A group of mayors from around the country traveled to Washington this week to meet with senior Biden administration officials and members of Congress to push for coordinated action to address homelessness, particularly among veterans. 

What You Need To Know

  • A group of mayors from around the country are in Washington this week to meet with senior Biden administration officials and members of Congress to push for coordinated action to address homelessness, particularly among veterans 
  • The United States Conference of Mayors Task Force on Homelessness, chaired by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, started a multi-day trip to the nation's capital meeting with top White House and administration officials, including White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough and Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Director Tom Perez 
  • The group is calling for a cap on project-based vouchers, which those in attendance say gives cities more flexibility to build more affordable housing, to be lifted as well as action to address a rule that is currently forcing some veterans to choose between their disability benefits and housing 
  • An administration official told Spectrum News that President Joe Biden supports legislative action to ensure veterans receiving disability benefits are not disqualified from affordable housing 

The United States Conference of Mayors Task Force on Homelessness, chaired by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, kicked off the first full day of a multi-day trip to the nation's capital on Monday by huddling with top White House and administration officials, including White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough and Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Director Tom Perez. 

“The most important thing I think we discussed was to ensure that we all have an appreciation for the intersectionality of this,” Perez said of Monday’s meetings in an interview with Spectrum News on Tuesday. “You don’t simply solve these challenges by going to [the Department of Housing and Urban Development] and getting housing, many of the people who are encountering homelessness have a host of challenges.” 

Perez noted on the federal level, the Interagency Council on Homelessness brings together every department that has “skin in the game” to tackle the issue. Meetings like the one that took place on Monday, he said, allow for coordination between every level of government. 

“We also want to make sure we come together around a shared understanding of where are our gaps – and we know the gaps are considerable,” Perez said. “And what do we have to do collectively – federal, state and local level – so that we can bridge those gaps.” 

At a press conference outside the Capitol building on Tuesday alongside some of the nearly 50 mayors who made the trip to Washington and a few Democratic House members, Bass made clear the local officials are looking for more than funding. 

“You think when we come to Washington, it's just to ask for money,” Bass said on Tuesday. “Of course we always want money but money is not everything, we also need changes in rules and regulations, getting rid of the red tape so that we can get people off the streets.” 

Specifically, the group is calling for a cap on project-based vouchers, which those in attendance say gives cities more flexibility to build more affordable housing, to be lifted as well as action to address a rule that is currently forcing some veterans to choose between their disability benefits and housing. 

“Right now veterans who receive total or near disability compensation are unable to access affordable housing in many parts of our country because their VA benefits put them over the eligibility limits,” the top Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Rep. Mark Takano of California said on Tuesday. 

Takano on Tuesday added he is working with his colleagues to update how income is calculated in a bid to make sure veterans with service-connected disabilities are not deemed ineligible for permanent housing. He noted he believes such a move would need to be addressed through legislation, while emphasizing Congress would still need coordination from local officials. 

“Congress and the administration can do its part by dealing with a technical fix in the law but we still need the mayors, local officials and developers to be a part of the solution as well,” he said. 

An administration official told Spectrum News that President Joe Biden supports legislative action to address the issue and noted agency actions are also underway to resolve it. 

The mayors were also set to meet with a range of lawmakers on Hill, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., as well as the top Republican on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas and more. 

In a statement to Spectrum News, Veteran Affairs press secretary Terrence Hayes said over 46,000 veterans were connected to housing last year with Biden occupying the White House. Los Angeles in particular, saw nearly 1,800 veterans provided with permanent housing – the most of any city in the U.S., he said. 

“The President is determined to build on this progress, which is why his budget calls for guaranteed housing vouchers for every extremely low-income Veteran, ensuring that every Veteran gets the help they need and deserve to stay housed,” Hayes said. “We continue to work with Mayor Bass and mayors across the country on tackling Veteran homelessness, and we won’t rest until every Veteran has the safe, stable home that they deserve – in Los Angeles and all across America.”

Biden’s budget plan for the next fiscal year – which is unlikely to become law as it currently stands – proposes an expansion of 50,000 targeted housing vouchers for extremely low-income veterans. Under the plan, the president’s plan seeks to guarantee assistance for all veterans who are in need by 2033. 

“We’re committed to addressing the red tape at a federal level and I think there was a mutual commitment to identifying where the speed bumps are in every level of government,” Perez said. “I’ve worked in local, state and federal government – everybody has levers that they can deploy to combat homelessness and many of those levers are way too slow.”