Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) warned the serious impact provisions of H.R. 1, the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011, which funds the federal government through March 4 and was passed by a majority in the House of Representatives late last week, could have on veterans throughout the nation and in 28th Congressional District of Texas.

Among other cuts, HR1 slashes funding for the HUD/VA Supportive Housing Program - a cooperative effort between the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that has been effective in providing a small element of stability in the lives of military veterans – a population that has experience a spike in homelessness in recent years.  At least 75,000 veterans were homeless on a single January night and a total of 136,334 veterans spent at least one night in an emergency shelter or transitional housing, according to a 2009 report.

Texas is among one the states that has been particularly hit by this rise in veterans’ homelessness:  the Annual Homeless Assessment Report found that nearly half of homeless veterans were located in California, Texas, New York and Florida, while only 28 percent of all veterans were located in those same four states.  In the last year, Texas received $880 million in HUD/VASH funds to combat this problem.
 
“As many as 240 homeless veterans in the Laredo-area alone could lose their housing assistance program due to the cuts passed in the Continuing Resolution,” said Congressman Cuellar. “Our veterans have served this country with dignity, honor and respect, and we cannot fail them. Our veterans should not have to worry where they will sleep today or tomorrow or if they will have a home or shelter in the days and weeks to come.”

An estimated 57 percent of homeless veterans were staying in emergency shelters and the remainder currently living on the streets or abandoned buildings. Included in these figures are a substantial portion of younger veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars – many battling drug and PTSD issues.
The VA has been charged to reach the goal of ending homelessness among veterans in five years, and this one program—HUD/VA Supportive Housing – offered housing vouchers for more than 10,000 veterans across the nation in the past year and another 20,000 since 2008.  

HUD informed Congress last year that more than 60,000 vouchers would be required to respond to the urgent need of ending homelessness among veterans.

“As long as there are veterans sleeping in shelters, cars, and on the streets, we must do all humanly possible to continue to fund this program and help our heroes of war emerge from these hardship times,” Congressman Cuellar said.