Garamendi Votes to Reduce Veteran Homelessness

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) joined his colleagues in the House to overwhelmingly pass the bipartisan Veteran HOUSE Act of 2020, introduced by Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52), by a vote of 362-31. The bill will help tackle veteran homelessness by expanding the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program to ensure chronically homeless veterans discharged under conditions other-than-honorable (OTH), but not dishonorable, are eligible for HUD-VASH housing vouchers and supportive case management. The HUD-VASH program is a proven tool to help end chronic veteran homelessness. Since the creation of the program, the rate of veteran homelessness has been cut in half.

"HUD-VASH provides critical housing vouchers and supportive services to veterans and their families to combat homelessness. In 2019 alone, 90,749 veterans sought support from the program. As we work towards addressing homelessness in our state and nation, programs such as HUD-VASH play an instrumental role in ensuring that veterans have safe and reliable options for housing," Garamendi said.

"Last year, I worked with Habitat for Humanity to utilize HUD-VASH funds to build a housing facility for homeless veterans in Dixon. Now, I'm using the same model to support the construction of a similar facility in Rio Vista. I will always work to support and expand this crucial program to combat veteran homelessness," Garamendi concluded.