LEGISLATION 113TH

Congressional Update

NCHV reports on legislation in the United States Congress that would significantly impact veterans and their families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This page lists bills that were introduced in the 112th Congress, which convened in January 2011 and completed in January 2013. Each bill number links to its summary page on the Library of Congress website, where the bill’s full text and record of congressional action can be accessed.

These bills are now inactive; for active legislation, click here.

For more information on legislation in general, go to http://thomas.loc.gov

To contact your Senator, click here.
To contact your Congressperson, click here.

House of Representatives bills

H.R. 29 – Mobile Medical Homeless Health Improvement Act
Sponsor: Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
Status: Referred to Subcommittee on Health, in House Committee on Energy and Commerce (1/4/2013)

Improves access to medical care of all street homeless, including veterans, by providing HHS with the ability to partner with local organizations and businesses in order to provide mobile medical platforms
In addition to medical care, these platforms would serve in an outreach capacity – connecting homeless veterans to pre-existing programs designed to alleviate their homelessness

H.R. 357 – GI Bill Tuition Fairness Act
Sponsor: Jeff Miller (R-FL)
Status. Passed House. Referred to Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs

HVRP eligibility for those receiving HUD-VASH vouchers, and those recently released from incarceration
VRAP reauthorization

H.R. 384 – Homes for Heroes Act of 2013
Sponsor: Rep. Al Green (D-TX)
Status: Passed by the House of Representatives, 420-3, and sent to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (5/16/13)

Establishes a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Directs the Secretaries of HUD and the Department of Veterans Affairs to report annually to Congress with respect to veteran homelessness and housing assistance.

H.R. 385 – HAVEN Act
Sponsor: Rep. Al Green (D-TX)
Status: Referred to House Committee on Financial Services (1/23/13)

Directs the HUD Secretary to establish a pilot program for nonprofit organizations that primarily serve veterans or low-income individuals. Grants would be required to be used to rehabilitate and modify the primary residence of disabled or low-income veterans.

H.R. 386 – Homes for Heroes Act of 2013
Sponsor: Rep. Al Green (D-TX)
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services, as well as the House Committee on Ways and Means (1/23/13)

Establishes a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Directs the HUD Secretary to provide assistance to private nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives to expand the supply of supportive housing for very low-income veteran families.
Amends the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 to: (1) make housing rental vouchers available to all homeless veterans, regardless of medical condition; and (2) include veterans in public housing planning.
Excludes veterans’ benefits from income for purposes of HUD assisted housing rental determinations.
Requires the HUD Secretary to: (1) make grants to nonprofit entities for technical assistance in sponsoring HUD housing projects for veterans, and (2) report annually to specified congressional committees and the VA Secretary on HUD activities relating to veterans.

H.R. 897 – To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand the definition of homeless veteran for purposes of benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Sponsor: Rep. Janice Hahn (D-CA)
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Subcommittee on Health (3/8/13)

Includes as a homeless veteran, for purposes of eligibility for benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a veteran or veteran’s family fleeing domestic or dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other dangerous or life-threatening conditions in the current housing situation, including where the health and safety of children are jeopardized, there is no other residence, and there is a lack of resources or support networks to obtain other permanent housing.

H.R. 1842 – Military Family Home Protection Act of 2013
Sponsor: Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
Status: Forwarded by the Economic Opportunity subcommittee to the full House Veterans Affairs Committee (7/18/13)

Amends Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to improve protections for, among other populations, disabled veterans and surviving family members of servicemembers killed in action.
Prevents foreclosure on mortgages for a period of 1 year after the veteran is medically discharged, or after the date of the service member’s death.

H.R. 2065 – Safe Housing for Homeless Veterans Act
Sponsor: Rep. David McKinley (R-WV)
Status: Hearing held by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Subcommittee on Health (7/9/13)

Sets conditions for the award of per diem payments to ensure that the building being used by service providers are in compliance with relevant codes.

H.R. 2150 – Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act of 2013
Sponsor: Rep. Paul Cook (R-CA)
Status: Hearings held by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity (6/26/13)

Reauthorizes HVRP through FY 2018.

H.R. 2481 – Veterans Economic Opportunity Act
Sponsor: Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX)
Status: Passed the House by Voice Vote (10/28/2013)

Establishes a Veterans Economic Opportunity Administration at the VA
Extends HVRP authority through 2018 at current level of $50 million
Extends Servicemember Civil Relief Act protections for new groups, preventing foreclosure for one year

H.R. 2485 – Helping Homeless Veterans Act of 2013
Sponsor: Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA)
Status: Referred to Health subcommittee within the House Veterans Affairs Committee

Extends authorizations for the following programs: Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), Supportive Services for very-low income Families (SSVF), Referral and Counseling Services for Veterans at Risk of Homelessness who are transitioning from Certain Institutions, Treatment for Seriously Mentally Ill and Homeless Veterans, Housing Assistance for Homeless Veterans, and the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans.
Re-authorizes funding levels for SSVF at $300 million, and for HVRP at $50 million.

