[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H603-H605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HOUSING UNHOUSED DISABLED VETERANS ACT
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 965) to amend section 3(b)(4) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 to exclude certain disability benefits from income
for the purposes of determining eligibility for the supported housing
program under section 8(o)(19), and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 965
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 ``Housing Unhoused Disabled
Veterans Act''.
SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN DISABILITY BENEFITS.
Section 3(b)(4)(B) of the United States Housing Act of 1937
(42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(4)(B)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating clauses (iv) and (v) as clauses (vi)
and (vii), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after clause (iii) the following:
``(iv) with respect to the supported housing program under
section 8(o)(19), any disability benefits received under
chapter 11 or chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code,
received by a veteran, except that this exclusion may not
apply to the definition of adjusted income;
``(v) with respect to any household receiving rental
assistance under the supported housing program under section
8(o)(19) as it relates to eligibility for other types of
housing assistance, any disability benefits received under
chapter 11 or chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code,
received by a veteran, except that this exclusion may not
apply to the definition of adjusted income;''.
SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN DISABILITY BENEFITS.
(a) In General.--When determining the eligibility of a
veteran to rent a residential dwelling unit constructed on
Department property on or after the date of the enactment of
this Act, for which assistance is provided as part of a
housing assistance program administered by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development and not yet in existence at the
time of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall
exclude from income any disability benefits received under
chapter 11 or chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code by
such person.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
(2) Department property.--The term ``Department property''
has the meaning given the term in section 901 of title 38,
United States Code.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Hill) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Vargas) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 965, the Housing
Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act introduced by my colleague on the
Financial Services Committee, Congressman Brad Sherman of California.
Much like the bill that we just considered a few minutes ago from our
friend from Texas (Ms. De La Cruz), I want to start out by commending
our colleague from California for his work on this related issue that
once again speaks to the fairness in HUD programs on behalf of our
Nation's veterans.
The Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive
Housing, or HUD-VASH, program was created back in 1992. The purpose was
to assist homeless veterans with psychiatric and substance abuse
disorders.
The VASH program is an important Federal tool that provides housing
assistance and supportive services for low-income veterans experiencing
homelessness. Of course, it might seem redundant to some that a program
to help homeless veterans would be geared towards those who are low-
income, but sometimes with HUD nothing is ever simple.
Much like how HUD treats service-connected disability compensation of
veterans as income in its CDBG program, HUD treats any disability
benefits a veteran receives under chapter 11 or chapter 15 of title 38
of the U.S. Code as income under HUD-VASH.
A predictable result is some disabled homeless veterans are blocked
from using a program to help all homeless veterans because HUD has
decided that those low-income veterans that are disabled are too
wealthy to qualify. Sound familiar? This is exactly the debate we had a
few minutes ago.
Mr. Speaker, someone always has to explain these government
bureaucratic messes to me because they never make any common sense.
The reform we are talking about today offered by Mr. Sherman fixes
this problem. It reforms the HUD income calculation used in the HUD-
VASH program to ensure that the disability payments of a low-income
veteran do not exclude them from accessing this housing support.
The bill goes on to say that HUD needs to adopt the same income
calculation standard for any future veteran housing program it might
create using HUD-owned property. I applaud my colleague for calling
attention to this problem and for his bipartisan work to find a
solution.
While this may seem like an easy fix, this is Washington. There are
no easy fixes, and HUD has consistently placed bureaucratic obstacles
in the way of program efficiency time and time again.
In fact, when Representative Sherman brought this up last year to the
Secretary of HUD, he got the same answer that Representative De La Cruz
got on her veterans CDBG income question: Hey, that is Congress' job to
fix it, not HUD's.
Fix it, indeed we will. The approach the gentleman has taken in
crafting this bill is a good one. It is one that will make a big
difference in the HUD-VASH program, as well as: How about making a
difference for the veterans who are eligible to use it? That is why we
are on this House floor.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Sherman for his hard work to
honor the promises that we have made to our veterans. I urge bipartisan
support of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. VARGAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 965, the Housing Unhoused
Disabled Veterans Act sponsored by Representative Sherman. I thank Mr.
Sherman for his work on this bipartisan bill which ensure homeless
veterans, including those who may have higher incomes due to their
disability benefits, can access supportive housing through the HUD-VASH
program.
[[Page H604]]
However, an important distinction in this bill will expand access to
housing for more disabled veterans who are experiencing homelessness,
while preserving limited rental assistance for those with the lowest
incomes.
{time} 1730
I also want to take this opportunity to talk about the importance of
preserving the HUD-VASH program as the Trump administration threatens
to trample on Congress' constitutional powers of the purse by freezing
Federal funds that have already been designed and designated for the
American people.
HUD-VASH is arguably the most successful Federal homeless program to
date. In fact, under the Biden administration, Democrats were
successful in lowering veteran homelessness to its lowest level ever on
record. That is what we can get done when we prioritize housing for
people, not profit.
HUD-VASH is the only Federal program that is built to end veteran
homelessness through the Housing First approach, which Republicans have
time and time again tried to discredit. Housing First works because it
solves the root of the homelessness crisis, which is a lack of
affordable housing.
Specifically, the program ensures people who are experiencing
homelessness can first get off the street and into stable housing where
they are then supported with wraparound services, such as case
management, job training, healthcare services, and more. If Housing
First works to help end veteran homelessness, it can work for everyone
else, too.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill and look forward to a more
bipartisan effort to scale up proven Housing First solutions to end
homelessness nationwide.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. De La Cruz), who has done so much to
advance these reforms in HUD and our committee. We are grateful for her
leadership.
