Frank Pallone: “I thank the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, my friend from California, for moving this bill through the…”

“I thank the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, my friend from California, for moving this bill through the committee as quickly as he did. I rise today in support of the bill, H.R. 1257, the Homeless Veterans Credit Repair, Enhancement, and Debt Improvement for Tomorrow Act. We know that veterans' homelessness continues to be a blight on our Nation. Congress and advocates from across the country have worked hard to nearly halve the homeless veteran population in the past decade. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic jeopardized this progress by negatively impacting the credit and financial stability of our Nation's veterans. {time} 1430 Now is the time to redouble our efforts and do everything we can to ensure stable housing for veterans. We must start by examining the underlying causes of veteran homelessness in our Nation. The VA has declared credit and financial counseling services a top 10 unmet need for our homeless veterans. My bill directs the Secretary of the VA to conduct a study of the credit and financial counseling services available to homeless veterans and veterans facing housing instability. The study will assess current services available to veterans and the barriers they face in utilizing them, including the COVID-19 pandemic and other health challenges. During a time of such economic uncertainty, we must look out for our most vulnerable communities, including homeless veterans and veterans experiencing housing instability.…”