Mr. Chairman and fellow members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.  The topic of homeless veterans is one that is truly a national tragedy and should be treated with the utmost urgency.  While we have made great strides in recent years to reduce the number of homeless veterans, with a 21 percent drop just in the last year, we still have a long way to go.  Having over 150,000 homeless veterans on any given night, and over 300,000 veterans experience homelessness at some point in 2007 is just not acceptable, and we should not rest until that number comes down to zero. 

Additionally, it is clear that there is a systemic problem when military veterans comprise anywhere from 25 to 40 percent of the total homeless population.  Therefore, in addition to programs for supporting veterans once they show up at our shelters, we must take steps to ensure that our brave men and women are not put in a situation where they have to show up at these shelters in the first place.

It is particularly disturbing that, according to VA statistics, there are already an estimated 1,500 OEF/OIF veterans showing up at homeless shelters.  This is unprecedented and an alarming signal for future veteran homeless trends.  It took about a decade for Vietnam veterans to start showing up among the homeless – we should not and cannot accept that, with all our 21st Century capabilities and resources, our returning veterans may be doing worse finding and staying in a home than returning veterans in the 1970s.  We must get to the root of the problem and address it before these numbers grow any further. 

The VA has also identified veterans with PTSD as a large group of at-risk veterans.  With this knowledge, we must work to ensure that we provide them with additional transitional resources and counseling to avoid their ending up among the homeless. 

I look forward to working with Chairman Filner and members of this committee to continue to make strides towards ending homelessness of veterans of any era and offering a greater array of assistance programs in helping them find jobs and permanent housing.  Our brave men and women are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country, and as their hometown representatives, we owe them our greatest effort to help them get their lives back on track.