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Today there are about 135,000 troops housed in Iraq. Tonight there may be 250,000 veterans without houses here in the United States, living on the streets or in shelters. Perhaps twice that many will experience homelessness at some point this year. And despite significant public and private efforts, there remain far too many veterans at risk of becoming homeless because of mental illness, substance abuse, poverty, lack of support from family and friends and substandard living conditions.

This morning the Committee will conduct an oversight hearing on federal homeless assistance programs for veterans, focusing on those authorized by the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Assistance Act of 2001, legislation I was proud to sponsor, along with my good friend and colleague, Ranking Member Lane Evans. This landmark law authorized almost $1 billion over five years in new and expanded programs to combat homelessness among veterans, establishing the goal of ending chronic homelessness in the veteran population within a decade.

Today the Committee will look at what progress has been made in the 2 1/2 years since the law was signed by President Bush. Are all of the new and expanded programs up and running? What changes and improvements can we make to ensure that we meet our 10-year goal? Is the number of homeless veterans on the decline? What is the evidence?

We already know a lot about the homeless veterans population. Research indicates that the vast majority of homeless veterans are male – only about 3 percent are female – and the vast majority are single. Most homeless veterans come from poor, disadvantaged backgrounds, and they tend to be older and more educated than homeless non-veterans.

About 45 percent of homeless veterans suffer from mental illness and slightly more than 70 percent suffer from alcohol or other drug abuse problems. Roughly 56 percent of homeless veterans are African American or Hispanic. But statistics tell only part of the story. Today we will hear directly from veterans who have suffered homelessness; we’ll hear about their struggles and their triumphs – as they rise from despair to hope.

We’ll also hear from those providing federal, community, and faith-based programs of assistance to homeless veterans and veterans at risk of becoming homeless. While there has been some significant progress by VA and these other providers in serving homeless veterans, I am troubled by the slow pace of developing regulations and policies to carry out several of the initiatives authorized by Congress in December 2001.

For example, our legislation authorized VA to establish 10 new Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans programs, but to date not a single new one has been established; nor am I aware of any plans by VA to expand this program in the future. I am at a loss to understand why VA has effectively prevented implementation of this authority, despite its proven effectiveness and strong support form the professionals within VA.

As we will hear this morning – in very compelling testimony – domiciliary care for veterans, and specifically the Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans (DCHV) is a valuable tool to assist many of the nation’s homeless veterans who need significant access to VA health care services. Approximately 5,500 veterans benefit annually from the 35 programs that provide coordinated, integrated rehabilitative and restorative clinical care in bed-based programs.

The goal of the domiciliary care program is to help veterans achieve and maintain the highest level of functioning and independence possible prior to receiving transitional housing with supportive services in the community. More than a year ago, VA conducted an internal study of the domiciliary care system and concluded that domiciliary care is a highly effective system, particularly for veterans with serious mental illness and substance abuse disorder who need intensive services. Why then has VA not established new domiciliary programs?

Another area that I am particularly concerned about is the failure of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to fully implement Section 12 of P.L. 107-95, to expand the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program. This program provides permanent housing subsidies and case management services to homeless veterans with mental and addictive disorders. Under the program, VA screens homeless veterans for program eligibility and provides case management services to enrollees. HUD allocates funding to local housing authorities to set aside a specific number of Housing Choice Vouchers for homeless veterans who are enrolled in the HUD-VASH program and are referred to the Housing Authorities to receive the set-aside vouchers. Rigorous evaluation of the program indicates that it significantly reduces days of homelessness for veterans plagued by mental and addictive disorders. HUD initially allocated 1,780 Housing Choice Vouchers when this program began, but given the magnitude of the problem, clearly more are needed.

P.L. 107-95 authorized HUD to allocate 500 additional HUD-VASH vouchers in each of fiscal years 2003 through 2006. There should already be at least 1,000 additional vouchers this year targeted to chronically homeless veterans, for a total availability of 2,780 vouchers. Regrettably, discussions between VA and HUD have resulted in no compromise and HUD has made no request to fund any additional HUD-VASH vouchers in any of its past three budget submissions.

I do want to recognize VA’s success in other areas of assistance for homeless veterans, in particular the Homeless Provider Grant and Per Diem program. The Grant and Per Diem program provides competitive grants to community-based, faith-based, and public organizations to offer transitional housing or service centers for homeless veterans. Since 1994, VA has offered grants helping to create over 6,000 new community-based beds for homeless veterans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

In addition, VA per diem-only funds have assisted with operating expenses for existing transitional housing programs, providing 3,700 specific beds and services to homeless veterans. Between grants and per diem-only awards, VA is contributing support to maintain 10,000 community-based housing beds. In its fiscal year 2005 budget proposal, VA requested an increase in the Grant and Per Diem program from $75 million to $100 million, and the Committee plans to authorize this increase along with an extension of the program authority through 2008.

However the bottom line is not always about dollars, or percentages or any other statistics. The men and women who have proudly worn the uniform of the United States deserve -- more than any other American -- all the honors, benefits, and services a grateful nation can provide. And for those who have temporarily lost the ability to provide housing for themselves, we have a sacred obligation to provide care and assistance to ensure that no veteran is left behind.