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Letter to the Hon. Mario Diaz-Balart, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development & Related Agencies and the Hon. David Price, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, & Related Agencies - Congressman Al Green's Statement on Funding for Homeless Veteran Supportive Housing

Letter

By: Al Green, Terri Sewell, John Garamendi, Ami Bera, Jackie Speier, Anna Eshoo, Salud Carbajal, Adam Schiff, Raul Ruiz, Maxine Waters, Scott Peters, Jared Polis, John Larson, Jim Himes, Al Lawson, Jr., Lois Frankel, John Lewis, Tulsi Gabbard, Robin Kelly, Bill Foster, Jim McGovern, Bill Keating, Elijah Cummings, Dan Kildee, Keith Ellison, Kilili Sablan, Alma Adams, Chris Smith, Don Payne, Jr., Jacky Rosen, Nydia Velázquez, Eliot Engel, Marcia Fudge, Bob Brady, Steve Cohen, Joaquin Castro, Donald McEachin, Stacey Plaskett, Rick Larsen, Gwen Moore, Raul Grijalva, Mike Thompson, Mark DeSaulnier, Eric Swalwell, Zoe Lofgren, Julia Brownley, Brad Sherman, Linda Sánchez, Nanette Barragán, Susan Davis, Michael Coffman, Joe Courtney, Elizabeth Esty, Darren Soto, Ted Deutch, Madeleine Bordallo, Dave Loebsack, Danny Davis, André Carson, Seth Moulton, Anthony Brown, Jamie Raskin, Sandy Levin, Collin Peterson, Bennie Thompson, Carol Shea-Porter, Joshua Gottheimer, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Ruben Kihuen, Yvette Clarke, Brian Higgins, Earl Blumenauer, Dwight Evans, Beto O'Rourke, Filemon Vela, Jr., Don Beyer, Jr., Peter Welch, Denny Heck, Jared Huffman, Doris Matsui, Barbara Lee, Jim Costa, Jimmy Panetta, Judy Chu, Ted Lieu, Mark Takano, Juan Vargas, Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, Rosa DeLauro, Eleanor Norton, Charlie Crist, Jr., Frederica Wilson, Colleen Hanabusa, Bobby Rush, Jan Schakowsky, John Yarmuth, Mike Capuano, John Delaney, Chellie Pingree, Tim Walz, Rick Nolan, G. K. Butterfield, Jr., Annie Kuster, Albio Sires, Ben Luján, Jr., Kathleen Rice, Jerry Nadler, Joyce Beatty, Peter DeFazio, Brendan Boyle, Sheila Jackson Lee, Bobby Scott, Gerry Connolly, Suzan DelBene, Ron Kind
Date: March 22, 2018
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Veterans Housing and Property

Dear Chairman Diaz-Balart and Ranking Member Price,

We are writing to request that the Transportation-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee continue robust funding for programs that provide assistance for homeless veterans. Specifically, we request $47 million for the HUD-VASH program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, which is the FY2017 enacted level.

According to the most recent Annual Homeless Assistance Report issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 553,742 people were homeless across the United States on any given night. While homelessness among veterans has fallen by 45 percent since 2009, veteran homelessness still remains a problem. In fact, last year the number of veterans experiencing homelessness increased for the first time since 2010. An estimated 40,056 veterans were homeless on a given night in 2017. These figures illustrate the progress we have accomplished, but more importantly the continued need for HUD-VASH assistance.

The HUD-VASH program has been highly successful in helping our nation's veterans escape homelessness each year. The program combines rental assistance, in the form of a HUD voucher, with case management and supportive services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). By combining services, the HUD-VASH program helps homeless veterans return to being self-sufficient members of their community. Through community outreach, we have witnessed the benefits of the HUD-VASH voucher program in our districts. Veterans are provided the stable environment necessary for addressing the factors that led to their homelessness.

Homelessness among veterans--even one veteran--is unacceptable. We must continue to fund the highly-successful HUD-VASH program until homelessness has been eliminated among all veterans. As your Subcommittee considers the FY 2019 Transportation-HUD Appropriations bill, we ask that you support funding for our homeless veterans and specifically the HUD-VASH program. Thank you for your consideration and attention to this matter.


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