There are a number of legislative proposals before Congress that would take great strides in ending homelessness among veterans. Some of those proposals are highlighted below:

• The Transportation-HUD Appropriations bill, which has been agreed to by conferees in the House and Senate, includes $75 million for new HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers for homeless veterans. These new vouchers would provide permanent supportive housing for approximately 7,500 homeless veterans.
• On November 8, 2007, Sen. Barack Obama introduced the Veterans Homelessness Prevention Act. The bill would launch a pilot program to pair housing for at-risk veterans and veteran families with supportive services. Companion legislation is expected to be introduced in the House as early as next week.
• On July 30, the House passed a major bill aimed at reducing homelessness among veterans. H.R. 2874, the Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2007, authorizes $25 million for financial assistance and supportive services to very low-income veterans, among other important provisions. The Senate has a similar bill, S. 1223, The Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury and Health Programs Improvement Act of 2007, which passed the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on August 29, 2007.
• On July 30, the House also passed H.R. 1315, the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2007, which would provide housing assistance to disabled veterans who are temporarily residing in a house owned by a family member.
• The Homes for Heroes Act has been introduced in both the House and the Senate (H.R. 3329 and S. 1084). The bill would expand the supply of permanent affordable housing for low-income veteran families and authorize 20,000 new HUD-VASH vouchers annually. Both bills are before the relevant committees (Financial Services in the House and Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in the Senate).
• Though not specific to homeless veterans, the Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act, S. 1518, would reauthorize the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and greatly improve the nation's ability to end homelessness, for veterans and non-veterans alike. The bill passed the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on September 19.