Kaine Cosponsors Legislation to Help End Homelessness Among Veterans

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a former fair housing lawyer, announced his cosponsorship of the Housing for All Veterans Act, legislation that would address homelessness among veterans and help prevent veterans from experiencing homelessness in the future. The legislation would guarantee access to a housing voucher for all veterans who need it and protect veteran families using a voucher from facing housing discrimination.

“Our servicemembers make countless sacrifices to protect our nation, and they deserve our support as they reenter civilian life,” said Kaine. “For many veterans, that support must include help overcoming housing insecurity and homelessness. I’m proud to cosponsor the Housing for All Veterans Act, which would help ensure that those who have served have a safe place to call home. I will continue to do all that I can to support our veterans.”

Nationwide, levels of homelessness among veterans have been cut in half in the fifteen years since the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs launched the first-ever strategic plan to prevent and end veteran homelessness across the nation. To get closer to ending veteran homelessness, the Housing for All Veterans Act would:

• Provide housing vouchers to all low-income veteran households.
• • All eligible veterans would be eligible for a housing voucher and the availability of these vouchers would not be limited by annual discretionary funding levels. The vouchers would be phased-in over five years, starting with veterans with the greatest need.
• Assist public housing authorities in electronically verifying veteran status and lease rental units.
• Protect veteran families from discrimination based on using a voucher.
• Maximize access to vouchers by excluding veteran disability benefits from income eligibility calculations.

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Kaine has long fought to end veteran homelessness and increase the accessibility of affordable housing for servicemembers and their families. In April, Kaine cosponsored the Veterans Housing Stability Act of 2024, legislation to help veterans and active servicemembers with home loans exit forbearance, get their mortgage payments back on track, and stay in their homes. Last year, Kaine reintroduced the Fair Housing Improvement Act of 2023, legislation to protect veterans and low-income families from housing discrimination and give more families access to affordable housing.

Full text of the bill is available here.

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