[PAA-Discuss] Urge Congress to Co-Sponsor Homeless Veteran Bills

[Bill Crosier]

An action alert from my friend Virg, who says she can vouch for both 
HCHV and US Vets in doing good work.

Besides the obvious need to help anyone who's homeless, this may also 
underscore the hypocrisy of BushCheney Inc. -- they say to support 
the troops but they ignore their needs when they are home.

And how many of the troops now in Iraq, many suffering from PTSD and 
no telling what else, will end up homeless after they get back...

Bill


2006 HVAC ACTION ALERT - H R  4746  H R  5960 (2).doc

>TAKE ACTION
>Urge Your U.S. Representatives to Co-Sponsor Homeless Veteran Bills
>
>ACTION REQUESTED: The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans urges 
>NCHV members, all homeless veteran service providers, and veterans', 
>health, and homeless advocates to CALL your U.S. Representatives and 
>ask them to demonstrate their commitment to preventing and ending 
>veteran homelessness by co-sponsoring two homeless veteran bills - 
>the Homeless Veterans Assistance Act (H.R. 5960) and the Services to 
>Prevent Veterans' Homelessness Act (H.R. 4746).
>
>While all U.S. Representatives should be contacted, it is critical 
>that providers and advocates in the following states contact U.S. 
>Representatives serving on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee:
>
>Alabama, Terry Everett; Arkansas, John Boozman, Vic Snyder; 
>California, John Campbell, Brian Bilbray, Bob Filner; Colorado, John 
>Salazar; Florida, Michael Bilirakis, Cliff Stearns, Jeff Miller, 
>Ginny Brown-Waite, Corrine Brown; Illinois, Lane Evans (Ranking 
>Member), Luis Gutierrez; Indiana, Steve Buyer (Chairman), Dan 
>Burton; Kansas, Jerry Moran; Louisiana, Richard Baker; Maine, 
>Michael Michaud; Nevada, Shelley Berkeley; New Hampshire, Jeb 
>Bradley; New Mexico, Tom Udall; Ohio, Michael Turner, Ted 
>Strickland; Oregon, Darlene Hooley; South Carolina, Henry Brown; 
>South Dakota, Stephanie Herseth; Texas, Silvestre Reyes.
>   
>IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED:  Please contact your U.S. Representative 
>immediately. There are few legislative days remaining in the 
>Congressional calendar. It is imperative that Congress act on H.R. 
>5960 and H.R. 4746 before Congress adjourns for the year. The House 
>leadership needs to see "rank and file" support for these bills so 
>they will decide to move them.
>
>BACKGROUND: The Homeless Veterans Assistance Act (H.R. 5960) would 
>reauthorize, strengthen, and expand the specialized homeless 
>programs and authorities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. H.R. 
>5960 includes many provisions of importance to NCHV, including an 
>increase in the authorization level of the Homeless Providers Grant 
>and Per Diem Program; simplification of the mechanism for paying 
>providers under the GPD program; and authorization of specialized 
>services for homeless women veterans, homeless veterans with serious 
>mental illnesses, homeless veterans in rural areas, and separating 
>servicemembers at risk of homelessness. The Services to Prevent 
>Veterans' Homelessness Act (H.R. 4746) would authorize VA to make 
>financial assistance available to nonprofit organizations to 
>facilitate their provision of supportive services for very 
>low-income veterans in permanent housing.
>
>INSTRUCTIONS:  To find the phone number of your U.S. 
>Representatives, go to 
><http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml>http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml, 
>click on the link to your Representative's website, and find the 
>phone number for their District or Washington DC office.  If you 
>plan to phone the Washington DC office, you may also call 
>202/225-3121 and ask the operator to transfer you to the office of 
>your U.S. Representative.
>
>Tell the receptionist in the Representative's office you are a 
>constituent and you are calling about a legislative matter.  Ask to 
>speak to the legislative assistant who handles veterans' issues. If 
>the staff person is unavailable, ask to leave a voice mail message 
>for them.
>
>Talking points for your phone calls are provided below. 
>
>FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TO REPORT BACK TO NCHV:  Cheryl 
>Beversdorf, CEO, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 
>202.546.1969, ext. 102; 800-VET-HELP; 
><mailto:nchv1 at nchv.org>nchv1 at nchv.org.
>TALKING POINTS
>
>
>I am [name] with [name of organization] located in [name of location].
>We support/serve [indicate number] homeless veterans annually in 
>[identify your service area].
>We provide [describe your range of services] to homeless veterans.
>I am calling to urge the Representative to co-sponsor two homeless 
>veteran bills and to ask the House leadership to schedule action on 
>homeless veteran legislation before Congress adjourns.
>The bill numbers are H.R. 5960 and H.R. 4746.
>These bills include provisions that are vital to the ability of 
>community-based organizations and the Department of Veterans Affairs 
>to prevent and end homelessness among veterans.
>Among its provisions, H.R. 5960 increases the authorization level 
>for the VA Homeless Provider Grant and Per Diem Program so that 
>nationally we can get more veterans in stable housing.
>[If you receive federal GPD funding] We currently receive $XX in 
>funds through the [VA Homeless Provider Grant and Per Diem Program] 
>to support our homeless veteran programs.
>H.R. 5960 also fixes problems that GPD grantees are having in 
>obtaining the maximum per diem payment rate permitted under law.
>[Describe your organization's own case, such as a per diem rate 
>below the maximum of $30.15 in FY 2006, or the paperwork burden you 
>are experiencing when negotiating your rate with VA.]
>H.R. 4746 authorizes VA to make competitive grants to nonprofit 
>organizations like ours so that we may begin to provide supportive 
>services to low-income veterans in permanent housing, but at risk of 
>losing it due to lack of access to services.  This coupling of 
>services to housing is an effective strategy for preventing and 
>ending homelessness.
>What additional information may I provide you about our 
>organization's services to homeless veterans?
>Thank you for relaying this request to the Representative to 
>co-sponsor H.R. 5960 and H.R. 4746.
>Please let me know what action the Representative decides to take on 
>these bills.
>I can be reached at [phone number, e-mail address, mail address].

-- 
Bill Crosier
paa at crosierbiomed.com     713-641-4941
Progressive Action Alliance         http://progressiveactionalliance.org/
Lying, Spying, Torture... IMPEACH!  http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/
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