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Homes for Heroes Act of 2013

Floor Speech

Date: May 15, 2013
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Veterans Housing and Property

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Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Today I rise in support of H.R. 384, the Homes for Heroes Act of 2013.

This bill was introduced by my colleague from Texas, Congressman Al Green, who I had the pleasure of having serve alongside of me as the ranking member of the Oversight Investigation Subcommittee on the Financial Services Committee.

This bill would establish the position of Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs within Housing and Urban Development to coordinate services provided to homeless veterans and to serve as HUD's liaison to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, State and local officials, and nonprofit service organizations. The position is currently in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs. This transfer highlights the importance of addressing the housing needs of our veterans.

H.R. 384 would also require HUD to submit a comprehensive annual report to Congress on the housing needs of homeless veterans and the steps undertaken by HUD to meet those needs.

H.R. 384 is a version, in part, of the Homes for Heroes Act of 2011, 2009, and 2008, all of which passed this House with well over 400 votes each.

As our service men and women continue to serve our country both here and abroad, the least we can do is ensure they have proper access to the services that are offered to them when they return.

This bill represents a step in that direction, and I urge my colleagues to support this worthy endeavor.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. McHENRY. Wishing to close, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my colleagues to this bill. I would like to congratulate my colleague, Mr. Green, on putting forward such a worthy proposal that is both sensible and at the same time deeply honors our most-treasured resource in this country, our returning veterans, to ensure they're well cared for. So I ask my colleagues to support this measure.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

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