[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15525-15526]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       CLOTHE A HOMELESS HERO ACT

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6328) to amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the 
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security 
Administration) to transfer unclaimed clothing recovered at airport 
security checkpoints to local veterans organizations and other local 
charitable organizations, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6328

       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 ``Clothe a Homeless Hero 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. DISPOSITION OF UNCLAIMED CLOTHING RECOVERED AT 
                   AIRPORT SECURITY CHECKPOINTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 44945 of title 49, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in the section heading, by inserting ``and clothing'' 
     after ``money'';
       (2) by inserting before the text the following: ``(a) 
     Disposition of Unclaimed Money.--''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) Disposition of Unclaimed Clothing.--
       ``(1) In general.--In disposing of unclaimed clothing 
     recovered at any airport security checkpoint, the Assistant 
     Secretary shall make every reasonable effort, in consultation 
     with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to transfer the 
     clothing to local veterans organizations or other local 
     charitable organizations for distribution to homeless or 
     needy veterans and veteran families.
       ``(2) Agreements.--In implementing paragraph (1), the 
     Assistant Secretary may enter into agreements with airport 
     authorities.
       ``(3) Other charitable arrangements.--Nothing in this 
     subsection shall prevent an airport or the Transportation 
     Security Administration from donating unclaimed clothing to a 
     charitable organization of their choosing.
       ``(4) Limitation.--Nothing in this subsection shall create 
     a cost to the Government.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 449 of such title is amended by striking 
     the item relating to such section and inserting the 
     following:

``44945. Disposition of unclaimed money and clothing.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Hochul) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as vice chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and 
a senior member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I rise in 
support of H.R. 6328, again, a bipartisan bill, a bill sponsored by my 
colleague, Ms. Hochul, the Clothe a Homeless Hero Act.
  According to estimates from the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, in 2011 approximately 14 percent of all homeless adults 
were veterans, with more than 67,000 veterans homeless on any given 
night--unacceptable.
  We must do all that we can to ensure that the veterans who have 
courageously served our country are not forgotten and are receiving the 
care and services they deserve. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has set a 
laudable goal of ending veterans' homelessness by 2015 and has 
established partnerships with other Federal agencies, such as HUD, to 
accomplish it.
  The bill before us today will forge another important partnership in 
our efforts to serve homeless veterans, one with the Transportation 
Security Administration. Each day, as Americans travel through 
screening checkpoints operated by TSA at our Nation's airports, many 
articles of clothing are left behind. In fact, TSA reports that they 
collect between 500 and 1,000 garments per day.
  H.R. 6328 directs the TSA Administrator to make every reasonable 
effort to donate this unclaimed clothing to local organizations that 
serve homeless or needy veterans.
  I urge Members to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Ms. HOCHUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6328, the 
Clothe a Homeless Hero Act, and yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I just flew in from the Buffalo airport, and there was a 
dusting of snow on the ground. I'm sure my colleague from Florida did 
not have a similar experience, but it bodes poorly for the veterans who 
are going to be spending the nights on the streets of Buffalo and other 
cold places. As the weather starts to change, it's something that's 
very hurtful to see, as an American, and to know that there are 
veterans who put on their uniform and went overseas to fight and 
protect all of us, and to know that 20,000 recently returning veterans 
from Iraq and Afghanistan will find themselves homeless tonight.

                              {time}  1720

  That is a national disgrace. As all of us rush through airports every 
week along with many thousands of Americans, it's not uncommon for 
scarves and hats and other articles of clothing to be inadvertently 
left behind at TSA checkpoints. In fact, I, myself, left a scarf 
behind, which prompted my thoughts of how we could handle this surplus 
clothing. It adds up to thousands of pounds of abandoned clothes 
annually. There can be no better purpose than for this unclaimed 
clothing to help America's homeless veterans.
  Homelessness has gone on the rise among our veterans. This is 
absolutely an unconscionable, untenable situation. As a country, we 
have a moral obligation to do so much more to eradicate this untenable 
situation. And I know that in a bipartisan way this is one step toward 
that effort. Even if one of our veterans stays warm this winter because 
of the clothing provided through this legislation, it would have been 
well worth the effort.
  The Clothe a Homeless Hero Act directs the TSA to make every 
reasonable effort to transfer unclaimed clothing to local veterans 
organizations or other local charitable organizations for distribution 
to homeless veterans and their dependents. Nothing in this bill

[[Page 15526]]

