Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick Applauds U.S. House Passage of the HOME Act
WASHINGTON, DC –Today, Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) applauded the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of the HOME Act, which includes her bill, the Healthy Foundations for Homeless Veterans Act.
The Healthy Foundations for Homeless Veterans Act, introduced by Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick in January 2023, would support veterans experiencing homelessness by providing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) permanent flexibility to provide housing, transportation, and communication devices to those in need. These flexibilities — which allowed VA to permanently house over 40,000 veterans — ended due to the expiration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
“Today’s passage puts us one step closer to ensuring that the phrase 'homeless veteran' is one of the past. My bipartisan legislation will get veterans off the street and help put a roof over their heads,” said Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL). “We cannot leave these brave men and women behind on the very soil they volunteered to protect and defend. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this bill and get it to President Biden as soon as possible. Veterans experiencing homelessness cannot wait any longer.”
“I am proud to be an original cosponsor of Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick's Healthy Foundations for Homeless Veterans Act and am very glad to see it pass the House with strong bipartisan support,” said Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano. “VA recently announced that it housed over 40,000 veterans experiencing homelessness in 2022, surpassing its goal of housing 38,000 veterans. That tremendous accomplishment can be directly attributed to the authorities Congress put in place during the pandemic. Re-instituting these efforts will continue the work to transition veterans out of homelessness successfully with access to basic resources like food, clothing, and transportation.”
The Healthy Foundations for Homeless Veterans Act has been endorsed by the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America (JWV), and Minority Veterans of America (MVA).
The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) recently honored Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick with the 2023 Public Policy Award for her efforts in Congress to address veterans’ homelessness.