Kaptur Amendment would have provided rental support for almost half of the nation’s 49,900 homeless veterans
WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 14, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Today Republican Members on the House Appropriations Committee rejected an amendment proposed by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) to provide housing support for at least 22,500 of our nation’s estimated 49,900 homeless veterans.
“Tens of thousands of our nation’s veterans, men and women who have served our country bravely and selflessly, are homeless,” said Rep. Kaptur. “At this very moment a homeless veteran is preparing to sleep in a doorway, under a bridge, or in a car. And that veteran is one of thousands. This is inexcusable. We are failing in our basic responsibility to support our veterans. My amendment would have stitched closed one of the biggest holes in our safety net for veterans. Thanks to partisan opposition, that hole remains open and thousands of veterans will be left out in the cold tonight.”
The transportation and housing budget proposed by Republicans includes major cuts to federal housing programs that support some of our poorest and most vulnerable Americans. In total, the proposed bill provides roughly 100,000 fewer housing vouchers than the President’s proposed budget. Rental assistance currently supports an estimated 340,000 veterans.
The vote followed party lines with Democrats voting to support and Republicans voting against. Rep. Kaptur urged Republican leaders to work with her as the bill moved forward to help identify future sources of support for rental vouchers for homeless veterans.
