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Recently, U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., joined fellow senators Alex Padilla, D-CA, Dave McCormick, R-PA, and Ruben Gallego, D-AZ, in introducing the Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act, HUDVA. The new legislation aims to increase access to housing support for disabled veterans in Alabama and across the country.
Historically, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development includes disability payments as a part of a veteran’s total annual income when calculating their eligibility for housing assistance, like through the department’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program, HUD-VASH. However, last year, HUD changed its policies to exclude VA disability benefits from income when assessing eligibility for the HUD-VASH program.
Now, Britt and her colleagues are hoping to make that change permanent by codifying it into law through HUDVA.
“Our nation’s veterans made tremendous sacrifices to serve our country and protect their fellow Americans, and they deserve our utmost support to help access housing opportunities,” said Sen. Britt in an official press release. “This commonsense bill would simply exclude disability benefits from HUD’s annual income calculation, so disabled veterans are not unfairly disqualified from accessing these vital services. I will always work to ensure our veterans and servicemembers are treated like the heroes that they are.”
“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,” Britt’s press release continued. “Unfortunately, some of our country’s most disabled veterans have historically been unable to access veterans’ housing programs, like HUD-VASH, because HUD included disability benefits as part of their total income in determining eligibility.”
The release also notes that veterans with more severe disabilities often receive greater disability benefits, thereby actually making it harder for veterans with more severe disabilities to access housing assistance if their benefits are included in annual income evaluations.
“Veterans who have given so much for our country’s freedom deserve the right to a stable roof over their heads,” said Sen. Padilla in his own statement regarding the legislation. “Outdated income definitions shouldn’t mean that some of our country’s most disabled veterans are unable to access the housing assistance they need to survive. This simple, bipartisan fix would permanently exclude disability benefits from the HUD-VASH income eligibility calculation to ensure our most vulnerable veterans have a safe place to sleep at night.”
In addition to Britt, Padilla, McCormick and Gallego, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT; Bill Cassidy, R-LA; Mike Crapo, R-ID; and Mazie Hirono, D-HI, have all signed on as cosponsors of HUDVA. U.S. Reps. Brad Sherman, D-CA, and Monica De La Cruz, R-TX, have also introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
