President’s FY 2014 Budget Includes Record Funding for Homeless Veteran Programs

WASHINGTON, DC – April 12, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Yesterday, President Barack Obama released his administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2014, which will begin on Oct. 1, 2013. If passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law, this budget would make the largest investment to date in homeless veteran assistance programs.

Highlights from the FY 2014 budget proposal include the following:

• $75 million in new vouchers for the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, bringing the total number of vouchers to more than 67,000. The Department of Veterans Affairs would provide $278 million in case management support for the program, a $33.581 million increase over FY 2013. The newest round of 10,000 vouchers from the full-year FY 2013 funding bill – signed into law on March 26, 2013 – has not yet been awarded.
• $250 million for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program, representing a $15 million increase over FY 2013. Additionally, VA has requested that the program be permanently authorized at $250 million.
• $300 million for the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program, the level at which the program is currently funded. VA has requested that the program be permanently authorized as well.
• $38.185 million for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), the same funding level the Department of Labor requested in FY 2013. As NCHV reported last month, HVRP is still subject to sequestration in FY 2013. These potential cuts, however, are eliminated in the department’s FY 2014 budget proposal.

In the VA’s proposed FY 2014 budget, the department also makes the following legislative proposals:

• Permanently authorize the grant program for homeless veterans with special needs. Additionally, VA has asked for permanent authority to provide capital grants through the program, and to raise the program’s per diem cap to twice the rate currently used by the GPD Program.
• Authorize a maximum GPD Program per diem rate – 150 percent of the rate currently used by the program – to support the “Transition in Place” model toward permanent housing. Entities that receive this per diem would be required to replace each VA-funded transitional housing bed that is converted to permanent housing.

For more on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ FY 2014 Budget Proposal, click here.

For more on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s FY 2014 Budget Proposal, click here.

For more on the Department of Labor’s FY 2014 Budget Proposal, click here.

For more information on policy and legislative issues, visit www.nchv.org.