Hearing of the Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee - "Housing for Heroes: Examining How Federal Programs Can Better Serve Veterans"

Hearing

I'd like to thank our witnesses, especially our veterans who are on the front line of protecting our nation and our freedoms. Thank you for your service, your sacrifices, and for putting this nation first -- it's truly an honor and a privilege to have you here.

We all agree that we need responsive and accessible housing programs that are tailored specifically for low-income and disabled veterans. Our service men and women have been hit particularly hard in this country's housing crisis and face unique challenges in securing sustainable housing.

But our well-intentioned federal housing programs for veterans clearly have meaningful inefficiencies, poor inter-agency coordination, and poor evaluation systems.

However, I'm pleased that this committee continues to address these issues. This past week, the full committee passed Mr. Heck's bill that ensures veteran disability benefits do not reduce access to HUD's housing assistance programs. And today we are discussing Mr. Green's legislation, which allows veteran services organizations to work with HUD on rehabilitating homes for veterans and their families.

I thank Chairwoman Biggert, Mr. Green, and Mr. Heck for their work on these important issues, and I look forward to hearing suggestions from our witnesses.

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