By Charlie Wilkerson, Patch Staff | February 11, 2025
Yesterday, amid the flurry of activity by the Trump administration and Elon
Musk’s hyperactive DOGE efforts, some positive news for our honorable
veterans: the House of Representatives passed Congressman Brad
Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) and Congresswoman De La Cruz’s (R-TX)
Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act (HUDVA) that’s designed to
assist homeless disabled veterans bypass a longstanding bureaucratic
barrier that has prevented them from accessing the very Veterans Affairs
(VA) housing built for them.
“I am honored that the House has voted to pass this important bill to
remove an unfair barrier preventing disabled homeless veterans from
accessing veteran housing. I urge the Senate to take up this common-
sense and bipartisan bill without delay to exclude a veteran’s disability
benefits from a veteran’s income calculation,” said Congressman Sherman
in a statement released by his office and in a post on X.
Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz said: “Far too often, our veterans are
met with unnecessary bureaucracy when they return home from service.
Though we can never repay them for their sacrifice, we can show our
gratitude by ensuring bureaucratic obstacles do not block their access to
housing support. This legislation will make certain that disability
payments received by a veteran are excluded from income calculations
when it comes to determining eligibility for HUD-VASH. I am proud to co-
lead this critical bipartisan legislation alongside Congressman Sherman to
support veterans who have gone above and beyond to serve our country.”
Per Sherman’s statement, 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 VA. However, due to
“restrictive Area Median Income (AMI) caps and inclusion of disability
benefits in a veteran’s annual income calculation”, many homeless
disabled veterans were unjustly disqualified from accessing this vital
support.
Hoping to address the root of the problem, Sherman and De La
Cruz’s Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act (HUDVA) will amend this
existing law that defines income eligibility for veterans housing programs
like HUD-VASH.