full support, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Brownley), my good friend, the chairwoman of the Health 
Subcommittee, and the author of this bill.
  Ms. BROWNLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for 
yielding this afternoon, and I thank the ranking member of the 
committee for his support of a very, very important bill for our 
veterans, the Homeless Veteran Families Act.
  As a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, I believe that it is 
absolutely critical that veterans and their families receive the 
housing support they need simply to get back on their feet.

[[Page H8136]]

  Since 1994, the VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program 
has provided homeless veterans with community-based transitional 
housing and supportive services. This program funds community agencies 
that provide such services to homeless veterans.
  In fiscal year 2017 alone, the VA funded 600 community sites that 
provided housing to more than 23,000 veterans through the use of over 
12,000 transitional housing beds nationwide.
  Unfortunately, many homeless veterans with children are unable to 
obtain transitional housing and the support assistance they need under 
the homeless grant program because housing providers only receive 
payments from the VA for the veteran but not for any minor dependents 
with their families.
  Because housing a family requires more resources and beds, many 
housing providers have been unable to house homeless families without 
additional financial support. This problem has resulted in the lack of 
access to very needed supportive housing and services for veterans with 
children because the veteran is forced to choose between getting their 
own housing assistance and services or caring for their minor dependent 
child or children.
  The VA has previously stated that approximately 8 percent of veterans 
who entered grant per diem housing programs, and who had a full 
assessment completed within 30 days prior to admission, had either full 
or partial legal custody of their children. This was estimated to be 
2,500 children in fiscal year 2017.
  No veteran should be forced to choose between housing and much-needed 
services or caring for their children. However, current law limits the 
VA's authority to reimburse housing providers for the additional costs 
associated with sheltering the dependent children of our homeless 
veterans.
  My bill, which we are voting on today, would provide for a partial 
per diem for each minor child who is receiving services through this 
program. This partial per diem would be an amount equal to 50 percent 
of the daily cost of care. This would ensure that veterans and their 
children are able to obtain the housing and services needed to help 
them achieve residential stability; give them the opportunity to 
increase their skill level and income; and, ultimately, obtain greater 
self-determination and self-worth.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. TAKANO. I yield the gentlewoman from California an additional 1 
minute.
  Ms. BROWNLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, providing housing to our 
Nation's homeless veterans is an essential first step and critical to 
everything in a veteran's life, including getting the healthcare they 
have earned, taking advantage of veteran education benefits, getting a 
job, and having the quality of life they have earned and deserved--and 
what our country has promised.
  Passage of this legislation will benefit veterans of all eras and 
their minor children who are struggling and suffering with 
homelessness.
  My bill has over 300 cosponsors, which is indicative of the 
bipartisan support for addressing this important and time-sensitive 
issue. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, and 
I thank the chairman for bringing my bill to the floor.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Puerto Rico (Miss Gonzalez-Colon). She was a member of 
the Veterans' Affairs Committee and a very passionate supporter of our 
veterans.
  After the hurricanes in Puerto Rico, she was kind enough to invite 
me. I saw her passion. We went through the VA hospital together, the 
outpatient clinics. I don't believe anyone in this Congress has more 
care for our veterans than her.