prevents airports or the TSA from donating these items to charities of 
their choosing if they already have relationships in place. And most 
importantly, this legislation would not create a cost to the 
government.
  When I offered this proposal in the Committee on Homeland Security, I 
was so grateful that it received unanimous, bipartisan support from all 
my colleagues. I thank the overall committee chairman, Mr. Peter King, 
Ranking Member Thompson, members of the Committee on Homeland Security, 
and Subcommittee Chairman Mr. Bilirakis for all their support.
  I urge all of our colleagues to join us in advancing this simple, 
deficit-neutral bill to assist the heroes who once wore the uniform and 
have fallen on hard times and need this clothing.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. If 
the gentlewoman from New York has no further speakers, I am prepared to 
close.
  Ms. HOCHUL. Mr. Speaker, as you've heard, H.R. 6328 enjoys bipartisan 
support of the members of the Committee on Homeland Security and 
deserves the full support of the House today. I think this is an 
important step we take, particularly with the holiday season 
approaching, cold weather approaching, and it's a small step that we 
can take to help these veterans who were heroes at one time and now 
need the help of all of us as American citizens.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this 
legislation and, in turn, support homeless veterans.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 6328, the ``Clothe a Homeless Hero Act.''
  At the outset, I would like to commend Representative Hochul, the 
author of H.R. 6328, for her tireless work on behalf of her 
constituents, our veterans and for her service on the Committee on 
Homeland Security.
  Since she joined the Committee, I have watched as Representative 
Hochul worked to identify bipartisan solutions to our Nation's 
problems.
  H.R. 6328 is the byproduct of her collaborative and thoughtful 
approach.
  This measure requires TSA to make every reasonable effort to transfer 
unclaimed clothing recovered at airport security checkpoints so that it 
can get to needy veterans and their families.
  One of the unfortunate realities we face following times of war is 
that some of those who fought for our freedoms face challenges in 
transitioning to civilian life.
  We owe it to our veterans to do all that we can to ensure they get 
the helping hand needed to get back on their feet when they return from 
the battlefield.
  Thanks to Representative Hochul's leadership, the House has an 
opportunity today to take a small, but important, step in support of 
our veterans by supporting this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, as you have heard, H.R. 6328 enjoys the bipartisan 
support of the Members of the Committee on Homeland Security and 
deserves the support of the Full House today.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 6328, the ``Clothe a Homeless Hero Act,'' which Directs the 
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security 
Administration [TSA]) to transfer unclaimed clothing recovered at 
airport security checkpoints to local veterans organizations or other 
local charitable organizations for distribution to homeless or needy 
veterans and their families. Moreover, it authorizes the Assistant 
Secretary to enter into agreements with airport authorities for 
disposing of such clothing.
  In my home state of Texas, we have nearly 1.7 million veterans. I 
represent 18th District in Texas which is home to over 32,000 veterans. 
Of the 200,000 veterans of military service who live and work in 
Houston; more than 13,000 are veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom 
in Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  Veteran homelessness has been a substantial problem going back to at 
least the Vietnam era.
  An estimated 10-16 percent of our nation's homeless population 
(between 76,000-136,000) are veterans.
  Nearly one in seven homeless adults are veterans, as of * * *
  More than 67,000 homeless veterans were counted on a given January 
night in America last year. More than 4 in 10 homeless veterans were 
found unsheltered.
  Almost half of homeless veterans were African American in 2008 
despite the fact that only 11 percent of veterans overall are African 
American.
  1.5 million veterans are at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack 
of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or 
substandard housing.
  30.2 percent of veterans ages 18 to 24 were unemployed according to 
unpublished 2011 Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
  Nearly 1 in 10 veterans with disabilities were not employed in 2010.
  According to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a 2007 survey 
showed that more than one-third of employers were unaware of 
protections they must provide to servicemembers, and more than half 
spent less than 2 percent of their recruitment budget on military 
advertising and/or did not understand the qualifications of military 
service.
  In that same survey more than half of all veterans were unsure of how 
to professionally network, and nearly three in four felt unprepared to 
negotiate salary and benefits and/or unable to effectively translate 
military skills.
  More than 968,000 of veterans ages 18 to 64 had been in poverty in 
the past year in 2010.
  More than 33,000 veterans were housed since 2009 by the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs in 
permanent, supportive housing with case managers and access to VA 
health care.
  $31 million of SNAP/food stamps funding in 2008 was spent at military 
commissaries to help feed military members and their families who 
struggle against hunger.
  A veteran lives in one in five households benefiting from the Low 
Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides heating and 
cooling assistance.
  After serving this country and protecting our rights and freedoms, 
these veterans often sustain debilitating injuries or post-traumatic 
stress that make readjusting to life in the U.S. an arduous task. It is 
often difficult for them to find jobs and as they slip further into 
hopelessness, they become more susceptible to drug abuse and violent 
acts which can lead to homelessness.
  This is a disturbing trend that must end. Surely, in this great 
nation, we can provide for those who fought to defend us. As our men 
and women in the armed forces have served us, it is our duty to, in 
turn, serve them.
  H.R. 6328 is a step in the right direction towards finding creative 
solutions for the basic needs of certain veterans. By using unclaimed 
clothing that has been left at airports is a wonderful way to help 
ensure that veterans who have fallen on hard times have access to 
clothing.
  With the epidemic of depression, anxiety, and Post Traumatic Stress 
Disorder (PTSD) in our military, along with the burden of long and 
repeated deployment during our nation's most recent wars, we must be 
vigilant about combating the issue of homelessness among our nation's 
heroes.
  Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have remained committed to 
meeting both the needs of veterans of previous wars, and to those who 
are now serving. Veterans have kept their promise to serve our nation; 
they have willingly risked their lives to protect the country we all 
love. We must now ensure that we keep our promises to our veterans.
  I have introduced and supported legislation that increases medical 
services to our troops, veterans and their families. I recently 
introduced a measure that resulted in $500,000 additional funding for 
PTSD research and treatment. Yet, as we work to improve the physical 
and mental health of our returning heroes; we must also work to ensure 
that our service men and women retain their dignity when they return 
home, and providing them with access to clothes is the least we can do 
to honor their service. For that reason, I urge my colleagues to 
support H.R. 6328, the ``Clothe a Homeless Hero Act,'' on Suspension.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6328.
  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.

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