U.S. Senate bill: S. 2061, introduced by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) — Veteran Housing Opportunities and Unemployment Support Extension Act
Committees:
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Status:
No action has been taken on S. 2061 by the committee of jurisdiction.
Cosponsors:
7 (see all cosponsors)| Cosponsor | Date Cosponsored |
|---|---|
| Sen. Young, Todd [R-IN]* | 07/09/2019 |
| Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]* | 07/09/2019 |
| Sen. Stabenow, Debbie [D-MI] | 07/31/2019 |
| Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] | 09/17/2019 |
| Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] | 09/17/2019 |
| Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] | 02/24/2020 |
| Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] | 08/03/2020 |
U.S. House bill: H.R. 2398, sponsored by Representative Scott Peters (D-CA-52) — Veteran Housing Opportunities and Unemployment Support Extension Act
Committees:
House Committee on Financial Services and House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Status:
H.R. 2398 was approved without opposition by the House Veterans' Affairs and Financial Services Committees, and it was passed by the House by a vote of 362-31.
Cosponsors:
24 (see all cosponsors)Impact
The Alliance strongly supports legislation (H.R. 2398, S. 2061) that would expand eligibility for Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) benefits to homeless veterans who have received an “other-than-honorable” (OTH) discharge. Although an OTH discharge is the most severe administrative discharge a veteran can receive, it is not a punitive discharge, and should not be confused with a dishonorable discharge.
Chronically homeless veterans who have been other than honorably discharged are not receiving the housing and services that would allow them to get off the streets and turn around their lives. At the request of the Alliance and its national partners, however, lawmakers are considering legislation that would expand eligibility for HUD-VASH to homeless veterans who received an OTH discharge.
The highly successful HUD-VASH program combines a HUD Housing Choice Voucher with case management services provided through a VA Medical Center.
Current law requires veterans to be eligible for VA medical benefits in order to qualify for a HUD-VASH voucher. This requirement excludes many veterans with OTH discharges. According to the Department of Defense, approximately 7,700 servicemembers are discharged OTH each year, while approximately 10% of homeless veterans received OTH discharges.
Homeless veterans who received OTH discharges are eligible for assistance from VA’s other successful homelessness programs (Supportive Services for Veteran Families [SSVF] and Grant Per Diem [GPD]), but not the HUD-VASH program. The Congressional Research Service helpfully distinguishes between the missions of the HUD-VASH, SSVF, and GPD programs:
“HUD-VASH, GPD, and SSVF provide different types of housing subsidies to eligible veterans…HUD-VASH provides permanent supportive-housing assistance for homeless veterans, prioritizing chronically homeless and highly vulnerable veterans who have a high level of housing and service needs, such as those with high barriers to employment and self-sufficiency. In contrast, GPD provides transitional housing and SSVF focuses on short-term, crisis intervention when providing homeless prevention and rapid rehousing; both of these programs also provide supportive services for veterans who do not have as high a level of needs as those in the HUD-VASH program.”
The Alliance has repeatedly heard from providers of assistance to veterans experiencing homelessness that some homeless veterans discharged OTH have higher levels of need that would be best addressed by HUD-VASH, but they are not eligible for the VA case management services and the HUD housing vouchers.
Legislation to expand HUD-VASH eligibility to OTH veterans was introduced in the House (H.R. 2398) by Representative Scott Peters (D-CA-52) and in the Senate (S. 2061) by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT). H.R. 2398 was marked up by the House Veterans’ Affairs and Financial Services Committees and passed without opposition both times. H.R. 2398 was approved by the House by a vote of 362-31. S. 2061 enjoys bipartisan support, but the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee has taken no action on the legislation.
How did Representatives vote on H.R. 2398 when it was considered on the House floor?
House floor vote on HR 2398 on Jan 13 2020The House National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 6395) includes the same language in Section 1790, and the Alliance has asked the Senate Armed Services Committee to support its inclusion in the bill’s conference report.
Summary
The House is to be commended for its approval of H.R. 2398, legislation that would expand the eligibility for HUD-VASH to “other-than-honorably” discharged veterans. The Alliance urges Senators to expeditiously approve S. 2061 so that chronically homeless veterans who were discharged OTH can get help from the HUD-VASH program. In addition to the Alliance, H.R. 2398/S. 2061 have been endorsed by American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, Community Solutions, and National Housing Law Project. Activists are asked to urge their Senators to cosponsor S. 2061 and ask the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to mark up the bill.
The House National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 6395) includes the same language in Section 1790, and the Alliance has asked the Senate Armed Services Committee to support its inclusion in the bill’s conference report.
To learn more about the Alliance’s views on HUD-VASH and the importance of the homelessness programs run by the Department of Veteran Affairs, please see our recent testimony.
Submitted HVAC Economic Opportunity Subcommittee HUD-VASH Testimony for January 14 2020 hearing