Ms. De La CRUZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding.
I rise in support of H.R. 965, the bipartisan Housing Unhoused
Disabled Veterans Act, which I am proud to co-lead.
Our veterans, particularly disabled veterans, have sacrificed
immensely for our Nation. Unfortunately, when they return home, they
are met with unnecessary bureaucracy and government overregulation.
Though we can never repay them for their sacrifice, we can show
gratitude by ensuring that bureaucratic obstacles do not stand in the
way of veterans receiving the support they need.
H.R. 965 will make certain that disability benefits received by a
veteran are not counted against a veteran seeking housing assistance
under the HUD-VASH program.
These programs are intended to help veterans, so let us ensure that
we do all we can to ensure they achieve that mission by enacting
commonsense measures.
I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan solution to ensure
those that sacrificed so much for this great country are not penalized
for benefits they have earned through their selfless service.
Mr. VARGAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Sherman), who is the ranking member on the Subcommittee
on Capital Markets, who is the sponsor of this bill.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, these are two companion bills. It has been
good working with her. My hope is that we not only pass both these
bills today unanimously but that we actually get the Senate to act.
There is nothing more shameful than a homeless, disabled American
veteran, one who has lost a limb defending us and now living on the
streets.
There are two programs to focus on that are designed to provide
housing for the unhoused. The De La Cruz bill, which I was proud to be
the chief Democratic advocate of, dealt with the CDBG program. This
bill deals with a joint program between HUD and the veterans
administration, HUD and the VA, and that is why the bill's title spells
out HUDVA.
The issue, again, is how do we define income for eligibility for
housing. Certainly we should change that definition when it applies to
veterans' housing for veterans on veterans' land.
The worst thing we could do is exclude disabled veterans. This is
particularly true because perhaps the most significant parcel that this
will affect is in my district, and it is the largest VA hospital in the
West. What better place for disabled veterans to live when they need
often hospital care than to live right there at the hospital.
This bill amends the HUD definition of annual income to exclude
disability payments received by a veteran for eligibility purposes for
housing under the HUDVA Supportive Housing program.
Last year, HUD, in a major victory for us, did decide to exclude
disability benefits from this definition. It is now, I think, necessary
for us to make that a statutory change so that it doesn't change with
this or that administration.
Now, to qualify, as I have said, the central issue is whether VA
disability benefits count as income. The Internal Revenue Code excludes
them from that definition of income. As I said, in talking about the
gentlewoman from Texas' bill, if you are disabled and you have
disability benefits, those benefits don't necessarily raise your
standard of living and raise your income from that standpoint when you
have to spend your disability benefits on, for example, home
healthcare, the additional cost of living with a disability, et cetera.
The HUD-VASH program is designed to provide rental assistance. The
inclusion of disability benefits in the annual income calculation
excludes veterans who are disabled from living at a VA hospital land or
part of a complex that includes a VA hospital. This legislation would
address this problem.
The bill is supported by virtually all the veterans support
organizations, such as VFW, Vietnam Veterans of America, American
Legion, Disabled American Veterans, U.S. Vets, and Black Veterans
Empowerment Council.
The bill is also supported by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, because
it is mayors, after all, who have to deal with the homeless and
particularly homeless veterans in their cities.
This bill had 101 cosponsors last Congress and substantial bipartisan
support in this Congress. I am pleased to have the co-leadership of Ms.
De La Cruz from Texas. It has a zero Congressional Budget Office score,
so it does nothing to increase our deficit.
The recent wildfires in my area also exemplify this in that the VA
hospital that I referred to is right there close to where these fires
broke out.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to passing this bill and to persuade the
Senate to do so as well.
Mr. VARGAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for
closing.
I would again thank Congressman Sherman for working across the aisle,
in particular with Representative De La Cruz from Texas on her
companion bill, to make sure our Nation's HUD-VASH program works as
effectively as possible.
This bill is a step forward in ensuring that every veteran who is
experiencing homelessness can access the supportive housing they need,
facilitating their successful reintegration into civilian life.
This is especially true for disabled veterans who experience unique
barriers to housing that is inaccessible and increasingly unaffordable.
With this bill, we can assure and ensure disabled veterans have the
resources they need to lead stable, fulfilling lives after their
invaluable service to our Nation.
Again, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support
this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
I thank Mr. Sherman for his good work on this and his partnership
with Ms. De La Cruz of Texas.
Mr. Speaker, I also express my deep empathy and support of
Representative Sherman, Representative Chu, Representative Kim, and
others in the L.A. basin who are coping with the horrendous results and
tragedy connected with the fires at Pacific Palisades and elsewhere
where some 45,000 California homes were destroyed in just the blink of
an eye and lives lost.
[[Page H605]]
I thank Mr. Sherman for his focus on housing the least fortunate, our
veterans, but also I know that he is concerned about what is going to
happen in the months ahead as southern California recovers.
In this regard, Mr. Speaker, we will have a bipartisan roundtable
tomorrow in the House Financial Services Committee where Members on
both sides of the aisle will talk with experts about how best to
improve resilience and think through recovery for southern California.
I thank my colleagues for their bipartisan work on H.R. 965. I urge a
``yes'' vote on both sides of the aisle, 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. Hill) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 965.
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.
____________________