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                         November 21, 2001

Senate votes to aid homeless veterans

By Irene Brown
Editor

The Senate passed a bill Thursday to aid homeless veterans.

Named the "Heather French Henry Homeless Veterans Assistance Act," after last year’s Miss America, the bill would provide outreach to veterans facing possible homelessness and support veterans who are currently homeless, strengthen Veterans Affairs transitional housing and expand a federal program aimed at helping homeless veterans find jobs.

The bill’s sponsor, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, said it was time the country took responsibility for its vets.

"This is a great victory," Wellstone told reporters Friday during a press conference in Washington, D.C. "It is really unconscionable that we have so many homeless veterans."

According to Department of Veterans Affairs estimates, there are approximately 300,000 homeless veterans. The bill, according to Wellstone, will make a considerable dent in those numbers.

"This country owes it to its military members to make sure they are taken care of, not only during their active-service time, but after their service is finished," Wellstone explained. "This bill would only give to the veterans what should have been theirs all along."

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the legislation would cost approximately $900 million over the next six years.