WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Dave McCormick (R-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Katie Britt (R-AL), and 3 colleagues in introducing the Housing and Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act (HUDVA), legislation that would ensure veterans experiencing homelessness and receiving disability payments maintain access to crucial housing support. This legislation would permanently exclude disability payments received by veterans from annual income for housing assistance eligibility purposes under the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program.
The HUD-VASH program plays a pivotal role in addressing homelessness among veterans by providing rental assistance from HUD along with supportive services from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Unfortunately, some of our country’s most disabled veterans receiving disability payments have historically been unable to access veterans housing programs like HUD-VASH because HUD included disability benefits as part of their total income. Up until recently, the more severe a disability was, the more disability benefits a veteran received, and the less likely it was that they could access veterans housing assistance. In Los Angeles, for example, veterans receiving the maximum service-connected disability payment had been ineligible for HUD-VASH because they were considered over-income. As a result, many homeless disabled veterans were unjustly disqualified from accessing this vital support.
Following advocacy from members of Congress, last year, HUD finally changed its policies to exclude VA disability benefits from income for purposes of eligibility for the HUD-VASH program. Now that homeless veterans with disabilities can finally access this assistance, HUDVA would codify this important policy change to ensure that access continues permanently.
In addition to Senators Hirono, Padilla, McCormick, Gallego, and Britt, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Mike Crapo (R-ID). U.S. Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Monica De La Cruz (R-TX) are leading companion legislation in the House.
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