John Carney: “About a year ago, I talked to a young marine from Magnolia, Delaware, in my district. He had been wounded in Afghanistan…”

“About a year ago, I talked to a young marine from Magnolia, Delaware, in my district. He had been wounded in Afghanistan and was home recovering. I had called him really just to wish him well and to see how he was doing. This marine was not focused on his injuries. All he could think about and talk to me about was getting back to his base. Mr. Speaker, as Members of Congress, we need to be worthy of this marine's sacrifice, his selflessness, and his dedication to fighting for his country. Our Nation's most sacred obligation is to care for our men and women in uniform, both when they are serving abroad and when they come back home. Unfortunately, today, we are falling short of this duty. Today, about 60,000 veterans are homeless. Close to 13,000 of these are veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While veterans represent only 7 percent of the U.S. population, they represent 13 percent of homeless Americans. These numbers are just unacceptable. That is why I was pleased to join with my colleagues and friends, Mr. Heck and Mr. Renacci, in introducing the Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act of 2013. We are all part of a bipartisan working group that meets a couple of times a month. We have come up with a number of commonsense ideas just like this bill. Mr. Delaney and Mr. Renacci have another bill later on today.…”