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CONTACT: Peter Dickinson, (202) 225-3664
Committee Approves Bills to End Homelessness
for Veterans, Strengthen VA's Health Care System
New Programs Authorized for Veterans Service Dogs, Chiropractic Care
(Washington, DC) - The House Veterans' Affairs Committee today approved legislation to accelerate a comprehensive and coordinated effort to end
chronic homelessness among veterans (H.R. 2716) as well as legislation to strengthen the VA healthcare system (H.R. 2792), including establishing new
programs for chiropractic care and service dogs for disabled veterans.
"Far too many of America's former soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines now
find themselves destitute and homeless," said Committee Chairman Chris Smith
(NJ-4), Prime Sponsor of the 'James Drappeaux - Stuart Collick - Heather French Henry Homeless Veterans Assistance Act,' H.R. 2716. "We have a
sacred obligation to care for them, just as we have an obligation to care for all those brave men and women now being deployed in this war on
terrorism who may one day need our support," he said.
"It is estimated that on any given night, there are at least 225,000 homeless veterans sleeping on the streets, often the victims of drug abuse
or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from their service -- that is a travesty," he said. "Our legislation not only offers immediate help to
these men and women through Section 8 housing vouchers and additional
domiciliaries, it also seeks to address the root causes of homelessness by
reaching out to veterans before they begin the downward spiral that lands them on the streets," Smith said.
"The comprehensive homeless veterans legislation which our Committee has approved combines important provisions contained in H.R. 936, which I
introduced, with provisions authored by Chairman Smith," said Rep. Lane Evans (IL-17), Ranking Democratic Member of the Committee. "Our shared
objective has been to enhance and expand programs that assist the men and women who have served this nation in uniform and who are homeless. We will
continue to work together to ensure this measure becomes law and that VA is
committed in both word and deed to ending homelessness among our veterans,"
Evans said.
As approved by the Subcommittee, H.R. 2716 will:
1.. Establish as a national goal the elimination of chronic homelessness among veterans within ten years.
2.. Authorize 2,000 additional HUD Section 8 low-income housing vouchers over four years for homeless veterans in need of permanent housing who are
enrolled in VA health care, with priority given to veterans under care for
mental illness or substance use disorders.
3.. Authorize $10 million over two years for ten new Domiciliary for Homeless Veterans programs.
4.. $285 million over four years for the Homeless Grant and Per Diem Program.
5.. Authorize $250 million over five years to strengthen the Department of Labor's (DoL) Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) to expedite the
reintegration of homeless veterans into the labor force.
6.. Establish a VA - DoL demonstration program to provide information, including referral and counseling services, to incarcerated veterans and
veterans in long-term institutional confinement to assist in their re-integration into their communities.
7.. Earmark $10 million over three years for medical care for homeless veterans with special needs, including older veterans, women, substance
abusers and those with PTSD.
8.. Require VA to provide technical assistance grants to nonprofit community-based groups to assist other groups in applying for federal grants
to address homelessness among veterans.
9.. Authorize VA to provide outpatient dental services to veterans enrolled for care in VHA and receiving care (directly or by contract) in VA
or contract programs that traditionally serve the homeless.
10.. Require VA to have a mental health capability wherever it delivers primary care.
11.. Eliminate the cap on Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Service Programs and require centers to be available in not fewer than the 20 largest U.S.
cities.
12.. Authorize homeless veterans receiving care through vocational rehabilitation programs to participate in the VA's work therapy program.
The Committee also approved H.R. 2792, the Disabled Veterans Service Dog and
Health Care Improvement Act of 2001, which would strengthen a number of VA
health programs and authorize several new programs, including ones to provide trained service dogs to disabled veterans as well as chiropractic
care.
"Approval of H.R. 2792 will go a long way towards fulfilling the promises we
have made to our servicemen and women, particularly those whose duty to our
nation has left them wounded, either physically or mentally," said Rep. Jerry Moran (KS-1), Chairman of the Health Subcommittee and Prime Sponsor of
H.R. 2792. "The provision of service dogs and the establishment of a chiropractic program are long overdue and will further enhance the VA's
ability to meet the needs of all our veterans," said Moran.
"I am most heartened that the Veterans Affairs' Committee has passed H.R. 2792 including a provision that will create a permanent chiropractic program
within the Department of Veterans Affairs," said Rep. Bob Filner (CA-50), Ranking Member of the Health Subcommittee. "Today, I celebrate the
establishment of this benefit of chiropractic care that will be available to
all enrolled veterans," Filner said.
As approved by the full Committee today, H.R. 2792 will:
1. Authorize the provision of service dogs to veterans suffering from
severe hearing impairments, spinal cord injuries or similar disabilities.
2.. Establish a chiropractic services program, beginning at 30 VA medical centers next year, and adding at least an additional 30 medical centers each
year until all are included within five years.
3.. Require the VA to maintain sufficient capacity in all VA specialized medical programs by requiring each regional network (VISN) to maintain a
proportional share of national capacity.
4. Modify VA's system of determining nonservice-connected veterans' "ability to pay" for VA health care services using HUD's housing
affordability index, ensuring that no VISN experiences greater than a 5 percent change in annual funding allocation than would otherwise occur.
5.. Require the VA Secretary to assess all special telephone services made available to veterans, such as "help lines" and "hotlines" and report to
Congress within one year.
6.. Extend authorities for VA to collect payments from veterans' health insurance policies for deposit into a Medical Care Collections Fund.
7.. Establish a National Commission on VA nursing to review legislative and organizational policy changes needed to enhance recruitment and
retention of nurses in the Department.
Both H.R. 2716 and H.R. 2792 were ordered reported, as amended, by voice vote and are expected to be taken up by the full House as early as next
week.
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Please visit http://veterans.house.gov, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs web site, named 'One of the Best Web Sites in Congress' by the Congressional Management Foundation, May 3, 1999.
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