The U.S. House of Representatives passed five veterans bills on Sept. 23, several of which were introduced by California representatives. Collectively, the bills aim to improve veterans’ assistance across the board, including expanded help pertaining to COVID-19 relief, suicide prevention and housing.
The Dependable Employment and Living Improvements for Veterans’ Economic Recovery Act, or DELIVER Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, and features bills introduced by representatives Scott Peters, D-San Diego, and Susan Davis, D-San Diego. The bipartisan-passed act collects several bills and authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide additional assistance for veterans who are homeless, unemployed, or transitioning back to civilian life.
Rep. Levin says one aspect of the DELIVER Act expands eligibility for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program “to include homeless veterans who were discharged under conditions other-than-honorable, but not dishonorable.”
“Despite the fact that 37,000 veterans were homeless as of January 2019, roughly 20% of the HUD-VASH vouchers have been going unused,” Levin said. The DELIVER Act intends to expand eligibility in hopes that more veterans will begin to take advantage of the assistance.
The DELIVER Act also includes additional assistance for unemployed veterans who are transitioning back to civilian life, including resume and job interview coaching.
Veteran unemployment dropped to 6.6% in August, down from 8% in July, but is still much higher than it was this time last year. The DELIVER Act hopes to reduce that rate further.
California Assistance for Veterans
As recently as Sept. 1, California continues to see a disproportionately high percentage of unemployment claims, including among veterans.
However, the state has worked to expand relief efforts echoing national trends like the aforementioned DELIVER Act, including passing several bills that the California American Legion supports. Such bills include AB 408, which makes it easier for California veterans to obtain disabled veterans license plates, and AB 3137, which allows servicemembers enrolled in the California College Promise to resume enrollment without penalty after returning from duty.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
