Representatives Maxine Waters (D-CA), Mark Takano (D-CA), and Mike Levin (D-CA) introduced the “End Veteran Homelessness Act of 2024” (H.R.8560) in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 5. The NLIHC-endorsed legislation will ensure that more veterans who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness can obtain permanent housing through the expansion of eligibility for the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program while reducing casework bottlenecks.
The HUD-VASH program was established in 1992 with the aim of helping veterans experiencing homelessness find housing through a combination of HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) case management and clinical services. While the program has helped reduce veteran homelessness by more than 52% between 2010 and 2023, nearly 30,000 HUD-VASH vouchers remain unused, while 38,000 veterans go each night without a safe, stable home.
In addition to expanding HUD-VASH eligibility to include thousands of veterans who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness, the End Veteran Homelessness Act of 2024 will implement flexibilities from the Emergency Housing Voucher Program to allow public housing authorities to cover administrative fees to facilitate leases for veterans. It will also allow veterans who currently receive housing assistance through other federal programs to transfer into HUD-VASH, thereby freeing up vouchers and other programs for non-veterans in need.
“This bill will significantly enhance the HUD-VASH program by eliminating administrative bottlenecks and ensuring every homeless veteran has access to the housing and supportive services needed to successfully reintegrate into civilian life,” stated Representative Waters, who is ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, in a press release. “The bill will also implement successes from the first-of-its-kind Emergency Housing Voucher program that I secured in the American Rescue Plan Act. Our veterans and their families deserve the best this country has to offer, and I look forward to working alongside my colleagues to get this urgently needed bill across the finish line.”
Read the press release statement at: https://tinyurl.com/y9ybxynd
Read the bill text at: https://tinyurl.com/3m3kb438