"The House voted to give our homeless veterans a benefit they have earned - the promise of a home for themselves and their family," said Michaud.  "I strongly urge the Senate to take up this bill as soon as possible.  If we can make this bill law, more than 400,000 of our bravest Americans will be one step closer to being able to say they have achieved the American dream of a house to call their own."

On any given night in this country, 800,000 persons experience homelessness.  According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), nearly 200,000 of these homeless Americans are adult veterans who live on the streets, in shelters or in community based organizations.  Nearly 400,000 veterans may experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year.  Many more low income veterans and veteran families live at the margins and are at risk of becoming homeless in the absence of permanent housing solutions and supportive services.  In fact, 1.5 million veterans have incomes that fall below the federal poverty level, including 634,000 with incomes below 50 percent of the poverty line.

"This bill does more than merely bring to light the struggles that many veterans face. It provides tangible solutions so that veterans can get off the streets and get into sustainable housing," said Michaud.  "Giving our veterans a chance to have a home is the least we can do for those who fought for us.  As Chairman of the Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health, I will continue to work to provide all of our veterans with the assistance that they need."

Many homeless veterans are not connected to the vital housing and supportive services that they need.  The VA reports that its homeless veteran programs serve 100,000 veterans annually.  National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV)-member community-based organizations serve an additional 150,000 veterans annually.  VA reaches only 25 percent and NCHV-member community-based organizations reach only 35 percent of those in need.  This means that there are 150,000 homeless veterans who do not have access to these critical housing and supportive services programs every year.

H.R. 3329, the Homes for Heroes Act, would:
• Establish the position of Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to coordinate services to homeless veterans and serve as a liaison to the Department of Veterans Affairs, state and local officials, and nonprofit service organizations.