[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 15 (Friday, January 24, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E65]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





           IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 2398, VETERAN HOUSE ACT OF 2020

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 24, 2020

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2398, which 
amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 and title 38, of the 
United States Code to expand eligibility for the HUD-VASH program.
  The bill directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit annual 
homeless veteran reports to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
Senate and the House of Representatives.
  This amendment will help to ensure that the rate of homelessness 
among veterans in the United States does not increase.
  Currently, 107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, while 
double this amount will experience homelessness at one point in their 
lives.
  The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is a 
government agency dedicated to fulfilling the need for affordable 
housing in America.
  VASH is a jointly-administered permanent supportive housing program 
for disabled Veterans experiencing homelessness in which VA medical 
Centers provide referrals and case management while Public Housing 
Agencies (PHAs) administer the Section 8 housing vouchers.
  The VASH program expands access to HUD for homeless veterans.
  H.R. 2398 adds the word ``veteran'' to the Housing Act's authorizing 
language, thus strengthening the Veterans' Affairs Supportive Housing 
(VASH) program.
  This change will increase the total number of permanent government-
issued housing benefits to veterans most vulnerable to homelessness.
  The services provided by the programs would assist veterans in both 
attaining and sustaining permanent housing.
  Homelessness among the American veteran population is far too high in 
the United States and we must be proactive in giving back to those who 
have given so much to us.
  I ask my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 
2398.

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