Hill Watch: Appropriations Down to the Wire
Veteran homelessness provisions have only a few months to become law
Following the mad dash of productivity at the end of the last year, Congress is back in Washington and turning to a laundry list of unfinished projects. This calendar year marks the second session of the 114th Congress; at the end of this year, every bill that has been introduced but not passed into law will be wiped away, and would need to be reintroduced in the 115th Congress to be considered. Among these bills-in-process are several which would directly, positively, and substantially impact homeless veterans and providers across the country. NCHV is working hard to advocate for their passage into law by the end of the current year.
Some of these bills you will have read about in Hill Watch before: namely, the bill which would ensure "Other Than Honorable" discharged veterans' access to the GPD and SSVF programs (S. 1731), and the bills which would ensure that veterans leased up in the HUD-VASH program can enroll in employment services through HVRP (H.R. 474, or S. 425). Some of the other bills, however, have only been profiled in the Policy and Legislative Updates in our print newsletter, or at presentations at the NCHV Annual Conference.
Two of the most relevant of these are the "Homeless Veteran Prevention Act" (S. 684), and the "Veteran Housing Stability Act" (S. 1885). The former bill, S. 684, would expand dental care for homeless veterans, create a greatly expanded legal services program for homeless veterans, raise the authorization cap for the SSVF program, and allow per diem reimbursements for services to the dependents of homeless veterans. The latter, S. 1885, permanently authorizes the National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans, waives penalties for programs transforming their GPD's to permanent housing, and establishes a grant fund for follow-up case management for GPD graduates.
These two bills remain unpassed on the floor of the Senate, but NCHV believes strongly that they merit passage this year through both houses of Congress. Prospects for this are good, as the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee has committed to moving a large veterans omnibus bill in the coming months. NCHV will continue advocating, and continue to keep you updated, as this process continues.
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