H.R. 384: Homes for Heroes Act of 2013

Introduced:
Jan 23, 2013 (113th Congress, 2013–2015)
Sponsor:
Rep. Al Green [D-TX9]
Status:
Passed House

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill passed in the House on May 15, 2013 and goes to the Senate next for consideration.

Progress
Introduced Jan 23, 2013
Referred to Committee Jan 23, 2013
Passed House May 15, 2013
Passed Senate ...
Signed by the President ...
Votes

House Vote on Passage
May 15, 2013 5:53 p.m.
Passed 420/3

Prognosis

15% chance of being enacted.

Only 28% of House bills that made it past committee in 2011–2013 were enacted. [show factors | methodology]

Cosponsors
20 cosponsors (18D, 2R) (show)
Committees

House Financial Services

Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To transfer the position of Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs in the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Office of the Secretary, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated May 16, 2013.
7 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

1/23/2013--Introduced.
Homes for Heroes Act of 2013 - Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to establish in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs to:
(1) ensure veterans fair access to HUD housing and homeless assistance programs,
(2) coordinate all HUD programs and activities relating to veterans, and
(3) serve as a HUD liaison with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Directs the Secretaries of HUD and VA to report annually to Congress with respect to veterans homelessness and housing assistance.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/113/1/hr384.

Background

According to CRS, veterans are more likely to experience homelessness than the general population.[1]  The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought this problem into particular focus.  In response, Congress has enacted a number of programs in both the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Housing & Urban Development (HUD) to support veterans and alleviate homeless among them.

With a number of programs spread over two departments, communication and organization is problematic.  H.R. 384 increases coordination between the Departments and outside groups by codifying the existing position of Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs and specifying its responsibilities.

Congress has passed similar legislation in the past three Congresses.  Most recently, in the 112th Congress, the House passed H.R. 3298 by a vote of 414-5 (Roll no. 133).  H.R. 384 differs from that bill in that it transfers an existing position, whereas H.R. 3298 established a new position.


[1] See CRS Report RL34024, Veterans and Homelessness

Summary

H.R. 384 codifies the existing position of Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs and transfers it to the office of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  The bill specifies that the Special Assistant will serve as a liaison for HUD to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, as well as other organizations concerned with veterans.  The Special Assistant is required to report to Congress annually on the housing needs of veterans as well as the actions HUD has taken in the preceding year related to veterans’ homelessness. 

H.R. 384 also codifies the Department’s existing report titled “Veterans Homelessness: A Supplemental Report to the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress.”

Cost

There is no CBO score currently available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)