Demanding Accountability for Veterans Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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I commend the chairman for bringing this bill before us today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2072.

I would specifically like to talk about section 5 of the bill, which is based on legislation I previously introduced, the Safe Housing for Homeless Veterans Act. This is a modification of a bill that passed the House in 2012.

Currently, there are over 2,100 shelters for homeless veterans across the country. Unfortunately, some of these structures have been found to be unsafe for habitation. From 2006 to 2010, more than 1,900 fires had been reported in these structures. In the last decade alone, nearly 200 residents have been lost in unsafe shelters.

How can this slip through the cracks?

The answer is that, currently, there is no law mandating that VA homeless shelters meet building codes. There is only a loosely defined policy that is not universally followed. As a licensed professional engineer, I find this to be a shocking omission in the law governing our veterans' homeless program funds. This bill would require any organization that seeks funding from the VA for services to homeless veterans to have documentation that the shelter meets or exceeds building codes.

As a nation, it should be unacceptable for us to allow homeless veterans to be housed in unsafe conditions. In defense of our country, these men and women were put in harm's way. They should not be in doubt about their own safety now that they are back in this country.

Mr. Speaker, this is commonsense legislation that will ensure that our homeless veterans are in a safe environment while they work and struggle to get back to a normal life.

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