Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation, which will, among other things, help us address the epidemic of veteran homelessness. It is simply unacceptable that many of the men and women who have served this great country are now living on our streets. I am grateful to my friend, Ranking Member Gus Bilirakis from Florida. We have now had two field hearings in his district, the 12th Congressional District of Florida, and my district, the 49th Congressional District of California. We are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to address this issue in our communities and in all communities around the country. We owe it to those who have served and their families to ensure that they have everything they need to get back on their feet, including case management; assistance in obtaining VA benefits; and temporary financial assistance with rent, utilities, or childcare expenses. I was proud to introduce bipartisan legislation to help address homelessness, specifically among women veterans, by reauthorizing funding for the Supportive Services for Veteran Families grant program and requiring that at least $20 million goes to organizations that have a focus on helping women veterans and their families. What we are seeing in our subcommittee is that the rate of veterans' homelessness is roughly steady, but alarmingly, women veterans' homelessness is increasing. We have to do something about it.…”