Indian Veterans Housing Opportunity Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, as a proud member of the Native American Caucus, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3553, the Indian Veterans Housing Opportunity Act, which will address a critical need in tribal lands.

First, I would like to acknowledge Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, Chairman Rahall, and Congresswoman Kirkpatrick for their leadership in bringing this important bill to the floor. My colleague Congresswoman Kirkpatrick, the author of this legislation, has worked hard to ensure that underserved communities, including tribal lands, have the housing necessary to support our growing population.

H.R. 3553, the Indian Veterans Housing Opportunity Act, makes an important fix to the existing bill for providing Native American housing. The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) is the foundation for providing housing assistance to low-income Native American families on Indian reservations, in Alaska Native villages, and on Native Hawaiian Homelands.

In California, the State I represent, there are over 100 Native American tribes, many of varying levels of economic success. Based on the 2000 Census, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has determined that nationwide, almost 543,000 American Indian and Alaska Native households have ``severe housing needs,'' meaning they live in conditions that are overcrowded, substandard, or cost-burdensome.

To complicate matters further, the NAHASDA statute does not contain an income exception for service-disabled veterans or families of soldiers killed in action. The Indian Veterans Housing Opportunity Act remedies this situation by revising the definition of income for NAHADA to exclude payments for service-related disability, dependence, or indemnity. Veterans are especially likely to fall into these categories, which is unacceptable considering the role they have played in the defense of our country. Native Americans have the highest rate of enlistment in our armed services out of any group of Americans, and they deserve our support. Therefore, as a long time friend and supporter of the Native American community, I am so pleased to champion a bill such as H.R. 3553, which provides the housing this community needs.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 3553 because it ensures that Native American veterans do not face extraordinary obstacles when procuring or financing housing after serving this country. The Native American servicemen and women benefiting from H.R. 3553 deserve our full support. I am proud to work with my colleagues to ensure that they are not overlooked.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3553.

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