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“INTRODUCTION OF HEATHER FRENCH HOMELESS VETERANS ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2000, H.R. 5311” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1611-E1612 on Sept. 27, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF HEATHER FRENCH HOMELESS VETERANS ASSISTANCE ACT OF
2000, H.R. 5311
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HON. LANE EVANS
of illinois
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, September 27, 2000
Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I am proud and honored today to introduce the Heather French Homeless Veterans Assistance Act of 2000. The homeless veterans of our nation have no better friend, no better advocate than Miss America 2000. During the past year, Heather has given generously of her time, talent, energy and self to challenge this nation to meet the unmet needs of our homeless veterans. The value of her advocacy for our nation's homeless veterans this past year cannot be calculated--it is priceless. From coast to coast and border to border, Heather has taken her message of our national responsibility to provide homeless veterans the assistance they need and deserve. It is an honor for me to, in some small way, recognize what Heather French has done and what she means for our homeless veterans and our nation. The legislation I introduce today is intended to recognize and honor Heather French, but it is not a ceremonial measure.
Nearly four decades ago, President John F. Kennedy challenged our nation to send a man to the moon and return him safely to earth before the end of a decade. He said we would do it not because it was easy, but because it was hard. Our nation spent billions of dollars, some
$21.3 billion in 1969 dollars, to meet this challenge. Today, the cost would be an estimated $110 billion. The crew of Apollo 11, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins, will always be American heroes. The men and women who have served this nation in uniform and who are now homeless are also American heroes. They are the real survivors.
If we were capable of achieving that goal set by President Kennedy nearly 40 years ago, then we are capable of achieving this goal now--
before the end of a decade eliminate homelessness among veterans. We must honor the service of our women and men who have served in uniform by providing the resources and opportunity they need to regain their future and again become productive citizens. This is our challenge. Like generations before us, we can and will succeed.
Let us never forget that every homeless veteran in America today served as a member of our Armed Forces. Today's homeless veterans were the once eager, excited and maybe a little frightened young men and women who came forward to serve our nation in uniform. In real terms, they defended our nation. They were our national defense. They came forward by the tens of thousands to serve our country. It is time for our country to come forward to fully provide the services they now need.
The Heather French Homeless Veterans Assistance Act of 2000 is comprehensive legislation. It contains both innovative and proven programs. It provides, for example; expanding successful grant programs, extending the authority of the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) to provide dental care, and authorizing individual grants to veterans at risk for homelessness. Mr. Speaker, I ask that a summary explanation of the Heather French Homeless Veterans Assistance Act of 2000 be included in the Record following my statement.
Some may question the need for enacting comprehensive homeless veterans legislation. They may ask, ``Don't programs to help homeless veterans already exist?'' The answer is a qualified yes. VA offers a wide array of special programs and initiatives designed to help homeless veterans live as self-sufficiently and independently as possible. VA's specialized homeless veterans treatment programs have grown and developed since first authorized in 1987. In addition, other federal and community based programs exist throughout the nation to offer support and provide assistance to homeless veterans. Homeless veterans are receiving assistance and support from many programs that have demonstrated their effectiveness.
The question then remains, ``Why are veterans still homeless?'' The answer is simple. We have not done enough. The problem is not ineffective programs. The problem is too few programs and too many homeless veterans. If our goal is to end homelessness among veterans, we must do more. Existing programs must be continued and expanded when possible. New programs must be established.
For some, the first question will be, ``How much will this cost?'' The question that should be asked instead is, ``What are the costs of failing to end homelessness among veterans? What are the costs of failing to provide what they need to regain their future and again become productive citizens and members of society?''
I strongly support the specialized programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs intended to meet the needs of homeless veterans. These are worthwhile, effective programs. For fiscal year 2000, the total amount expected to be spent supporting these programs is $152.5 million dollars. This is clearly not pocket change, but neither is it enough funding. In fact, it is far from enough.
Over the course of a year, 345,000 homeless veterans will experience nearly 126 nights of homelessness. To meet the needs of nearly 126 million nights of homelessness among veterans a year, $152.5 million really isn't very much. In fact, the total spending this year for VA's specialized programs for homeless veterans amounts to approximately
$1.25 per day, per homeless veteran. No matter how effective or efficient, $1.25 per day, per homeless veteran can't be expected to be enough. On average, this is about $450 per year, per homeless veteran.
The Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), of the Department of Labor, provides even less support. The purpose of HVRP is to assist homeless veterans gain employment and become or move toward self-
sufficiency. Again, HVRP is a good program which has demonstrated its effectiveness. But how effective can HVRP be in eliminating homelessness with an annual budget of $10 million? If the homeless veteran population is 345,000, HVRP can spend, at the utmost, less than
$30 per year, per veteran, on average.
For some, eliminating homelessness among veterans is simply a question of economics. A formerly homeless veteran who becomes a computer programmer earning $40,000 a year is a contributing member of our society who will repay many times over in taxes the assistance he or she received. It is in our national economic interest to once again use the skills and values learned in military service and to productively use new skills to benefit everyone.
For me, this is not simply a question of economics. Morally, there is no other choice that we can make. We must make use of the full arsenal of programs and tools to help homeless veterans regain their self-
worth, their dignity, their pride and their self-sufficiency. We can end homelessness among veterans if we have the will to do so. As the richest nation on earth, we can afford to do no less.
