Community Corner

Op-Ed: Congressman Israel Says Veterans Have Sacrificed Enough

Congressman Israel shares his opinion on a bill that eliminates a program that provides homeless veterans with housing vouchers.

This week, Congress will vote on a Republican bill that eliminates a $75 million program that provides homeless veterans with housing vouchers. While we need to cut spending, I don't agree that we should be doing it at the expense of homeless veterans.
 
There is no question that we cannot sustain the current levels of debt in our nation. Reducing the federal budget requires shared sacrifice by all.  But the Republican budget asks our veterans to sacrifice even more than they already have - without demanding any sacrifice at all from oil companies that receive tens of billions of dollars in tax subsidies.
 
That's just plain wrong. I believe that there are better priorities for cuts.  

Tonight, nationwide, as many as 131,000 U.S. veterans will go to sleep without proper housing. One out of every four homeless people in the nation has worn the uniform of the United States military. They have given enough. We simply should not be balancing budgets on their backs. It's time for the richest oil companies on earth to give back. Yet they have been completely spared in this budget. 
 
Throughout my time in Congress, I have fought to ensure that our service members are treated with the best possible care after they return home. I've secured more than $4 million in back payments for Long Island veterans, helped pass the largest increase in VA health care in history, and sponsored legislation creating a homeless veterans donation check-off on annual tax return forms. 
In the coming months, I will continue to lead the fight to provide for our veterans and ensure that critical programs such as the homeless veterans program will not be cut. Our servicemen and women deserve homes fit for heroes – not another night on the streets. 
 
For more information about my work standing up for homeless veterans, please visit my website at http://israel.house.gov.


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