                              {time}  1730

  Miss GONZALEZ-COLON of Puerto Rico. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear 
friend for allowing me to speak and for his visit. And actually, that 
was the first time ever the Veterans' Affairs Committee had a hearing 
in Puerto Rico in more than 100 years. So we got two chairmen in Puerto 
Rico in the last 2 years, and I am happy to say that Mr. Roe and Mr. 
Takano were there this year.
  And actually I have got good news. Finally, we got the money assigned 
for the new clinic in Arecibo and the new clinic in Ponce after that 
visit. So that is real good news. And we just received a VA deputy last 
week, and they are talking about expanding the services of the 
hospital, which is good.
  Today I rise in full support of H.R. 95, the Homeless Veteran 
Families Act introduced by my colleague Julia Brownley of California.
  Homelessness is, unfortunately, one of the challenges many of our 
veterans face upon separating from the Armed Forces. Consequently, the 
Department of Veterans Affairs has made ending homelessness part of 
their core mission.
  Initiatives like the Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program, 
which funds community agencies that provide services to homeless 
veterans, facilitates tackling these problems head-on.
  H.R. 95 builds upon this program by authorizing the Department of 
Veterans Affairs to pay partial per diem for children who are under the 
care of a homeless veteran. We need to keep in mind that homelessness 
can affect our veterans at any point, impacting not only their lives, 
but the lives of their children.
  Recent estimates indicate that there are close to 82 homeless 
veterans in Puerto Rico, and we need to take this personally because 
they just can't move to another state. With us living on an island, we 
have got to have our community being served, and a program like 
Homeless Providers Grant and the Per Diem Program will help us lower 
this number to zero and will counter the inability of providers of 
these services to turn down helping a veteran because he or she has 
children under their care.
  And I think that is the most important thing about this bill. It is 
not only the veteran themselves that suffers, it is the family that 
suffers with him or with her, and that is the reason I am a proud 
cosponsor of this bill.
  I commend Congresswoman Brownley for her leadership on this issue, 
and, of course, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill. I 
think it is important to recognize that we all need to take care of 
these kinds of issues.
  I thank Congressman Roe and Chairman Takano for visiting the island 
this year. I think this is the first time ever that Puerto Rico has 
received visits from two chairmen, and that means something for the 
more than 105,000 veterans registered on the island.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  I think this is a great bill. Homelessness is a huge problem in this 
country, and keeping our families together is a huge problem in this 
country. This, I think, will be some of the best money that we ever 
spend, if we can keep these families together. If a veteran is out 
there with their spouse and they are trying the best they can, they 
need these resources so they can keep that family unit together.
  This bill should go through the House and the Senate unanimously. I 
think it will, and with over 300 cosponsors, I feel like it will.
  I want to thank Congresswoman Brownley, who is a tireless supporter 
of veterans on the Veterans' Affairs Committee. I thank her for 
bringing this up, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support this 
bill, H.R. 95.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I certainly also want to congratulate and 
thank Congresswoman Brownley, the Chair of our Health Subcommittee, for 
bringing this legislation forward. And I also want to also express my 
gratitude to Ranking Member Roe, former Chairman Roe. We both made a 
commitment to the territory of Puerto Rico, and we want the people of 
Puerto Rico to know that on a bipartisan basis the Veterans' Affairs 
Committee cares about the service and the benefits that are owed to the 
veterans of Puerto Rico.
  So I urge all of my colleagues to pass H.R. 95, which addresses a 
critical need for veterans that have children and who are in need of 
housing to prevent them from being homeless. I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 95, 
the ``Homeless Veteran Families Act.''

[[Page H8137]]

  H.R. 95 updates the Department of Veterans Affairs per diem payment 
calculation for entities furnishing services to homeless veterans to 
include funding for a minor dependent.
  The rate for per diem payments is the daily cost of care as estimated 
by the grant recipient or eligible entity.
  This bill would expand the per diem payment amount for a homeless 
veteran who has care of a minor dependent to the daily cost of care, 
plus, for each minor dependent, an amount that equals 50 percent of 
such daily cost of care.
  This bill is an intrinsic part of a much greater national movement to 
recognize the transitional needs of all Veterans and their families 
nationwide.
  Our Veterans are America's indispensable asset; their dedication to 
the United States Military and protecting the lives of the American 
people is to be commended.
  Lack of access to childcare presents a unique safety hazard to 
homeless veterans' families, and puts a unique pressure on the shelters 
and facilities in Houston.
  Less than 3 percent of Veterans experiencing homelessness (2.9 
percent) were in families with children.
  Veteran women experiencing homelessness are more likely to be a part 
of a family with children, compared to Veteran men.
  Because of a lack of affordable health treatment and job prospects, 
veterans represent about 12 percent of America's homeless population, 
and approximately 50,000 veterans are homeless each night.
  This bill will allow homeless veterans with children to receive 
enhanced child care services.
  When enacted, H.R. 95 will alleviate the financial burdens homeless 
veterans experience with child care and assist them to transition into 
the workforce.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 95 to 
expand resources for homeless veterans with children.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 95.
  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. TAKANO. 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.

                          ____________________