Homeless Vets Legislation

The Obama Administration has committed to ending homelessness among veterans in five years. Congress is currently considering a number of legislative priorities that would help VA achieve this goal.

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On December 16, 2011, the President signed the final fiscal year (FY) 2012 appropriations bill into law for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The legislation included $939 million over two years for programs for homeless veterans. This is a significant increase over the FY 2011 level of $799 million and matches the amount in the President's FY 2012 Budget Request.

On September 22, 2011 the House and Senate passed the Veterans Health Care Facilities Capital Improvement Act of 2011, which extends the Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF) program, which provides grants to serve low-income veterans and their families currently residing in permanent supportive housing. In addition, the Act increases the authorization level for the Grant and Per Diem program, which provides funding for nonprofits to serve homeless veterans, from $150 million to $250 million for FY 2012.

In June, 2011, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced S. 1148, the Veterans Programs Improvement Act of 2011. The Act reauthorizes critical programs such as the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), the Grant and Per Diem (GPD) program, and the Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF) program. The act also aims to improve the provision of services to homeless veterans. The Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs held a hearing on the legislation shortly after its introduction. The legislation awaits passage by the full Committee.

About Comprehensive Homeless Veterans Legislation
To meet the Administration's goal of ending veterans' homelessness within five years, Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki has outlined a plan to end veteran homelessness. In order to make this goal a reality, the Alliance recommends that Congress enact legislation to:

  • Create a homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing program within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA);
  • Continue to expand the Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing program (HUD-VASH);
  • Ensure an adequate supply of affordable housing for veterans with low incomes; and
  • Enhance and bring to scale existing VA homelessness programs.

Spotlight

Federal Policy Brief  |  July 1, 2011
In order to continue the progress toward ending homelessness for America's veterans, Congress should continue to fund HUD-VASH vouchers to provide housing, coupled with services, to chronically homeless veterans.