Even though it's been a divisive few weeks in Washington, with Republicans and Democrats pounding each other over the proposal to raise the federal debt ceiling among other issues, two South Florida congressmen from separate sides of the aisle teamed up this past week to introduce legislation concerning veterans.
While Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney and Democratic U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch both represent parts of Palm Beach County, they are miles apart politically. Rooney, who also represents some of Charlotte, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties, earned a grade of 100 from the American Conservative Union (ACU) and a grade of 0 from the liberal Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) based on his 2010 voting record. Deutch, who also represents parts of Broward County, earned an 80 from the ADA and a 0 from the ACU.
Despite these differences, the two congressmen found common ground on the plight of homeless veterans, agreeing to reduce their numbers and heighten security at VA medical centers.
The bill dealing with homeless veterans, which Rooney and Deutch have dubbed the Helping Homeless Heroes Act, would reauthorize programs in the U.S. Department of Labor and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs that are set up to employ and train veterans. The measure would also help fund the VA Departments Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program (GPD) which provides transitional housing for homeless veterans.
The two congressmen from South Florida insisted these programs were working, arguing that while there had been more than 300,000 homeless veterans in 2003, there were less than 150,000 in 2009.
While weve made dramatic improvements over the last decade to reduce veteran homelessness, we still have significant work ahead of us to ensure that no one who served is left out in the cold while making the transition to civilian life, said Rooney. This legislation builds on successful support programs to help fulfill our debt to those who put their lives on the line in defense of our country.
The Helping Homeless Heroes Act of 2011 honors our responsibility to ensure that no American who dons the uniform of the United States becomes a forgotten hero after their mission is complete, said Deutch. Our servicemen and women endure unimaginable sacrifices while serving our nation; we cannot stand by while so many of them are going homeless.
The legislation won the backing of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.
This bill would reauthorize highly successful programs that have helped reduce the number of homeless veterans by about 70 percent in the last eight years," said John Driscoll, president and CEO of that organization. These programs have received strong bipartisan support throughout that time, and are absolutely critical in the national campaign to end veteran homelessness by 2015. Both the House and Senate deserve commendation for their proud legacy of aiding veterans in crisis and their families especially veterans with mental illness, other disabilities, and serious barriers to housing and employment.
Rooney and Deutch teamed up later in the week to introduce a measure beefing up security at medical facilities run by the VA. They introduced a bill which would standardize procedures for security forces assigned to VA medical facilities dealing with active shooters. Following recommendations made by the U.S. Department of Defense after the Fort Hood shooting incident,the legislation would havesecurity personnel at VA medical centers receive training from civilian police on how to deal with active shooters.
Both congressmen pointed to recent events involving active shooters attacking servicemen at Fort Hood in Texas, as well as the shooting of Arizona Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, as motivation behind their new bill.
In recent years, from the terrorist attack on Fort Hood to the tragedy in Arizona, we have seen the violence and death that even a single gunman can unleash on unsuspecting, innocent victims, Rooney said.Medical facilities, which are ill-equipped to deal with an attack, are especially vulnerable, and VA hospitals are a prime target for violence since they are dedicated to the care of our men and women who have served overseas.
Right now, there are no standardized programs to train VA security personnel to deal with an active-shooter situation, added Rooney.This bill addresses that security gap by requiring law enforcement officers at VA medical centers to be trained in an active-shooter situation to find the shooters, engage them, and end the shooting.
The recent shootings in Tucson, Arizona and at Fort Hood have reminded us just how much pain a lone gunman can inflict, and we cannot leave our veterans undergoing treatment at VA hospitals and clinics vulnerable to such attacks, said Deutch. This bill ensures that security personnel in our VA medical centers are well-trained and well-equipped to respond to attacks against our nations servicemen and women.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
