Good News For Few NJ Homeless Veterans
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has granted an award of $133,011 to help provide housing to 15 homeless veterans in Camden.
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is happy about that, but he is annoyed bills to provide $75 million to help house 10,000 more veterans have stalled in the Senate and the House.
“I am greatly heartened by these funds that will help veterans in New Jersey afford housing,” said Menendez. “But the reality is that homelessness among veterans is far more extensive and affects many more people. It is extremely unfortunate that funding to house homeless veterans is becoming yet another casualty of partisan gridlock in Congress.”
Before the current Congressional recess, the Senate was considering an appropriations bill to appropriate $75 million for. A majority of the Senate supported moving forward with the bill, but a Republican-led filibuster thwarted any Senate action on the bill.
“It simply isn’t right for our veterans to be let down in this way,” insisted Menendez. “It is my hope that, when we resume, all of my colleagues in Congress put people ahead of politics, and do everything we can to help our homeless veterans.”
The House version of the bill would also appropriate $75 million for the program, but that bill is also stuck in neutral.