President Reagan once asked, ``If not us, who? If not now, when?'' I ask these same questions today. We cannot afford to wait any longer. More importantly, America's homeless veterans cannot afford to wait any longer.
If we simply maintain the status quo, over the next decade there will be more than one billion nights of homelessness among veterans. Let me repeat that--more than one billion nights of homelessness among veterans over the next decade if we simply maintain our current efforts. If our
The most recent assessment of the Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups (CHALENG) was issued in May 2000 by the Department of Veterans Affairs. That assessment reported that there were an estimated 344,983 homeless veterans during 1999, an increase of 34 percent above the 1998 estimate of 256,872 homeless veterans.
Veterans continue to constitute a significant and disproportionately greater percentage of homeless men than their non-veteran peers. Twenty-three percent of the homeless male population are veterans while thirteen percent of the general male population are veterans.
The CHALENG assessment issued in May 2000, by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), also reported there is a need now for more than 110,000 additional beds to meet current needs of homeless veterans. Those additional beds will not be enough, however. Food, clothing, social services, medical services, job training and readiness programs and so much more will also be needed. It can be done and we must do it.
This same assessment of the needs of homeless veterans issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reported VA and community partnerships during 1999 were responsible for establishing 4,943 total beds for homeless veterans which included emergency, transitional and permanent beds. If 5,000 additional beds are provided annually to meet the needs of homeless veterans, more than two decades will be required to meet the current need for additional beds to serve homeless veterans. According to an informal cost estimate provided by VA, $1 billion will be required to establish the new beds now needed by homeless veterans.
The Congressional Budget Office forecast a federal budget surplus totaling $268 billion for fiscal year 2001 and a budget surplus of over
$4.5 trillion over the next ten years. We are the most powerful and richest nation on earth. Economically, we can afford to end homelessness among veterans. Morally, we must. Morally, there is no other choice that we can make. We must make use of the full arsenal of programs and tools to help homeless veterans regain their self-worth, their dignity, their pride and their self-sufficiency.
I am pleased the Heather French Homeless Veterans Assistance Act of 2000 has already received support from the Veterans Organizations Homeless Council. The members of the Veterans Organizations Homeless Council represent ten major national veteran service organizations. These organizations are The American Legion, AMVETS, Blinded Veterans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Non Commissioned Officers Association, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Vietnam Veterans of America. The Veterans Organizations Homeless Council
``strongly supports the comprehensive recommendations advanced by Congressman Lane Evans, Illinois, in a legislative proposal that will offer a strategic program to break the vicious cycle of veterans homelessness in cities and towns across this Nation.''
In addition, I am also very pleased this legislation has won the support of Miss America 2000. Heather French has carried a torch of compassion which has shown light on the plight of America's homeless veterans. She has given voice to homeless veterans who have been voiceless and visibility to homeless veterans who have been invisible to society in general. Her efforts have raised the awareness of the American people regarding the struggles and circumstances of the thousands of homeless men and women who have served our nation in uniform.
By her words and deeds Miss America 2000 has demonstrated her steadfast commitment to leaving no homeless veteran behind. From the halls of Congress, to homeless shelters, and to communities across America, Heather French has inspired us to a single goal--ending homelessness among America's veterans. As Miss America 2000, Heather French has well represented the Miss America Organization--the largest provider of scholarship assistance, exclusively for women, in the world. As an advocate for our homeless veterans, Heather French has maintained The Miss America Organization tradition of many decades of empowering American women to achieve their personal and professional goals, while providing a forum in which to express their opinions, talents, and intelligence. Her year of service as Miss America will end next month, but her commitment will not. She will continue to speak for those who are voiceless, seek shelter for those who have none, and remind us of our obligation to those who have served.
Heather French has said, ``homeless veterans want to be able to regain personal pride by taking personal responsibility to remove the barriers that have prevented their transition to productive citizenship.'' ``I applaud this legislation that focuses on a comprehensive package of proposals that will lead to ending homelessness among our nation's veterans so they can once again be proud citizens.''
The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) has also endorsed this legislation. NCHV executive director Linda Boone has said ``this bill will become the platform to address homeless veterans' issues in the 107th Congress and we look forward to a continued active relationship between Ms. French and Mr. Evans towards the goal of ending homelessness among our nation's veterans.''
I am proud to have the support of Ms. French, major veterans organizations, and community based providers of services to homeless veterans. I urge my colleagues to support and cosponsor H.R. 5311, the Heather French Homeless Veterans Assistance Act of 2000.
Heather French Homeless Veterans Assistance Act of 2000
summary of H.R. 5311
1. Findings
2. National Goal to end homelessness among Veterans within a decade
3. Establish the Homeless Veterans Advisory Committee, Department of Veterans Affairs
4. Requires annual meeting for Interagency Council on Homeless
5. Evaluation of homeless programs
6. Changes in veterans equitable resource allocation methodology
7. Grant program for homeless veterans with special needs
8. Coordination of services for veterans at risk of homelessness
9. Centers of Excellence in integrated mental health services delivery
10. Expansion of authority for dental care
11. Programmatic expansions
12. Various Authorities
13. Temporary Assistance Grants
14. Emergency Homeless Grants
15. Technical Assistance Grants
16. Manufactured Housing Loans
17. Increase Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program annual authorization to $50 million
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