[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 21841-21842]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO RENAME THE McKINNEY ACT, THE McKINNEY-
                     VENTO HOMELESS ASSISTANCE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN J. LaFALCE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 6, 2000

  Mr. LaFALCE. Mr. Speaker, today I have the honor to introduce 
legislation that would rename the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless 
Assistance Act the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, in tribute 
to Congressman Bruce Vento's tireless commitment to the homeless. I 
hope we can speed the enactment of this bill into law prior to the 
adjournment of the 106th Congress.
  Bruce F. Vento has been a passionate champion and effective advocate 
on behalf of homeless people throughout his career. Traces of his 
tireless commitment can be found on any forgotten street in urban 
America: in a shelter where families can go for a hot meal, or a vacant 
building that has been converted into a place where the homeless can 
find a bed, and a roof over their heads. Bruce wrote many of the laws 
that bring compassion and comfort to our poor and destitute every 
single day. It is most appropriate that we honor what he has done on 
behalf of some of our most vulnerable citizens.
  In 1982, Bruce Vento introduced legislation to create the Emergency 
Shelter Grant Program. He was the first Member to bring the plight of 
our nation's homeless people to the attention of the Banking Committee 
in Congress. An amendment he attached to a housing bill, to provide 
matching grants to repair vacant buildings to be used as temporary 
shelters, became the first national legislation to provide federal 
assistance for emergency homeless shelters.
  Throughout the 80's, Bruce worked time and time again with other 
Banking Committee Members to build the coalitions and the interest 
necessary to enact comprehensive legislation to help the nation's 
homeless. In early 1987, he worked to pass an aid package that included 
$100 million for a program of emergency shelter grants to help 
charitable organizations and state and local governments renovate 
buildings for the homeless, and succeeded in enacting the legislation 
into law.
  In that same year, Bruce Vento was an original author of a larger, 
more comprehensive measure that became known as the Stewart B. McKinney 
Homeless Assistance Act. This legislation was the first and only 
coordinated federal initiative directed toward the problem of 
homelessness, and the only social program that was passed during the 
Reagan era. The McKinney Act seeks to meet some of the most immediate 
needs of the homeless: shelter, food, health care, education, job 
training services, and transitional housing through programs at HUD, 
FEMA, HHS, the Education and Labor Departments.
  It is particularly fitting to honor Bruce Vento by joining his name 
with that of his friend and colleague, Stewart B. McKinney, on 
legislation they worked together on for so many years. In 1987, after 
Representative McKinney's passing, Bruce took a leading role in seeking 
to name the program that would serve homeless persons the McKinney Act 
because of Stewart McKinney's ``close association and concern and 
compassion that he espoused and reflected throughout his service'' in 
Congress. These words which Bruce used to describe Stewart McKinney are 
equally applicable to him. In fact, our former Banking Committee 
chairman, Henry B. Gonzalez, used to call Bruce the ``Father of the 
Homeless.''
  Bruce Vento didn't stop with the enactment of the landmark homeless 
assistance act. Throughout the remainder of the 1980's and 1990's, he 
introduced the McKinney reauthorization acts of 1988, 1990, 1992, and 
1994, pushing the provisions through our Banking Committee and the 
other Committees with jurisdiction, while continually seeking 
additional appropriations and fighting attempts to lessen resources for 
homeless persons.
  Bruce was also the chief sponsor of the House version of the Rural 
Homelessness Assistance Act. In 1992 he was the first Member of 
Congress to join with over 50 organizations across the country to sign 
onto the report, ``Beyond McKinney; Policies to End Homelessness.'' In 
February of 1993, the Speaker of the House announced the formation of 
the Speaker's Task Force on Homelessness organized at the request of 
President Bill Clinton. Bruce Vento was appointed as Chairman of the 
Task Force, which issued a comprehensive, nationally recognized report 
to the Speaker one year later.
  During the past few years, Bruce has continued to work hard on the 
McKinney Act, even as the majority party on the Banking Committee has 
taken the lead in introducing reauthorizing legislation. Bruce has 
worked to strengthen, maintain and renew the funding and the 
requirement for permanent housing funds in McKinney Act programs. He 
also authorized language that improved prevention planning and 
activities so that people do not become homeless due to lack of 
foresight or planning. The Vento prevention language added discharge 
planning requirements for persons who are discharged from publicly 
funded institutions--that is, mental health facilities, youth 
facilities and correctional facilities--so that people are not merely 
discharged to the streets.
  Bruce also introduced the Stand Down Authorization Act. Created by 
several Vietnam

[[Page 21842]]

veterans, Stand Downs are designed to give homeless veterans a brief 
respite from life on the streets. The Stand Down bill would, in 
conjunction with the grassroots community, expand the VA's role in 
providing outreach assistance to homeless veterans. In this Congress, 
H.R. 566 gained the strong support of over 100 bi-partisan cosponsors, 
the VA, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the 
Disabled American Vets (DAV).
  As he worked with all of us in this Congress, Bruce consistently 
strove to improve, and even save, the lives of homeless men, women and 
children around this nation. In the tradition of Minnesota's great 
leader, Hubert H. Humphrey, Bruce has always believed that we are 
elected to formulate and enact policies which improve the quality of 
life of our citizens. I have had the pleasure of working with him for 
almost a quarter of a century, and have been continually inspired by 
the strength of this commitment and the energy with which he has 
pursued it.
  I urge you to join me in cosponsoring, and advocating for speedy 
passage of, the McKinney-Vento Act bill so that we can duly honor a 
colleague who has worked long and hard for the most vulnerable 
Americans, people who are without a home to call their own.

                          ____________________