H.R. 3145 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit students who were homeless youths or homeless veterans to occupy low-income housing units.
Sponsor: Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Status: Referred to House Comittee on Ways and Means (09/19/2013)

Makes full time students eligible for LIHTC units

H.R. 3418 – Housing Native Heroes Act
Sponsor: Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA)

Status: Referred to House Committee on Financial Services (10/30/2013)Currently, it is almost unheard of that HUD-VASH vouchers would be available to Native American veterans living on tribal lands or reservations
This bill would start a demonstration program that would place HUD-VASH vouchers in these communities to ensure that every homeless veteran who needs supportive services in their permanent housing can access this program.

H.R. 4140 – Homeless Veterans with Children Act
Sponsor: Gloria Negrete McLeod (R-CA)
Status: Referred to the Subcommitte on Health of the House Veterans Affairs Committee (03/07/2014)

Makes families of dependents eligible for GPD
Allows capital grants under GPD to be made for improvements or renovations to allow for the safe housing of families

H.R. 4486 – Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
Sponsor: John Culberson (R-TX)
Status: Passed House. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar. (05/22/2014)

Includes no additional money for the Fiscal Year 2015 in addition to previous appropriations.
Includes matching funds to the Administrations Fiscal 2016 budget request for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Health Administration.
FY 2016: $500 million for the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program
FY 2016: $253 Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program

H.R. 4745 – Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
Sponsor: Tom Latham (R-IA)
Status: Reported to House from Committee on Appropriations (05/29/2014)

Includes $75 million in FY 2015 for an additional ~10,000 new HUD-VASH vouchers

Senate bills

S.6 – Putting Our Veterans Back to Work Act of 2013
Sponsor: Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)
Status: Hearing held by the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (6/12/13)

Extends through March 31, 2016, the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP).
Extends through March 31, 2016, additional VA rehabilitation programs for certain disabled veterans who have completed a VA rehabilitation program and have exhausted their rights to state unemployment benefits.
Extends through fiscal year (FY) 2015 the collaborative veterans’ training, mentoring, and placement program.
Directs the VA Secretary to develop a single, unified federal web-based employment portal for veterans to access information on federal programs and activities concerning veterans employment, unemployment benefits, and training.
Directs the: (1) Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to award grants to hire veterans as firefighters, and (2) Attorney General (AG) to award grants to hire veterans as law enforcement officers.

S. 62 – Check the Box for Homeless Veterans Act of 2013
Sponsor: Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Status: Hearing held by the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (5/9/13)

Establishes the Homeless Veterans Assistance Fund in the Treasury.
Allows individual taxpayers to designate a portion of their tax overpayments to the above fund, which would supplement proven federal programs for homeless and at-risk veterans and their families.

S. 140 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the work opportunity credit to certain recently discharged veterans, to improve the coordination of veteran job training services between the Department of Labor, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Defense, to require transparency for Executive departments in meeting the Government-wide goals for contracting with small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
Status: Referred to the Senate Committee on Finance (1/24/13)

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the definition of “qualified veteran” for purposes of the work opportunity tax credit to include recently discharged veterans.
Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Guard to inform military personnel who are discharged or released from active duty of the work opportunity tax credit and provide them with documentation relating to eligibility for and use of such credit.
Veterans Employment and Training Services Act of 2013 or the VETS Act – Requires the Secretaries of Labor, Veterans Affairs, and Defense to enter into an agreement to govern the coordination of veteran job training services. Requires the Secretaries of Labor and Veterans Affairs to prepare reports on the veteran job training programs of their respective departments.

S. 287 – Helping Homeless Veterans Act
Sponsor: Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK)
Status: Passed Senate by unanimous consent (11/6/2013)

Expands definition of “homeless veteran” to include those fleeing domestic violence
Increases Per Diem payments for Transitional Housing
Authorizes Per Diem payments for dependents of homeless veterans
Requires an assessment of VA homelessness programs by region, including GPD
Provides for dental care for homeless veterans
Encourages private-public partnerships to provide legal services for homeless vets
Repeals the annual CA homelessness report requirement; and,
Extends program re-authorizations not already completed for the upcoming fiscal year